MaxPreps 2016-17 Rhode Island preseason high school girls basketball Fab 5, presented by the Army National Guard

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1. La Salle Academy (Providence)
Head coach: Sean Reddy
2015-16 record: 24-2

La Salle won its first title in three years last March by beating South Kingstown in both the RIIL Division I and state open finals. Reddy, who has won nine championships in 14 years as coach, will try to produce more of the same this winter despite losing All-State players Sloane Heterick and Ainsley Burns. Ally Desrosiers and Christina Kiser lead a talented group of returnees.

See the MaxPreps Rhode Island girls basketball computer rankings, presented by the Army National Guard

2. Moses Brown (Providence)
Head coach: Laurie Center
2015-16 record: 18-2

Oluchi Ezemma (18.2 points per game, 15 rebounds) was a first-team All-State selection last season as a sophomore in helping her team win the RIIL Division II championship. There's no reason to believe the 5-foot-10 Ezemma can't do the same thing again in 2016-17 for the Quakers.

See the MaxPreps Rhode Island girls basketball stat leaders

3. Cranston East
Head coach: Lauren Brown
2015-16 record: 17-4 The Bolts move back up to RIIL Division I for 2016-17 after something of an odd postseason a year ago. Though they were eliminated from the Division II tournament in the first round, they later wound up as the only Division II team to reach the state Open Division semifinals. Point guard Sarah Coutu (12.5 ppg) is more than qualified to lead her team through Division I this winter after gaining second-team, All-State honors as a junior.

See the MaxPreps Rhode Island girls basketball photos

4. St. Raphael Academy (Pawtucket)
Head coach: Tammy Drape
2015-16 record: 18-5



St. Raphael reached the state Division II final a year ago before losing to Moses Brown. Senior guard
Kasey Gagan, a second-team All-State selection last season, is the most decorated of the Saints' returning players.

See the MaxPreps Rhode Island girls basketball playoff brackets

5. South Kingstown (Wakefield)
Head coach: Amanda Varone
2015-16 record: 18-8

Gatorade State Player of the Year Celia Tomlinson will be difficult to replace after posting averages of 19.6 ppg, 13.3 rpg and 6.4 blocks per game in 2015-16. But South Kingstown returns nine players from last year's team,  including sophomore guard Megan Bodizony, junior guard Brooke Peasley and senior forward Allison Marcellino.