Five more Xcellent teams captured state titles last week and three that eliminated Xcellent squads moved into the rankings this week.
Norcross freshman Diamond Deshields.
File photo by Mitchell Reibel
, now the No. 14 team, No. 16
Neptune (N.J.), No. 17
Incarnate Word Academy (St. Louis, Mo.), No. 18
North Little Rock (Ark.) and No. 22
Shabazz (Newark, N.J.) all won championships, with the two New Jersey teams moving on to its state’s Tournament of Champions.
New squads, No. 21 Norcross (Ga.), No. 24 Lake Taylor (Norfolk, Va.) and No. 25 Southridge (Beaverton, Ore.) all moved into the rankings with wins over ranked squads.
Only Redan (Stone Mountain, Ga.), from No. 9 to No. 23, remained among the Xcellent bunch, and Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Oregon City (Ore.) just moved outside and will be ready to move in if any of the remaining squads falter down the stretch.
That’s guaranteed to happen this week when No. 2 Brea Olinda (Calif.) and No. 3 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) tangle for the CIF South Region Division II title at the Galen Center on the campus of USC on Saturday. This promises to be an epic battle as it was the last two meetings when Brea Olinda prevailed, including in last year’s regional final.
Xcellent 25 National High School Girls Basketball Rankings
1. (1) St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.), 32-1
The Rams will play Sacramento for a third time this season for the CIF North Region title on Saturday after handling Central Coast Section champion Valley Christian 85-59 behind McDonald’s All-Americans Afure Jemerigbe (19 points, six steals) and Chelsea Gray (16 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals). St. Mary’s has already defeated Sacramento, which knocked off No. 25 Bishop O’Dowd on Saturday, by margins of 42 and 30 points.
2. (2) Brea Olinda (Calif.), 31-2
The Wildcats received a giant blow when starting point guard Alexis Perry sustained a torn ACL, MCL and Meniscus in Thursday’s 69-51 CIF South Region quarterfinal win over Diamond Ranch. Brea, which already lost probably its top prospect, junior 6-foot-2 post Justine Hartman to an ACL tear right before the season, is known for its depth and it showed in a 68-46 semifinal win over Yosemite behind 21 points by Kelsey Harris. The Wildcats now get No. 3 Mater Dei in Saturday’s South Region final.
3 (3) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 30-1
Mater Dei certainly has a score to settle after losing to Brea in last year’s South Region final and 47-43 earlier this season in the Tony Matson Memorial Classic. The Monarchs moved into Saturday’s finals with wins over Villa Park (74-36) and Hanford (70-61), which is No. 12 in the MaxPreps Freeman rankings. Mater Dei needed all of Jessica Duarte’s season-high 29 points and 21 from national Player of the Year finalist Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis.
4. (4) Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.), 28-0
Season is complete.
5. (5) Poly (Long Beach, Calif.), 30-2
Brittany Wilson scored 21 of her 27 in the first half as Poly rolled a big and talented team from Summit 83-50 in the CIF South Region Division I finals. It was an unusually unbalanced game for the Jackrabbits, who normally boast four or five around double figures. Sheila Boykin was the only other Poly player in double-digits with 11 points to go along with a team-high 11 rebounds. The Jackrabbits also scored an 81-50 win over Stockdale behind 18 points by Wilson, 15 from Boykin and 11 by Ariya Crook-Williams.
6. (6) Cy-Fair (Cypress, Texas), 36-1
Season is complete.
7. (7) Bolingbrook (Bolingbrook, Ill.), 29-1
Season is complete.
8. (8) Bergtraum (New York), 25-0
Bergtraum won its record 13th straight PSAL city title and now has to wait two weeks before playing in the New York State Federation Class AA semifinals March 27.
9. (10) Mt. Lebanon (Pittsburgh, Pa.), 26-2
The Blue Devils cruised to their second straight WPIAL title with a 59-43 win over Baldwin and then won two straight PIAA AAAA games, 63-33 over Fox Chapel before trouncing Erie Strong Vincent 69-36. Mt. Lebanon scored the game’s first 24 points and got 18 points from Madison Cable and 16 by Lauren Arbogast.
10. (11) Hoover (Ala.), 33-1
Season is complete.
11. (12) Mansfield Timberview (Arlington, Texas), 37-2
Season is complete.
12. (13) Young (Chicago), 28-3
Season is complete.
13. (15) Detroit Country Day (Beverly Hills, Mich.), 23-0
The Yellowjackets moved into the Class B semifinals after wins over Almont (58-22), Marine City (67-24). Country Day now faces Kingsford (21-5) in the semifinals on Friday.
