One of the most respected basketball organizations in the country, the Atlanta Tipoff Club, announced its five Naismith girls high school basketball Player of the Year finalists today.
It’s hard to disagree with any of the picks.
Cy-Fair senior Chiney Agwumike
File photo by Keith Owens
Three are mentioned regularly here, as they lead top-10 Xcellent 25 teams. They are:
* Chelsea Gray, a 5-foot-11 point guard from top-ranked St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.) headed to Duke.
* Chiney Ogwumike, a 6-3 post for No. 6 Cy-Fair (Cypress, Texas) who has signed at Stanford.
* Odyssey Sims, a 5-8 point guard for No. 9 MacArthur (Irving, Texas) who will be attended Baylor.
The two others are:
* Kaniesha Dawson-Horn, a 6-1 senior forward from Ramsay (Birmingham, Ala.) who has signed to Alabama.
* Bria Hartley, a 5-8 point guard from North Babylon (N.Y.) going to Connecticut.
All five girls were selected to play in next month’s McDonald’s All-American game.
When we make All-American and Player of the Year selections, and when statistics and individual seasons are a wash, then whomever leads the best teams usually prevails.
Considering Gray is part of the No. 1 team in the land, she would seem hard to beat. Then again, she has another All-American on her squad, Afure Jemerigbe, helping to carry the team. {VIDEO_03a59448-f836-485a-b8fc-14b04fea86b6,floatRightWithBar}
That might narrow it between Ogwumike and Sims, and whichever one of their teams goes further in the Texas playoffs might get the nod. Then again, Sims does have teammate Alexis Jones, one of the top sophomores in the country. Ogwumike is pretty much carrying the Cy-Fair load.
ANOTHER PERFECT WEEK: This may be a first. Back-to-back perfect weeks by an Xcellent 25 group. During a slow last week, they were 35-0. This week: 49-0. More than any other week, the scores were tilted drastically to the winning squads. Perhaps that’s because they are fine-tuning for the stretch drive. Or, early playoff games tend to be extremely one-sided. The top five teams set the tone, winning a combined nine games by an average margin of 44.2.
Xcellent 25 National High School Girls Basketball Rankings
1. (No. 1 last week) St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.), 26-1
Wins over St. Francis (89-53) and Tokay (73-26) won’t exactly toughen up the Rams for the postseason.
2. (2) Brea Olinda (Brea, Calif.), 26-2
We’re sensing a trend. The Wildcats barely worked up a sweat in wins over Alta Loma (71-19) and West Ranch (76-34).
3. (3) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 25-1
The Monarchs played their first game in 15 days with a 74-44 win over Culver City. Now play at home against Norco on Thursday.
4. (4) Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.), 26-0
Opened playoffs with victories of 62-19 over Franklin Central and 56-30 over Warren Central. The Giants have a big test Saturday against 25-1 Floyd Central.
5. (5) Poly (Long Beach, Calif.), 25-2
More lopsided playoff wins – 72-23 over Aliso Niguel and 92-18 over Alhambra. The Jackrabbits now face a very good Colony squad (19-5), ranked 44th in the state.
6. (6) Cy-Fair (Cypress, Texas), 30-1
Rolled to wins over Stony Point (67-31), Dekaney (70-48) and Cypress Creek (70-51). Ogwumike had 27 and 26 points.
7. (7) Bolingbrook (Bolingbrook, Ill.), 24-1
After 71-24 win over East, had more competitive game with Hinsdale Central (61-42). Now faces state’s No. 15 team, Waubonsie Valley (25-2), on Thursday
8. (8) Bergtraum (New York), 21-0
With three stars like CeCe Dixon, Doris Ortega and Shukurah Washington, an undefeated season appears imminent for the Blazers, who take on Beach Channel on Thursday.
9. (9) MacArthur (Irving, Texas), 35-1
Things should start getting interesting for the Cardinals, who breezed to playoff wins over Wylie (82-51) and Lewisville (76-52) last week. Look for Ayriel Anderson and Khoria Newman to step up in the next two weeks.
