Crusaders display talent, depth in knocking off three ranked teams in Arizona.
The Crusaders delivered three straight wins over ranked teams in Arizona: No. 18
Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) 70-48, No. 5 Sidwell Friends 63-60 and No. 6 La Jolla Country Day 63-50 in the championship game.
But the most impressive win for the Crusaders might've been the three-point semifinal win over Sidwell as LuHi overcame a 19-point effort from
Jadyn Donovan and made a 10-point lead entering the fourth quarter stand up.
Long Island Lutheran's Kayleigh Heckel led the Crusaders to a Nike TOC title before Christmas as LuHi vaults to No. 1 in the MaxPreps Top 25 girls basketball rankings. (Photo: Darin Sicurello)
Record: 9-0 |
Last week: 19
Took home the holiday tournament season's biggest prize with wins over three top 10 teams to snag the title.
2. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.)
Record: 12-0 |
Last week: 2
Won titles at the Tarkanian Classic and Portland Holiday Classic's diamond bracket with victories over Putnam City West (Oklahoma City, Okla.). Coeur d'Alene (Idaho), Jefferson (Portland, Ore.) and Jesuit (Portland, Ore.). The Trailblazers have a Saturday showdown with La Jolla Country Day before meeting Sidwell Friends on Jan. 14 at the Hoophall Classic.
3. Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)
Record: 14-0 |
Last week: 3
Ended the year with a pair of nice wins over Lake Highland Prep (Orlando) and Rutgers Prep (Somerset, N.J.) at the Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational. Tournament MVP
Mjracle Sheppard is leading Montverde with 11.8 points per night while
Sahnya Jah is chipping in 9.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest. The Eagles meet No. 5 Sidwell Friends on Jan. 16 at the MLK Classic.
4. Etiwanda (Calif.)
Record: 13-0 |
Last week: 4
Wrapped up 2022 with a West Coast Jamboree title, beating Chaminade (West Hills), Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) and St. Mary's (Stockton). The 56-46 win over St. Mary's was the biggest test of the season for Etiwanda, which saw
Kennedy Smith take home MVP honors. They look to add to their resume with a MLK Classic matchup with No. 15 Morris Catholic on Jan. 16.
5. Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.)
Record: 8-1 |
Last week: 6
The Quakers saw their 37-game win streak come to an end with the loss to No. 1 Long Island Lutheran in the Nike TOC semifinals. Bounced back with a 10-point win over No. 20 Lone Peak in the third-place game. Sidwell — led by senior
Jadyn Donovan (14.6 points per game), juniors
Leah Harmon (13.8) and
Kendall Dudley (11.9) and freshman
Jayla Jackson (9.3) — plays No. 2 Sierra Canyon on ESPN on Jan. 14 at the Hoophall Classic before meeting No. 3 Montverde Academy on Jan. 16.
6. La Jolla Country Day (La Jolla, Calif.)
Record: 16-1 |
Last week: 5
Fell to LuHi in the Nike TOC final after handling No. 18 Sacred Heart and surviving No. 20 Lone Peak in the semis. In the game against LuHi,
Breya Cunningham was sensational, dropping 25 in the loss. The Torreys backed up the runner-up finish with a title in the platinum bracket at the Portland Holiday Classic over Beaverton. Showdowns against Sierra Canyon and at the GEICO Invitational at Sidwell Friends loom on LJCD's schedule.
7. Incarnate Word Academy (St. Louis)
Record: 9-0 |
Last week: 1
The Red Knights drop, not so much for what they have done or not done, but what everyone else is doing. You can only play your schedule and Incarnate Word keeps winning — 77 straight. They downed Cardinal Ritter (St. Louis), Pattonville and Burroughs (St. Louis) for the Viz Christmas Tournament title.
8. Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.)
Record: 8-0 |
Last week: 7
The Royals are limited by state rules affecting travel but they remained perfect on the season with a Park Center Holiday Tournament.
Nunu Agara reached the 1,000-point milestone in a 94-37 win over Owatonna.
9. St. John-Vianney (Holmdel, N.J.)
Record: 8-0 |
Last week: 9
Started the New Year off right with a 75-52 win over University (Newark) as senior center
Janie Bachmann had 15 points and 10 rebounds while
Zoe Brooks added 16 points. A showdown against No. 1 LuHi will be a litmus test for Dawn Karpell's bunch.
10. South Bend Washington (South Bend, Ind.)
Record: 17-0 |
Last week: 22
Remained perfect with a 2022-ending title at the Lady Panther Classic, beating Warsaw in the championship game as the average margin of victory was 22 points.
