The dust has settled from holiday tournaments, and St. Mary's stays at the top.
Video: TOC Girls Basketball - Blackman (Murfreesboro, TN)
This week's No. 12 team was given a big honor last season.There are several paths that lead to the No. 1 overall ranking. Without elite talent, of course, the top spot is out of reach. But even with elite talent, there are some other crucial components. Coaching is one, definitely, and at the national level, so is a challenging schedule.
Over the years, there have been some teams that have managed to earn that No. 1 ranking without necessarily having a roster full of Division I players, or relied less on coaching than on sheer ability, or that skated home with only a few tough games on the schedule.
But this year's No. 1 -- at least so far -- qualifies on all three counts. St. Mary's of Stockton is loaded with talent, is led by a superb coach and has played an absolutely brutal schedule. Last week, for example, St. Mary's flew across the country to play in the Title IX Classic after spending the week before Christmas in Arizona, in both cases facing some of the country's best. And in both cases, the Northern Californians came home with the first-place trophy.
So at this point, there's not much doubt as to who's No. 1, but it's a long season and St. Mary's will play a lineup of top California teams the rest of the way. If Tom Gonsalves and company finish at the top of the Xcellent 25, there's no doubt they will have earned it.
Note: The rankings are more accurate when all the results are on MaxPreps, so we encourage everyone to make sure their schedules and scores are up to date. If you have any issues, contact MaxPreps Coach Support at coachsupport@maxpreps.com, and you'll be taken care of.
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Girls Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard
Zarielle Green, Duncanville
Photo by Jim Redman
St. Mary's gets some time off before jumping back into the fray against Clovis West, one of the Central Valley's best teams, and Salesian College Preparatory, one of NorCal's best.
2. (2) Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Md.), 15-1Another team that hasn't backed away from any challenges, Riverdale Baptist outlasted No. 14 Princess Anne in overtime to win the Boo Williams event in Virginia. Like St. Mary's, Riverdale Baptist will continue to play elite teams the rest of the way.
3. (3) Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.), 13-0Miami Country Day gave the No. 3 team in the nation all it could handle in the Naples Holiday Classic in Florida, but Paul VI prevailed in double overtime. And now it's back to the internecine wars in the brutal Washington Catholic Athletic Conference.
4. (6) Duncanville (Texas), 23-0Yes, Duncanville has already played 23 games, which is more than many teams are allowed for an entire season. And the last one was a 64-43 pasting of No. 13 Blackman, which is why Duncanville jumped past Centennial in the rankings.
5. (4) Centennial (Las Vegas), 12-1Centennial returned to Nevada and beat up on some in-state competition. The biggest remaining challenge will be a game against Mater Dei of California in February.
6. (9) National Christian Academy (Fort Washington, Md.), 15-0National Christian wound up in the second bracket of the Title IX Classic, and thus did not get a shot at No. 1 St. Mary's, but still went 3-0 against quality opposition, and thus jumped up to No. 6.
7. (8) Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia), 14-0Neumann-Goretti had to battle its way through the Diamond State Classic, winning by an average of 10 points a game -- but a win is a win is a win, and Philadelphia's best moves up a spot.
8. (11) Miramonte (Orinda, Calif.), 10-0Miramonte jumps into the top 10 after rolling through the Nike Interstate Shootout in Oregon, which featured almost all of Oregon's top teams. So if Miramonte can't get past St. Mary's to win the California state title, it can at least claim to be the best in Oregon.
9. (NR) Forestville Military Academy (Md.), 7-1One way to jump into the Xcellent 25's top 10 is to beat two teams that were in the top 10 last week -- which FMA did. Previous No. 6 St. Francis and previous No. 7 Konawaena went down, but No. 1 St. Mary's was too much to handle. Still, No. 9 in the nation isn't bad.
10. (12) North Shore (Houston), 21-1North Shore didn't play any tournaments, and has 8-8 West Brook next, so Houston's top team rises because teams above it lost, not because of any special accomplishments.
