Xcellent 25 Girls Basketball Rankings: Another ACL tears into season

The injury bug that has pestered the national girls basketball scene stung again in a big way on Saturday.

National Player of the Year Odyssey Sims went down with – what else? – the dreaded Anterior Cruciate Ligament tear during No. 9 MacArthur's 67-60 defeat to Cedar Hill in the Texas Class 5A Region I final.

Sims went down in the first 13 seconds and according to reports in the Dallas Morning News, screamed in pain and yelled for help. The injury was first diagnosed as a hamstring injury, but two days later X-rays revealed the tear.

It’s the same injury that has beset a number of star players on elite teams, including Justine Hartman (Brea Olinda, Calif.), Lakeisha Crouch (Hillsboro, Nashville, Tenn.) and Alexia Standish (Heritage, Colleyville, Texas). That’s just a short list.

To their credit, Brea Olinda and Hillsboro recovered from the preseason injuries. Second-ranked Brea Olinda is still in the national title hunt, while Hillsboro, after some major struggles against a national schedule, reached the state District 11-AAA final last week with a 42-38 win over Brentwood.

But MacArthur had no time to adjust against Cedar Hill. In a game to decide a state-tournament bid, against an extremely viable opponent, the Cardinals had to respond physically and emotionally to the loss of one of the nation’s top five seniors.

“What can you do about that?” MacArthur coach Suzie Oelschlegel told the Dallas Morning News. “We were in shock. Our hearts were broken.”

The Cardinals eventually responded gamely, behind another big-time player, Alexis Jones, one of the nation’s top sophomores. She had 26 points and actually pushed the Cardinals to a 43-32 lead late in the third. Remarkably, Sims limped back into the game with a brace, but she could barely move. She eventually came out with less than five minutes to play and the score knotted at 48.

Cedar Hill had too much depth and determination and won going away.

Breanna Dawkins, the National Gatorade Player of the Week, had 14 points, made a free throw that put Cedar Hill up for good and she made a key steal that led to her own 3-point play. Teammates Diara Moore had 16 points and Braylah Blakely added 15 for Cedar Hill, which outscored MacArthur 28-15 in the final quarter to improve to 27-6.

NO PERFECTION: After back-to-back perfect weeks by the Xcellent 25, there were actually three losses, two moving teams out of the rankings. The new teams on the list are Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, Va.), which edged previous No. 22 Lake Taylor (Norfolk, Va.) in a region final.

The two squads have split two games this season. The other newbie is Northern California’s Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.), which has a fantastic blend of three college players and a remarkable freshman class. The Dragons appear on a collision course with the nation’s No. 1 team, St. Mary’s, in the CIF Division III NorCal final. {VIDEO_b4147619-b470-4da9-be2c-c5c46b57475c,floatRightWithBar}NEW GYM, SIMILAR RESULT: That’s what defending national champ Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.) is hoping as it goes for its fourth consecutive state title. The Giants (27-0) play Merrillville (25-1) in the Class 4A final at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, the fourth different venue they’ve played at in the state finals. Last year, as most girls basketball fans remember, Davis defeated Washington before more than 14,000 fans at Lucas Oil Stadium in a game that decided the national championship. Davis has won 57 straight games over two seasons.

GOING FOR GOLD: Many Xcellent squads are going for state crowns this weekend, including No. 6 Cy-Fair, No. 7 Bolingbrook, No. 9 Young and No. 13 Timberview. Hoover, ranked 12th, won the Alabama state crown on Saturday.

Xcellent 25 National High School Girls Basketball Rankings

1. (1) St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.), 28-1
Two more absolutely lopsided wins over Oakdale (109-43) and Natomas (93-47) before facing the meat of their playoff schedule. All 12 players scored against Oakdale, including 20 from McDonald’s All-American Afure Jermerigbe. In a quarterfinal section win over Natomas, the team’s other All-American, Chelsea Gray, had 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in her last game at home.
 
2. (2) Brea Olinda (Brea, Calif.), 28-2
Starting to get more competitive. The Wildcats had another easy playoff win over Royal (78-22) but then powered through a competitive game over the state’s No. 25 team, Ventura, 59-42. Saturday, the Wildcats get the No. 9 team in the state – 45th nationally – in Villa Park. Against Royal Jeanier Ilukemi had 16 points and Kelsey Harris and Keitra Wallace added 14 apiece.

