Video: 13-year-old girl dunksCardinal Newman's (SC) Ashlyn Watkins throws it down.As the Nebraska girls basketball season begins to wind down in the number of games left, but ramp up in the level of importance in those games in mid February to early-March, Crofton will be trying to grab the championship gold it missed out on a season ago.
The Warriors, however, remain atop the standings as Nebraska's most dominant girls basketball program since 2006-07 after winning Class C2 titles in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Although Crofton did most of its point-scoring damage over the past six seasons, the Warriors landed in MaxPreps' final Nebraska Top 25 Computer Rankings in 10 of the 11 seasons, keeping Aaron Losing's club easily on top of Bellevue West and the rest of the field.
The Warriors have captured eight total state championships, and six during the time span calculated for this Top 10. Crofton also captured a Class C1 title in 2007. All together, the Warriors have been to the state finals 11 times, tied with Omaha Marian for fourth all-time. Crofton claimed the No. 1 spot in MaxPreps' computer rankings three times over the 11 years scored, and finished in the Top 10 seven times.
Fellow Cornhusker State power Bellevue West winds up second this week after claiming three Class A state basketball titles since 2007, and playing its way into the finals three more times. Class B power Seward rounds out the top three after winning state titles in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
Classes A, B, C1, C2 and D1 are all represented in this week's Top 10. Wynot, one of Nebraska's premier small school powers, represented Class D2 with an 11th place finish out of the 97 schools that scored points for this week's Top 10. The Blue Devils finished with 137 points after winning five state championships in eight trips to the finals over the last 11 seasons.
MaxPreps has developed its own system in determining which girls basketball programs compete at the highest level over an extended period of time. Here is how the points for this week's Top 10 were accumulated:
1. 20 points for a state title
2. 10 points for finishing as a state runner-up
3. Other points are based on a team's Top 25 standing in the final MaxPreps Nebraska Computer Rankings presented by the Army National Guard. For instance, if a school claimed the top spot, it received 25 points, while a No. 25 ranking is good for one point.
Nebraska's Top 10 most dominant girls basketball programs
1. Crofton – 311 pointsState titles: 6
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2006-07 (6), 2007-08 (12), 2009-10 (24), 2010-11 (16), 2011-12 (8), 2012-13 (3), 2013-14 (1), 2014-15 (1), 2015-16 (1), 2016-17 (7)
2. Bellevue West – 235 pointsState titles: 3
Runner-ups: 3
Top 25 state rankings: 2006-07 (1), 2008-09 (1), 2009-10 (2), 2010-11 (3), 2012-13 (2), 2013-14 (9), 2014-15 (19)
3. Seward – 210 pointsState titles: 4
Runner-ups: 0
Top 25 state rankings: 2007-08 (15), 2008-09 (4), 2009-10 (1), 2010-11 (2), 2011-12 (2), 2012-13 (11), 2016-17 (17)
4. Lincoln Southeast – 206 pointsState titles: 2
Runner-ups: 2
Top 25 state rankings: 2006-07 (12), 2007-08 (1), 2008-09 (2), 2009-10 (9), 2010-11 (8), 2011-12 (3), 2012-13 (1)
5. Millard West (Omaha) – 199 pointsState titles: 0
Runner-ups: 3
Top 25 state rankings: 2006-07 (7), 2007-08 (3), 2008-09 (7), 2009-10 (4), 2010-11 (5), 2011-12 (11), 2012-13 (9), 2013-14 (11), 2014-15 (20), 2015-16 (14)
6. Guardian Angels Central Catholic (West Point) – 196 pointsState titles: 2
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2006-07 (17), 2007-08 (14), 2009-10 (11), 2010-11 (19), 2011-12 (13), 2012-13 (16), 2013-14 (12), 2014-15 (5), 2015-16 (3), 2016-17 (4)
7. Kearney Catholic – 182 pointsState titles: 2
Runner-ups: 3
Top 25 state rankings: 2006-07 (8), 2009-10 (23), 2012-13 (13), 2013-14 (10), 2014-15 (9), 2015-16 (4), 2016-17 (3)
8. Bishop Neumann (Wahoo) – 143 pointsState titles: 2
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2007-08 (7), 2008-09 (3), 2009-10 (6), 2013-14 (25), 2015-16 (20), 2016-17 (2)
9. Pierce – 139 pointsState titles: 3
Runner-ups: 0
Top 25 state rankings: 2012-13 (8), 2013-14 (3), 2014-15 (7), 2015-16 (7)
10. St. Cecilia (Hastings) – 138 pointsState titles: 1
Runner-ups: 3
Top 25 state rankings: 2010-11 (7), 2011-12 (25), 2012-13 (18), 2013-14 (7), 2014-15 (8), 2015-16 (13), 2016-17 (16)