10. (10) Young (Chicago), 25-2
Like all the rest this week, playoff wins have come easy, 69-21 over Reavis 78-22 over Morton and 81-32 over St. Ignatius. Young started on a 13-0 run against St. Ignatius and had 21 steals. The Dolphins were led by reserves Victoria Thompson and Chanise Jenkins, who combined for 24 points. Young advanced to Thursday’s sectional final against Mother McCauley.
11. (11) Redan (Stone Mountain, Ga.), 23-0
The Raiders, winners of 50 straight overall, open defense of their state AAAAA title against Camden County on Friday.
12. (12) Mt. Lebanon (Pittsburgh, Pa.), 21-2
Opened WPIAL AAAA playoffs with 65-30 win over Woodland Hills. Now face Fox Chapel in quarterfinal game on Friday.
13. (13) Hoover (Hoover, Ala.), 31-1
Recorded big wins over Shades Valley, 56-38, and Gadsden City, 71-24, and on Friday face a strong Davis squad (23-9), ranked 18th in the state.
14. (14) Mansfield Timberview (Arlington, Texas), 33-2
Maegan Conwright had 18 points and Alysse Barlow 16 in a 63-46 win over a strong Colony team, which came into the game 24-8 and ranked 50th in the state.
15. (15) Oregon City (Ore.), 22-0
The Pioneers had four girls score in double figures during a 95-36 win over Putnam, led by 21 from Brittany Knightson, who made 9 of 11 shots. Tiffani Brewer added 18 points, eight steals and seven rebounds and Ashleigh Anderson and Jo Paine chipped in 13 points apiece.
16. (16) Detroit Country Day (Beverly Hills, Mich.),16-0
Rolled to another superbly-played defensive game, 60-33 over Flint Northern as Imari Redfield had 15 points and Aerial Powers 14. The Yellowjackets play Grosse Point South on Thursday.
17. (17) Midwest City (Okla.), 20-2
The Bombers had a tough game with Norman, winning 57-44, before breezing to victories over Moore (72-36) and Del City (73-35).
18. (18) Neptune (N.J.), 21-1
Flexed its defensive prowess with wins over St. Rose (47-29) and Red Bank Catholic (52-39). Neptune forced 32 turnovers against St. Rose and got 14 points by Sehmonyeh Allen.
19. (19) Incarnate Word Academy (St. Louis), 24-1
Jazmin Hitchens had 27 points and eight steals in a 59-31 win over Visitation Academy. A 24-7 third-quarter run put this one away.
20. (20) North Little Rock (Ark.), 26-0
Markisha Hawkins had 15 points and Jerica James 10 in a 63-31 win over Mt. St. Mary’s Academy, before Lexus Williams had 20 points and Hawkins 16 in 66-39 win over Central.
21. (21) Auburn Riverside (Auburn, Wash.), 23-0
Mercedes Wetmore, a 5-8 senior, was one off her season high with 27 points in an 89-38 win over Graham-Kapowsin. Kat Cooper, a 5-10 junior, had 20 and Taylor Wofford, a 5-9 senior, added 16.
22. (22) Lake Taylor (Norfolk, Va.), 25-0
After a tough tussle against Wilson, winning by just nine, the Titans flexed with a 72-28 win over the same squad. They continued to surge with wins over Washington (77-45) and Warwick (63-36). They play a tough 17-7 Salem squad on Thursday.
23. (23) Lakeville North (Lakeville, Minn.), 25-0
This is getting a little crazy. For weeks we’ve been charting the consistent numbers of the Panthers – one six-game stretch where they scored 65, 60, 65, 69, 67 and 67. Their last two weeks: 66-39 over Eastview and 69-43 over Apple Valley. Rachel Banham had 16 in their latest win and freshman Taylor Stewart and Cassie Rochel 12 apiece.
24. (24) Shabazz (Newark, N.J.), 23-1
Scored a tough 59-52 win over a strong University squad as Ka-Deidre Simmons had 18, Alysha Lovett 14 and Aliyyah Handford 12, before convincing 62-41 win over East Orange. The Bulldogs used a 23-8 run in second quarter to take control. Lovett had 20 points to lead the way.
25. (25) Vincent (Milwaukee, Wis.), 18-1
Finishing off the Xcellent 25 this week in consistent, grand style with yet two more blowouts, 76-25 and 72-35.
Dropped out: none.