3. (3) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 27-1
Extremely tough week emotionally at Mater Dei following the shocking death of phenom softball star Brianne Matthews. The Monarchs, many close to Matthews, defeated Norco (59-50) and Beverly Hills (74-59). In the win over Beverly Hills, Connecticut-bound Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis had 33 points, including six 3-pointers, Jessica Duarte added 15 and Jordan Adams 12.
 
4. (4) Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.), 27-0
The Giants passed their first giant test in a long time with a humongous win, 65-28 over Floyd Central, which entered the game 25-1 and ranked ninth in the state. Jordan Huber led the charge with 18 points, Bria Goss had 12 and Dee Dee Williams 11.

5. (5) Poly (Long Beach, Calif.), 27-2
Against two very competitive teams, the Jackrabbits flexed with wins over Colony, 79-47 and Etiwanda, 59-47. Against Etiwanda, Poly used a 22-11 spurt in the third quarter to take control. As usual, the Jackrabbits showed remarkable balance as five players scored between seven and 11 points, led by Sheila Boykin with 11 points and eight rebounds.

6. (6) Cy-Fair (Cypress, Texas), 32-1
Moved into the state semifinals against Cedar Hills following wins over Skyline (54-39) and Bryan (54-50). Bryan at times triple-teamed National Player of the Year candidate Chiney Ogwumike, who is making her fourth straight state-tournament trip. She had 24 points and Aarika Reyna 16 in the win over Skyline.

7. (7) Bolingbrook (Bolingbrook, Ill.), 27-1
The Raiders moved into the state’s Final Four the hard way with a gritty 36-27 win over Edwardsville, overcoming foul trouble to all-everything Morgan Tuck and a rugged Edwardsville team that finished 31-3. Tuck still managed to lead all scorers with 11 points. It was the play of point guard Ariel Massengale that was key. In another tough win over Waubonsie Valley (59-45), the Raiders trio of Tuck, Massengale and Marquette-bound Mercedes Griffin went 19-for-19 from the foul line. Bolingbrook now faces Hersey (27-7) in the state semifinals.

8. (8) Bergtraum (New York), 24-0
A fourth player – Cori Coleman – is now emerging and actually upstaging the team’s three established standouts CeCe Dixon, Doris Ortega and Shukurah Washington. Coleman had a team highs of 17 points and 22 points in wins over South Shore (57-42) and Thomas Jefferson. The Lady Blazers play Kennedy (20-8) Saturday in the city championship game at Madison Square Garden. Bergtraum is after its 12th straight crown and 13th overall, which would surpass the all-time record of 12 by August Martin.

9. (10) Young (Chicago), 27-2
Finally, the Dolphins got a couple tough playoff tussles, defeating Mother McCauley (59-45) and Marian Catholic (74-57). Young had just a five-point lead heading into the final quarter against Mother McCauley before going on 18-9 run. Linnae Harper had 21 points and Alexis Lloyd 16 for the winners. Against Marian Catholic, Harper, a freshman, had 22 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds. Young now gets Fenwick in the state semifinals on Friday. 

10. (11) Redan (Stone Mountain, Ga.), 23-0
While the Raiders were handling Camden County 52-25 in AAAAA first-round play to increase their win streak to 55, the team most thought they’d see in the state finals, Parkview, was shocked by Marietta, 44-43. Redan faces a strong Lowndes tonight in a regional semifinals.

11. (12) Mt. Lebanon (Pittsburgh, Pa.), 23-2
Breezed to another Class AAAA playoff win, 73-45 over Fox Chapel as Madison Cable had 24 points. In semifinal play, the Blue Devils shouldn’t get much resistance from Peters Township, which is just 13-11 on the year. But this is playoff time.

12. (13) Hoover (Hoover, Ala.), 33-1
It was sweet revenge for Hoover, which captured a state 6A state crown with a 39-19 slowdown victory over two-time defending champion Jones. Meghan Dunn had 18 points for the winners, though she made just two field goals. She was a perfect 14-for-14 from the line. Tyrese Tanner added eight points and six rebounds for the winners, who allowed the lowest amount of points in state-final history. Hoover lost to Jones in the 2009 state finals. The Buccaneers’ only loss this season was to No. 1 St. Mary’s 50-44 in the finals of the T-Mobile Classic.