11. (21) Montini (Lombard, Ill.), 16-0Whitney Young may not be the Whitney Young of years past, but the Chicago power is still one of Illinois' top teams -- and Montini handled the Dolphins with ease to go 16-0. It's too bad Montini hasn't played anyone from out of state.
12. (13) Blackman (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), 10-2Blackman took the challenge of facing No. 4 Duncanville in its home tournament and on its home court, and paid the price with a 64-43 loss. The other loss, by five, was to No. 2 Riverdale Baptist.
13. (5) St. Francis (Alpharetta, Ga.), 13-1St. Francis won a major tournament (the Crescom in South Carolina) and finished third in another after losing to now-No. 9 Forestville Military Academy. So even though it may be a pretty smooth road from here on out, St. Francis has earned this spot.
14. (14) Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, Va.), 9-1After losing to No. 2 Riverdale Baptist in overtime in the Boo Williams tournament, Princess Anne will return to pounding local teams.
15. (15) Homestead (Fort Wayne, Ind.), 12-0 A solid win over Roncalli maintains Homestead at No. 15.
16. (NR) Cicero-North Syracuse (Cicero, N.Y.), 9-0Traveling across the country for a basketball tournament is a treat for most teams, and Cicero-North Syracuse added to the fun by beating previous No. 17 Archbishop Mitty in the semifinals of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in Northern California. That put Breanna Stewart's alma mater in the Xcellent 25.
17. (22) Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), 14-1The only loss is to No. 13 Blackman, and since Blackman is also in Murfreesboro, there will be several chances for revenge. In the meantime, Riverdale outlasted a solid Houston of Tennessee team in the State Farm Classic.
18. (18) Bellevue (Wash.), 10-0After taking a post-Christmas break, Bellevue jumps back into action against 8-1 Inglemoor. There are no more out-of-state games for Bellevue, so an in-state slip-up would be costly.
19. (19) Lynnwood (Bothell, Wash.), 9-0Lynnwood chose to take an early flight out of Northern California and thus missed a chance to play one of California's top programs, Long Beach Poly. The three West Coast Jamboree wins were against good teams, but not much was revealed.
20. (25) Central (Little Rock, Ark.), 12-0Central played three of Alabama's best in Alabama, and intersectional wins, especially on the road, count for a lot in the rankings. Thus the jump to No. 18.
21. (NR) Highlands Ranch (Colo.), 10-1The only loss is to No. 17 Bellevue, and there are good wins in two out-of-state tournaments as well. But league rival ThunderRidge will be a challenge.
22. (NR) Villa Maria Academy (Erie, Pa.), 10-0It only took three overtimes, but the perennial Pennsylvania power outlasted No. 25 St. John-Vianney in the KSA Holiday Tournament in Florida in the semis, and then knocked off previously unbeaten Liberty of Missouri in the finals. That's the kind of performance that results in a national ranking.
23. (NR) Heritage (Saginaw, Mich.), 6-0Heritage makes it three different Michigan teams that have spent some time in the Xcellent 25. Heritage earned the spot by knocking off previous No. 23 Detroit Country Day.
24. (NR) Wenonah (Birmingham, Ala.), 16-0Wenonah thumped Lake Highland Prep 70-42 in Florida to win its bracket in the Naples Holiday Shootout, and now returns to Alabama for the rest of the season. Still, there's plenty of talent on the roster and winning an out-of-state tournament is not an easy task.
25. (16) St. John-Vianney (Holmdel, N.J.), 4-1If a game goes three overtimes, as St. John-Vianney and No. 21 Villa Maria did, there are a lot of opportunities for each team to win. In the end, though, the scoreboard doesn't lie, and St. John-Vianney drops nine spots in the rankings.
Dropped out: No. 10 Lakota West, No. 17 Archbishop Mitty, No. 21 Our Lady of Good Counsel, No. 23 Detroit Country Day, No. 24 Parkway North.
