MaxPreps Top 25 national high school girls basketball rankings

Windward and Mater Dei, like Duncanville before them, learned the hard way that late losses hurt the most.

Both Southern California schools were eliminated in the long and complex California playoffs. Windward, previously No. 4 in the nation, fell to unranked Etiwanda and Mater Dei, previously No. 7, got run over by deep Long Beach Poly, which now replaces Windward in the fourth spot.

See the list of 2013-14 girls basketball state champions

But Windward had beaten Long Beach Poly earlier in the year, just as No. 13 Duncanville had beaten No. 12 Manvel — but losing the rematch, in a win-or-die game, is the final arbiter.

See the girls basketball playoff brackets from each state

California is down to its final two weeks, with games this Saturday and next, to determine if Long Beach Poly can avoid that final upset and maintain its top-five spot. Etiwanda is next, and newly ranked Salesian is the likely opponent in the final.


*Season complete

1. (1) Blackman (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) 34-1*
Here's a chilling thought: Your No. 1 team in the nation only had one senior on the roster — and she was the fifth-leading scorer. And the best player, Crystal Dangerfield, is just a sophomore.

2. (2) Incarnate Word Academy (St. Louis) 29-1
MICDS had a great record but, just like so many others, Incarnate Word was just too much to handle. Marshfield is up next, in the Class 4 semis, and the likely opponent in the final is 26-3 Dexter. Still, an IWA loss would be a monumental upset.

3. (3) Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colo.) 26-2*
There was no doubt as to Colorado's best: The 5A semifinal and final scores were 58-35 and 60-34, respectively, as this might well have been the best of many very good Regis Jesuit teams.

4. (16) Long Beach Poly (Calif.) 25-3
The game that counts the most is the game Long Beach Poly won. After losing to sister SoCal powers No. 15 Mater Dei and No. 14 Windward during the course of the season, Poly put the hammer down on Mater Dei in the SoCal Open Regionals, 63-46, to advance to the Regional finals (against Etiwanda) Saturday.

5. (5) Rock Bridge (Columbia, Mo.) 25-3
Remember, Rock Bridge started the season 0-2, and the only other loss was to No. 2 Incarnate Word. It's unlikely that any other members of the Class 5 final four are quite ready to compete with the No. 5 team in the country — but you never know.

6. (6) Myers Park (Charlotte, N.C.) 30-1*
Rydeiah Rogers had 25 points and 20 rebounds as Myers Parks pounded the boards while rolling over Southeast Raleigh in the 5A championship game. Myers Park jumped out early, watched Southeast Raleigh battle back, and then pulled away before settling for a 61-46 win.

7. (8) Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Md.) 27-3
Riverdale Baptist will get plenty of practice in before moving on to the Dick's Sporting Goods National High School Tournament (formerly the ESPN Rise Invitational) April 3-5.

8. (10) Whitney Young (Chicago) 29-3*
If not for that upset loss to Trinity, a good but not great Illinois team, the Dolphins would be swimming with even bigger fish.

9. (9) Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia) 29-0
After demolishing Dunmore 54-30 in the 2A semifinals, Neumann-Goretti will face western Pennsylvania power Seton-LaSalle in the finals Friday. Seton-LaSalle is 26-4, but hasn't faced the same level of competition as Neumann-Goretti.

10. (11) Bedford North Lawrence (Bedford, Ind.) 27-1*
Being the best in Indiana, the beating heart of basketball, is always pretty good. Still, it would be great if Indiana teams would play more intersectional games.

11. (12) Shabazz (Newark, N.J.) 31-1
The New Jersey Tournament of Champions is this weekend, and Shabazz must win two more games to claim its second straight title. Its last loss to a New Jersey team, in fact, came in the 2012 championship game.

12. (13) Manvel (Texas) 38-2*
Just two losses, to Duncanville (later avenged) and to No. 8 Whitney Young. A good season indeed for a star-studded team.

13. (14) Duncanville (Texas) 33-1*
Six seniors will graduate for Duncanville, including the marvelous Ariel Atkins, but six sophomores will return. Oddly enough, there were no juniors on this year's roster.

14. (4) Windward (Los Angeles) 24-3*
After rolling over No. 15 Mater Dei and No. 4 Long Beach Poly in the Southern Section playoffs, Windward got knocked off by unranked, but very talented, Etiwanda in the Regionals. The final was 49-48, and Windward's final two shots to win the game just wouldn't fall.

15. (7) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 26-3*
Mater Dei couldn't cope with Long Beach Poly's depth, size and harassing defense, and scored just one basket in the fourth quarter in a 63-46 loss in the Southern California Open semifinals.

16. (15) McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) 28-2*
Georgia wasn't quite as strong as it has been in recent years, but there were still plenty of quality teams. Of those, McEachern was clearly the best.

17. (17) New Hope Christian Academy (Thomasville, N.C.) 32-1*
It's too bad New Hope couldn't find games against the top North Carolina public schools — or more elite teams from around the country.

18. (18) Salmen (Slidell, La.) 32-1*
History is a wonderful thing, and it's a worthy academic subject — but try to find a historical list of girls basketball champions in Louisiana and the LHSAA web site, and you'll come up empty. History matters, folks...

19. (19) Princeton (Cincinnati) 28-2*
Coach Jill Phillips pulled off a rare double when Princeton won the Division I title, 61-55 — she has now both coached and played on a state championship team. Back in the day, she played for one of Shelbyville Central's powerhouses, and now she's got a banner as a coach as well.

20. (21) Cosby (Midlothian, Va.) 27-0*
Cosby fell behind by eight early against Stonewall Jackson in the 6A championship game, but used control of the boards, Dorothy Adomaco's 23 points, and six straight free throws late for a 53-46 win.

21. (23) Montini (Lombard, Ill.) 34-2*
It was a good year in Illinois, even though powerful Homewood-Flossmoor wound up forfeiting all its games. It would have been a great year otherwise.

22. (24) Miami 25-1*
Sometimes teams move up just by standing still.

23. (25) Eleanor Roosevelt (Greenbelt, Md.) 26-0*
Last year, Roosevelt turned the ball over 41 times in a 6A playoff loss to North Point. This year, the big number was 34: the margin of victory. Yes, the state final was won 64-30 by one of the youngest teams in the Xcellent 25.

24. (NR) Salesian (Richmond, Calif.) 29-6
With wins over No. 11 Shabazz and Oregon state champion Oregon City, Salesian's California losses to such teams as St. Mary's of Berkeley (a team Salesian beat four times) and Bishop O'Dowd, and its Nike TOC losses to solid Pennsylvania teams, are offset. Salesian draws 30-1 Miramonte in the Northern California Open finals Saturday — a team Salesian has already beaten.

25. (NR) South (Wichita, Kan.) 24-1
South rode a 22-game winning streak into the Kansas 6A title game, and then chopped down Maize 55-37 to claim the state title. Too bad South didn't play anyone out of state.

Dropped out: No. 20 St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.), No. 22 Clovis (N.M.)