MaxPreps Top 25 national high school girls basketball rankings

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The beautiful rankings that you saw last week have been cruelly murdered by a bunch of ugly upsets - and there are certainly more such crimes of the court to come.

The biggest jump belongs to Columbus North, which is one of four very strong Indiana teams. The two that had been ranked all year -- Bedford North Lawrence and Lawrence North -- have now been replaced by Columbus North and Heritage Christian. Those two, however, will not play as they are in different divisions, so barring a truly stunning upset, both should hold on to their spots.

California also saw some shakeup as Chaminade, which stumbled a little at the West Coast Jamboree in late December, rose up to knock off Long Beach Poly, the previous No. 7, and also is the only team to beat No. 1 Mater Dei. But in the convoluted California playoffs, all three teams are still alive, plus No. 4 St. Mary's, so expect more confusion.



And Long Beach Poly's loss also had nationwide impact, as the Jackrabbits have key wins over other ranked teams -- which leads to perhaps the biggest upset of all: Trinity 37, Whitney Young 36, at Whitney Young.

Whitney Young is now out of the Illinois postseason but still, like Long Beach Poly, has big wins over teams in the Xcellent 25, and so hangs around in the rankings.

See playoff brackets from around the nation


1. (1) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 28-1
That one loss marring Mater Dei's season was by one point, way back in November, and the perpetrator was Chaminade. Fittingly, Mater Dei's opponent in the Southern Section Open Division final is Chaminade. Look for sparks to fly.

2. (2) Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia), 22-0
It will be a step up in class for Trinity as the PIAA AA playoffs begin Friday -- and it will most likely be asking too much for a 14-10 smaller school in Pennsylvania to take down the second-best team in the country.

3. (3) Blackman (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), 29-2
Mt. Juliet is another one of those traditional Tennessee powers, and brings a 32-2 record to face Blackman in the first round of the state championships. But with previous No.17 Ridgeway eliminated, and rival Riverdale disqualified for trying to lose, Blackman's path to a state title is a lot easier.



4. (4) St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.), 29-1
After disposing of a solid Davis team 86-48, St. Mary's now draws McClatchy, which has played a tough schedule and has suffered through injuries. McClatchy is healthy now and riding a 14-game winning streak, but there's a reason St. Mary's is No. 4.

5. (6) Cypress Woods (Cypress, Texas), 33-1
Cypress Woods took care of North Shore (the only team that beat the Wildcats) last week, and now must face solid Flower Mound Wednesday in the first round of the state championships.

6. (21) Columbus North (Ind.), 27-1
Ali Patberg went off for 39 points -- and added six rebounds and six assists -- as Columbus North beat previous No. 14 Lawrence North (and avenged its only loss) to move into the state championship game Saturday against Homestead. Columbus North beat Homestead by 11 in December.

7. (9) Myers Park (Charlotte, N.C.), 26-1
Myers Park is the third seed on its side of the North Carolina 4A bracket, and at best, the fifth seed overall. This might seem a little unreasonable, given Myers Park's tough schedule and national reputation. But Thursday's opponent, R.J. Reynolds, is 27-0. And the No. 1 seed, Saturday's potential opponent, Northwest Guilford, is also 27-0.

8. (6) Elizabethtown (Ky.), 28-2
The next hurdle, of a sort, is Adair County in the Region 5 final. Since Elizabethtown already beat Adair County by 45, a trip to the state tournament March 11 seems all but assured.

9. (24) Manasquan (N.J.), 24-2
Manasquan took down two of its key rivals last week -- St. John-Vianney and previous No. 13 St. Rose -- and is on track for a serious run at the New Jersey title. Those also happen to be the only two teams that have beaten Manasquan this year, so consider both losses avenged.



10. (16) Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.), 32-2
The loss to No. 2 Neumann-Goretti could be expected, but despite Paul VI's otherwise exemplary record, the defeat at the hands of four-loss Cosby keeps the Virginia Independent champions from rising any higher.


