Brea beats Poly, jumps to No. 3 in girls basketball Xcellent 25

Editor's note: Clay Kallam, one of the nation's pioneers in female basketball journalism, has been added to the MaxPreps team to supply our readers with weekly girls basketball rankings and content. See his bio and information on expanded girls basketball coverage at bottom of today's rankings.

In round one of what could be a multi-game series by the time the Southern California Division 1 playoffs end, Brea outlasted Long Beach Poly 60-53 in a battle of Top 10 teams. Poly led at the half by eight, but Jackrabbit stars Sheila Boykin and Destiny King both got into foul trouble and the Ladycats stormed back for the win.

Of course, this could be just the beginning for this duo of heavy hitters. They could meet again in the Nike TOC in Phoenix just a couple weeks down the road, and conceivably twice more in the Southern Section playoffs, and then the Southern California Regionals.

Then again, No. 1 Mater Dei might have something to say about that, as the Monarchs are also in the Nike TOC, also in Division 1, also in the Southern Section and may also play in the Southern California Regionals.

With the win, Brea vaults to No. 3, but we can’t drop Poly very far for losing to one of the three best in the country. The Jackrabbits settled down to No. 6, but can move right back up with a strong showing in Phoenix Dec. 17-22.

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It’s December, and thoughts of Hawaii usually involve warm Pacific breezes, late-night luaus, and for those over 21, a mai-tai or two to set up a midnight walk on the beach.

But for eight top girls’ teams, too much relaxation could result in two quick losses in the Iolani Prep Classic. No. 3 Brea is the favorite, but lurking on the other side of the bracket are No. 7 Memphis Central of Tennessee and No. 21 Incarnate Word of Missouri. Though host 'Iolani (Honolulu) won 21 games last year, the Hawaiian team to watch out for is state runner-up Konawaena (Kealakekua, Hawaii), which will try to make up for its lack of size with the homecourt advantage (which given the reputation of Hawaiian officiating could be substantial).

Another danger is Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), always one of the top teams in Northern California, and a complete unknown is Tsinghua of China. Unfortunately for the Chinese, their introduction to American basketball will be a first-round matchup with Memphis Central, and the phrase “culture shock” will most certainly apply.

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Though Nazareth (Brooklyn, N.Y.) started the season 3-0, including a 51-47 win over Christ the King this past weekend, the school’s trip from nowhere may come to an abrupt end.

First, the background: Coach Apache Paschall was at St. Michael’s last year, another nationally ranked program, but the school shut down due to financial problems. So Paschall was hired by Nazareth to revive a program that had been dormant for at least the past five years – and not surprisingly, many of his former St. Michael’s players came along with him.

Of course, those same players were coveted by other schools, and the New York Post is now reporting that there are allegations that Paschall actively recruited some players to come to Nazareth. If so, that’s a violation of New York high school rules, and conceivably could result in Nazareth being forced to disband its team.

Stay tuned, as this is likely just the beginning of a controversial story …

MAXPREPS' GIRLS BASKETBALL XCELLENT 25

1. (1) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 2-0

2. (2) Bolingbrook (Ill.) 2-0

3. (6) Brea Olinda (Brea, Calif.) 4-0

4. (4) Ben Davis (Indianapolis) 5-0

5. (12) Norcross (Ga.) 4-0

6. (3) Long Beach Poly (Calif.) (3-1)

7. (8) Memphis Central (Tenn.) (5-1)

8. (9) Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, Va.) 0-0

9. (10) Neptune (N.J.) 0-0

10. (11) St. Mary's (Phoenix) 2-0

11. (7) Potter's House Christian (Jacksonville, Fla.) 7-1

12. (5) Whitney Young (Chicago) (3-1)

13. (13) Buford (Ga.) 1-0

14. (23) La Jolla Country Day (Calif.) 5-0

15. (15) Lake Taylor (Norfolk, Va.) 3-0

16. (16) St. Joseph's Academy (St. Louis, Mo.) 2-0

17. (nr) Nazareth (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 3-0

18. (19) Midwest City (Okla.) 1-0

19. (nr) Lake Mary (Fla.) 8-0

20. (20) Start (Toledo, Ohio) 1-0

21. (21) Incarnate Word Academy (St. Louis, Mo.) 2-0

22. (14) Fayette County (Fayetteville, Ga.) 4-1

23. (24) North Little Rock (Ark.) 5-0

24. (25) Goose Creek (S.C.) 1-0

25. (15) Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) 0-1

Dropped out: No. 18 MacArthur (Irving, Tex.); No. 22 Renaissance (Detroit).

More on Kallam and MaxPreps: A voter for the McDonald's and Parade All-American teams, Kallam has supplied national rankings to various national publications since 1997. He's authored a book "Girls Basketball: Building a Winning Program," and was publisher of Full Court Press, an on-line magazine devoted to women's basketball from 1996 to 2008. He's also a voter for the Wooden Award, Naismith Award and All-WNBA teams.Senior writer and columnist Mitch Stephens will team with Kallam to supply features and trend stories on the sport and combined with the Varsity Center host Megan Peasha and producer Scott Hargrove, MaxPreps is committed to cover girls basketball from start to finish. To keep us and readers informed with the most current information, we implore coaches and athletic directors to help keep team pages updated. For story ideas, comments and general updates, please contact Kallam at clayk@fullcourt.com or Stephens at mstephens@maxpreps.com. For coach support/corrections/help, click here.