13. (14) Mansfield Timberview (Arlington, Texas), 35-2
Maegan Conwright had 15 points and Alysse Barlow 12 as the Wolves captured the Class 4A Region I championship with a 44-30 win over Canyon. Timberview scored 18 of the game’s final 19 points in a matchup of the state’s top-ranked 4A teams. Timberview plays Steele in a semifinal state game in Austin on Thursday. Canyon finished 34-2.

14. (15) Oregon City (Ore.), 24-0
The Pioneers continue to pour it on offensively with wins over West Linn (85-51) and Lake Oswego (91-25). Four players scored in double figures against Lake Oswego, led by Ashleigh Anderson’s 17 and 14 by Brittany Knighton, who had a game-high 19 against West Linn. Tiffani Brewer added 17.

15. (16) Detroit Country Day (Beverly Hills, Mich.), 18-0
The Yellowjackets play a mean game of defense as showed last week in wins over Grosse Pointe South (42-28) and Lamphere (62-11). They give up just 37.7 points per game.

16. (17) Midwest City (Okla.), 21-2
The Bombers breezed to a 63-30 win over Yukon on Saturday. They’ve outscored opponents by an average score of 62-39.

17. (9) MacArthur (Irving, Texas), 37-2
Before Saturday’s nightmare, Sims had 22 and Jones 18 in a 60-47 win over Summit and Sims went for a career-high 40 and Jones 20 in a 68-57 triumph over Duncanville.

18. (18) Neptune (N.J.), 22-1
More defensive prowess – or offensive ineptitude – as Neptune scored a 69-11 win over Highstown. The Scarlet Fliers raced to a 30-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and cleared their bench. Ivy Harrington led the way with 12 points for the winners, who had 12 different players score.

19. (19) Incarnate Word Academy (St. Louis), 26-1
Scored a lopsided win over Ritenour (66-34) before pulling out a tough game with St. Joseph’s Academy 55-47. Chloe Nelson led the Red Knights against St. Joseph’s with 14 points, Brianna Puni added 13 and Jazmin Hitchens 12. Incarnate had to fight back from a 34-27 halftime deficit.

20. (20) North Little Rock (Ark.), 28-0
Markisha Hawkins and Lexus Williams had 18 points apiece and Jerica Jones added 11 in a 72-50 win over Bryant. Williams added 10 rebounds and James eight assists.

21. (21) Auburn Riverside (Auburn, Wash.), 25-0
The Ravens had a pair of scares last week, but pulled out tough wins over Federal Way (51-41) and Bellarmine Prep (72-65). Kat Cooper and Taylor Wofford had 11 apiece against Federal Way and Mercedes Wetmore, a 5-8 senior, went off for a season-high of 28 points and Cooper added 20 in the entertaining win over Bellarmine, which fought back from a 17-7 deficit. The Ravens play Edmonds-Woodway tonight.

22. (23) Lakeville North (Lakeville, Minn.), 26-0
Finished regular season with a 59-21 win over Jefferson as Apiew Ojulu had 16 points, Cassie Rochel 14 points and Rachel Banham 10. The Panthers open AAAA-Section 3 play tonight.

23. (24) Shabazz (Newark, N.J.), 26-1
The Bulldogs opened Group 2 state playoff action with a 65-35 win over Johnson as Alysha Lovett had 21 points, Aliyyah Handford added 12 points and nine rebounds and Evelyn Adu grabbed 12 rebounds.

24. (NR) Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, Va.), 27-1
Defeated previous No. 22 Lake Taylor 59-49 for the Eastern Region state crown, the team’s fourth in six years. Samisha Powell led three Cavaliers in double figures with 19 points and Princess Anne avenged its only defeat, 48-45 to Lake Taylor on Dec. 23. Both teams advanced to the state AAA quarterfinals, Princess Ann plays Thomas Dale on Saturday and Lake Taylor (27-1) plays Cosby on Friday.

25. (NR) Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.), 24-3
Not only three Division I players in Robie Mayberry (Pepperdine), Alexis Bostick (Oregon State) and Mikayla Lyles (Cal), but one of top freshman groups in the country with towers Kendall Waters (6-1), Breanna Brown (6-3) and Oderah Chidom (6-2), along with dynamic point guard Ariel Bostick (5-2).

Dropped out: No. 22 Lake Taylor (Norfolk, Va.), No. 25 Vincent (Milwaukee, Wis.).