11. (NR) Chaminade (West Hills, Calif.), 24-3
With a win over No. 1 Mater Dei, and now a win over previous No. 7 Long Beach Poly, Chaminade has erased the sour taste of losses to Poly and California powers Alemany and St. Ignatius. But Mater Dei and Long Beach Poly are still alive in postseason, and for that matter, so are Alemany and St. Ignatius.

12. (15) Holy Innocents Episcopal (Atlanta), 31-0
There are those who claim Holy Innocents isn't even the best team in Georgia, much less a top 15 team in the country. And Wesleyan, which has lost three close games to Holy Innocents (the last by two points), will get another chance to prove the doubters right on Friday.

13. (20) Northside (Fort Smith, Ark.), 27-1
Northside is the clear favorite heading into the 7A championships, which wind up Saturday -- but the road is far from easy. Fayetteville, the only team to beat Northside this year, is on the other side of the bracket, but first, teams like Conway and Har-Ber stand in the way. If Northside wins the title, it will have earned it.

14. (18) Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.), 25-1
Hopkins will play the usual suspects -- Edina Saturday and either Eden Prairie or Minnetonka next Tuesday -- and if familiarity has not bred complacency, the results will be the same as before.

15. (7) Long Beach Poly (Calif.), 25-3
Despite the 11-point loss to Chaminade in the Southern Section Open Division playoffs, expect the Jackrabbits to still be selected for the Southern California Regional playoffs -- and still have a shot at No. 1 Mater Dei or revenge against Chaminade.



16. (11) Dillard (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 29-1
Since Dillard lost to Desert Vista, which got upset in the Arizona playoffs, and Desert Vista lost to Long Beach Poly, which got upset in the California playoffs, Dillard has to drop.

17. (12) Miami Country Day, 30-2
Since Miami Country Day lost to Dillard (see the Dillard discussion), Miami Country Day has to drop as well. The win over No. 9 Elizabethtown, by one point in Florida, has not been forgotten, but there aren't enough quality wins like that one.

18. (19) Gonzaga Prep (Spokane, Wash.), 24-0
Though Bothell might not be the toughest test Gonzaga Prep has faced, after that the final weekend of Washington basketball is going to be full of challenges, starting with the winner of the Walla Walla-Todd Beamer game Friday.

19. (5) Whitney Young (Chicago), 28-2
Despite a stunning upset loss at home to Trinity -- a team the Dolphins had beaten by 11 earlier in the year -- Whitney Young clings to a spot in the Xcellent 25. The other defeat came in the first game of the season, by four.

20. (NR) Heritage Christian (Indianapolis), 27-2
With losses only to No. 7 Columbus North and No. 21 Whitney Young -- and a win over previous No. 14 Lawrence North -- Heritage Christian moves into the Xcellent 25.

21. (22) Braintree (Mass.), 22-0
It wasn't that long ago (Feb. 15) that Braintree beat Bishop Feehan (by 14), but there's a lot more at stake in the South Division 1 Final Friday. The winner goes to state and the loser goes … well, you can fill in the blank.



22. (23) Konawaena (Kealakekua, Hawaii), 31-1
Season complete.

23. (25) Eastview (Apple Valley, Minn.), 25-1
In the end, only No. 14 Hopkins or Eastview will remain in the Xcellent 25. Such is life when you play in a state that keeps teams from traveling, and when only two teams out of the eight in Eastview's sectional playoffs have winning records.

24. (NR) Marian (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), 19-1
The only loss is to No. 21 Whitney Young, but Marian's biggest challenge for the Class A title will be M. L. King -- and last week, Marian only beat King 50-49.

25. (NR) Maize (Kan.), 20-0
As the top-rated team in Kansas, and playing in the highest division, Maize hits the Xcellent 25 thanks in great part to a one-point win over Leavenworth, which had been ranked earlier this year.

Dropped out: No. 10 Desert Vista, No. 13 St. Rose, No. 14 Lawrence North, No. 17 Ridgeway