Rashunda Jones scored 17 in the game while being named tourney MVP as
Amiyah Reynolds scored 16 and
Kira Reynolds added 15.
11. Clovis West (Fresno, Calif.)
Record: 16-0 |
Last week: 20
The Golden Eagles have been road warriors with two trips to the East Coast, the last nabbing a KSA Holiday Classic title. League play begins next week.
12. Duncanville (Texas)
Record: 17-4 |
Last week: 21
Won the Sandra Meadows Classic title, picking up a marquee win over No. 13 Conway 68-66.
Mariah Clayton was the tournament MVP,
Trystan James was the outstanding defensive player and
Kaylinn Kemp made all-tournament. All four of Duncanville's losses came against MaxPreps Top 25 teams.
13. Conway (Ark.)
Record: 14-2 |
Last week: 12
Fell to Duncanville in the Sandra Meadows Classic.
Chloe Clardy was the tournament's Outstanding Offensive Player. Their
14. Hazel Green (Ala.)
Record: 17-0 |
Last week: 14
Rolled through the holiday tournament season as coach Tim Miller picked up his 700th win, beating Daphne 64-31 for the Gulf Shores Holiday Bash title and the squad's 73rd straight victory. The Trojans are 17 wins from breaking the state record for consecutive wins.
15. Morris Catholic (Denville, N.J.)
Record: 8-0 |
Last week: 16
Mya Pauldo was named the MVP of the John Wall Classic as the Crusaders remained perfect. They handled Purcell Marian (Purcell, Ohio) 64-44 as Pauldo dropped 20.
16. Paul VI (Haddonfield, N.J.)
Record: 4-1 |
Last week: 16
Senior
Hannah Hidalgo is averaging 24.4 points and 6.8 assists for Paul VI, which has a Jan. 8 meeting with in-state foe No. 15 Morris Catholic.
17. Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.)
Record: 9-2 |
Last week: NR
Strong showing at the Nike TOC, going 3-1 in the top division with wins over Desert Vista (Phoenix), Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.) and No. 19 Sacred Heart. Freshman
McKenna Woliczko had a coming out party, earning all-tournament honors.
18. Sacred Heart (Louisville, Ky.)
Record: 10-2 |
Last week: 17
Fell to No. 6 La Jolla Country Day 57-40 and Mitty 62-46 at Nike TOC as sophomore
ZaKiyah Johnson earned all-tournament honors. The Kentucky power meets No. 7 Incarnate Word Academy on Jan. 21
19. Hoover (Ala.)
Record: 19-1 |
Last week: 13
Fell for the first time this season, losing 31-30 to Hillcrest in the
Ball-N-Prep National Showcase. Individually,
Layla Etchison notched her
1,000th career point while
Reniya Kelly scored her 2,000th career point,
the first player in school history to do so.
20. Lone Peak (Highland, Utah)
Record: 8-3 |
Last week: 15
The Knights had the highest finish of any public school at the Nike TOC despite losses to La Jolla Country Day 62-60 in a down-to-the-wire finish and a 57-47 setback against Sidwell Friends. All-tournament nod
Kailey Woolston averaged 16 points per night in Phoenix.
21. Johnston (Iowa)
Record: 11-0 |
Last week: NR
Remained perfect with a 62-49 win Tuesday over Southeast Polk as
Aili Tanke had 22 points and 13 boards while
Jenica Lewis dropped 18, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range.
Aaliyah Riley chipped in 12 and eight for the Iowa power.
22. Lake Highland Prep (Orlando, Fla.)
Record: 9-5 |
Last week: 8
The Highlanders have lost four of their last five, but all have been close against top-tier opponents. Their lone victory last week was 66-56 over Ohio's Pickerington Central.
23. Centennial (Las Vegas)
Record: 5-1 |
Last week: 25
Grabbed a NIke TOC title in the John Anderson Division as coach Karen Weitz earned her 700th victory. Following a season-opening 66-46 loss to No. 20 Lone Peak, the Bulldogs have reeled off five straight by an average of 31 points.
24. Garfield (Seattle)
Record: 5-0 |
Last week: 10
The Bulldogs are limiting opponents to 37 points per game.
25. Purcell Marian (Cincinnati)
Record: 9-2 |
Last week: NR
Both losses are to ranked teams — Sacred Heart and Morris Catholic. In the John Wall Invitational loss to Morris Catholic,
Dee Alexander had 20 points and eight boards.
On the bubble: Fremd (Palatine, Ill.), 15-1;
South Grand Prairie (Grand Prairie, Texas), 14-6;
The Webb School (Bell Buckle, Tenn.), 9-3;
Olmsted Falls (Ohio), 9-2;
Miami Country Day (Miami), 11-3