14. (16) Midwest City (Okla.), 25-2
The Bombers won their second 6A state championship and first since 1992 with a 46-32 win over Norman, their fourth win over Norman this season. Duke-bound Richa Jackson scored 13 of her game-high 16 points in the first half when Midwest City took command spurred by a 21-4 run. Kaylon Williams had nine points and seven rebounds for the winners. The night before, Midwest City upended Santa Fe 36-26 behind 22 points from Jackson.
15. (17) MacArthur (Irving, Texas), 37-2
Season is complete.
16. (18) Neptune (N.J.), 28-1
With Syessence Davis in foul trouble, junior Shakena Richardson picked up the slack with a game-high 16 points in a 47-26 win over Pascack Valley to capture the NJSIAA Group 3 state championship on Sunday. It was the program’s first state title since 1984. Junior Chyna Golden had 12 points and eight rebounds and Sehmonyeh Allen added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Scarlet Fliers, who move into the state’s Tournament of Champions. They are seeded No. 1 and Shabazz is No. 2.
17. (19) Incarnate Word Academy (St. Louis, Mo.), 30-1
Incarnate overcame a sluggish first half and got 14 points and 10 rebounds by Brianna Puni to capture its third Class 5 state title with a 52-43 win over Blue Springs on Saturday. Brittany Carter added 12 points for the champions. For the season, Jazmin Hitchens led the team in scoring at 17.5 per game, followed by Puni (9.8), Chloe Nelson (9.5) and Carter (8.8). The Red Knights graduate four seniors, including Hitchens and Nelson. {VIDEO_ef4f6898-6efa-45a6-a62f-7db6de597985,floatRightWithBar}
18. (20) North Little Rock (Ark.), 31-0
It wasn’t easy, but the Charging Wildcats escaped a perfect season with a double-overtime 51-46 victory over Fayetteville win the state 7A championship on Friday. Lexus Williams, considered one of the top sophomores in the country, had 14 points and 16 rebounds as North Little Rock turned the tables on Fayetteville, which finished off an undefeated 2009 season with a win over the Wildcats. Markisha Hawkins scored 14 of her game-high 16 points after halftime and Jerrica James added 11 points for the winners. Fayetteville finished 26-4.
19. (21) Auburn Riverside (Auburn, Wash.), 29-0
Season is complete.
20. (22) Lakeville North (Lakeville, Minn.), 29-0
Recorded a 52-47 AAAA-Section 3 semifinal win over Eastview and now faces Northfield for the state crown tonight. Rachel Banham had 15 points and Cassie Rochel 12 against Eastview. Northfield is 17-10 on the season.
21. (NR) Norcross (Ga.) 28-4
The Blue Devils, with a pair of potential superstar freshman, dropped from the Xcellent 25 at midseason following a pair of losses at the prestigious Nike Invitational and 60-56 game to Mill Creek. But finished the season on a 14-game win streak capped with a 76-63 victory over previous ninth-ranked Redan in the state AAAAA finals, earning their way back into the Xcellent 25. Marquee names Kaela Davis, Briana Jordan and Diamond Deshields led the charge, combining for 53 points. Davis is the daughter of former NBA standout Antonio Davis, Jordan the daughter of former major leaguer and NFL star Brian Jordan and Deshields is the daughter of former major league infielder Delino Deshields.
22. (23) Shabazz (Newark, N.J.), 31-1
The Bulldogs won the NJSIAA Group 2 state title with a 53-30 win over Chatham as Aliyyah Handford had 18 points and Desiree Simmons 17. Shabazz now enters the state’s Tournament of Champions as the second seed behind Neptune.
23. (9) Redan (Stone Mountain, Ga.), 30-1
The defending AAAAA state champ won its 58th straight in the semifinals before losing in the state finals to Norcross 76-63. A 16-1 Norcross run that started late in the third quarter did in Redan, which got 22 points from Kierra Paige and 21 by Aisha Andrews.
24. (NR) Lake Taylor (Norfolk, Va.), 30-1
The Titans avenged their only loss of the season to then-No. 24 Princess Ann 50-44 in the state AAA championship game before 7,500 fans at VCU’s Siegal Center on Saturday. Lindsay Stepney had 17 points and keyed a 13-0 run in the third quarter. It was the first state title in any sport for Lake Taylor.
25. (NR) Southridge (Beaverton, Ore.), 26-2
The Skyhawks finished on a 21-game win streak with a 47-38 victory over Jesuit in the 6A finals after defeating then-No. 14 and undefeated Oregon City 55-47 in the semifinals. It was the fifth state title in six years for Southridge, which got 11 points each from Aubrey Ashenfelter, a 6-foot post, and Dominque Johnson, a 5-7 wing. McKenzie Dalthorp, Allie Brock and Callie Mikesell also contributed big games and big seasons for the Skyhawks.
Dropped out: No. 14 Oregon City (Ore.), No. 24 Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, Va.), No. 25 Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.).
