Bria Goss took two desperation shots for Ben Davis Saturday in the Indiana playoffs. The first banked in from halfcourt to cut the Giants' halftime deficit to one, 31-30, against
Carmel (Ind.). The second, with time running out and Ben Davis trailing 65-62, didn't fall – and so fell the Giants' hard-to-believe 81-game, 823-day winning streak in the basketball-mad state of Indiana.
Ironically, Carmel was the last team to beat Ben Davis, back on Feb. 16, 2008, and thus the Greyhounds bookend a most remarkable streak. Think about it: Count to 81, and then consider that every number is a win. Or try to remember what you were doing in February 2008, or what teams were in the top five in the AP college polls.
But it wouldn't have taken much for the streak to continue, even though Carmel was up seven with 5:20 left. The Giants battled back to tie it at 62 on a Goss basket with less than a minute remaining, but despite the Greyhounds missing three of six free throws down the stretch, Ben Davis couldn't quite get it done.
And to rub a little salt into the wound, the Giants, No. 8 last week, also drop out of the Xcellent 25. Why? Because they have no wins over out-of-state teams, and Carmel lost by 16 to unranked Whitney Young. And why isn't Young, an Illinois power, in the Xcellent 25? Because the Dolphins have lost to Memphis Central and Inkster of Michigan, and both of those teams would need to claw their way into the rankings before Young would qualify.
One newcomer did make an appearance this week, St. Mary's of Stockton (Calif.), which is benefiting from Riverdale Baptist of Maryland's impressive season. Even though Riverdale Baptist has four losses, three are to teams in the top 10 (Bolingbrook, Potter's House Christian and Princess Anne), and the other is to No. 24 Archbishop Spalding. But since the Crusaders have wins over St. Mary's, St. John's (which beat Spalding), St. John Vianney of New Jersey and the two top teams in Colorado, they have jumped to No. 14.
Now, national rankings might not be that important to a lot of schools, and that's fine – most would agree the state title is the ultimate goal – but those who would like to get some recognition from around the country should do their best to play some top out-of-state competition. And then, of course, win.
* * * * *
It's going to get very interesting, and very complicated, in California's Division I, and thus at the top of the national rankings, in the coming weeks.
All three of the top teams in the Xcellent 25 are from the Southern Section (one of 10 in the state), and all three are in the same classification (Division IAA). Brea-Olinda is the top seed, which means Long Beach Poly and Mater Dei will most likely battle it out in the semifinals to see who gets to play Brea again – but that doesn't mean it's over.
If all three reach the Section IAA semifinals, all will qualify for the Southern California Regionals, which puts the top teams from three other sections in a 16-team single-elimination bracket. Which means, despite the depth of talent in Southern California this year, they're likely to face each other again.
So let's say Poly beats Mater Dei and upsets Brea in the Southern Section playoffs, but then loses to Mater Dei in the regional finals – who's No. 1 then?
We do know the winner of the Southern California Regionals will advance to a one-game state championship matchup with the Northern California titlist, but it's very likely going to be a twisted road for whichever team gets that far.
MAXPREPS GIRLS BASKETBALL XCELLENT 25 RANKINGS1. (1)
Brea Olinda (Calif.) 27-0
2. (2)
Long Beach Poly (Calif.) 25-2
3. (3)
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 26-1
4. (4)
Bolingbrook (Ill.) 25-2
5. (5)
Spring Valley (Columbia, S.C.) 26-0
6. (6)
Lake Taylor (Norfolk, Va.) 25-0
7. (7)
Potter's House Christian (Jacksonville, Fla.) 30-1
8. (9)
Shabazz (Newark, N.J.) 25-0
9. (10)
Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) 28-0
10. (11)
Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, Va.) 25-1
11. (12)
Heights (Wichita, Kan.) 18-0
12. (13)
Midwest City (Okla.) 22-0
13. (14)
Twinsburg (Ohio) 20-0
14. (19)
Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Md.) 26-4
15. (15)
North Little Rock (Ark.) 25-0
16. (16)
Neptune (N.J.) 20-1
17. (20)
Butler (Matthews, N.C.) 27-0
18. (21)
Webb City (Mo.) 23-2
19. (23)
Westbury Christian (Houston) 36-1
20. (nr)
St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.) 20-2
21. (22)
Detroit Country Day (Beverly Hills, Mich.) 17-0
22. (24)
Canyon (Texas) 31-0
23. (17)
St. John's (Washington, D.C.) 24-2
24. (18)
Archbishop Spalding (Severn, Md.) 27-2
25. (25)
Konawaena (Kealakekua, Hawaii) 31-1*
Dropped out: (8) Ben Davis (Indianapolis) 23-1*
*Season complete
