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After a two-year absence from the girls Class C2 state finals, Crofton flew by Blue Hill and Fillmore Central last winter to reach its eighth state final since 2006-07. Despite falling to Hastings St. Cecilia in the championship contest, Aaron Losing's club strengthened its lead over Seward and the rest of the field as Nebraska's dominant girls basketball program over the past 13 years.
The Warriors did most of their point-scoring damage from 2012-13 through 2016-17, and landed in MaxPreps' final Nebraska Top 25 Computer Rankings 11 times since MaxPreps started ranking Nebraska girls basketball teams in 2006-07.
The Warriors have captured eight total state championships, including six during the time span calculated for this Top 10. Crofton also captured Class C1 titles in 2005 and 2006. All together, the Warriors have been to the state finals 12 times, tied with Sandy Creek for third all-time. Crofton claimed the No. 1 spot in MaxPreps' computer rankings three times over the 13 years scored, and finished in the Top 10 seven times.
Fellow Cornhusker State power Seward winds up second this week after claiming four straight Class B state basketball titles beginning in 2009 and played its way into the Class B finals in 1997. Class A power Bellevue West rounds out the top three after winning state titles in 2007, 2009 and 2010. Bishop Neumann and Lincoln Southeast round out the Top five in the No. 4 and No. 5 spots respectively.
Classes A, B, C1 and C2 are all represented in this week's Top 10. Wynot, one of Nebraska's premier small school powers, represents Class D2 with an 11th place finish out of the 106 schools that scored points for this week's Top 10. The Blue Devils finished with 157 points after winning six state championships in nine trips to the finals over the last 13 seasons. Pender is the top Class D1 squad after placing 40th overall.
Wynot (Class D2), South Sioux City (Class A), Lincoln Christian (Class C1), Lincoln Pius X (Class A), Pierce (Class C1), Falls City Sacred Heart (Class D2), Millard North (Class A), Grand Island Northwest (Class B), Bellevue East (Class A), Norris (Class B), Elkhorn (Class A) and Omaha Central (Class A) all missed out on the Top 10 despite accumulating 100 points or more.
MaxPreps has developed its own system in determining which girls basketball programs compete at the highest level over an extended period of time. Here is how the points for this week's Top 10 were accumulated:
1. 20 points for a state title
2. 10 points for finishing as a state runner-up
3. Other points are based on a team's Top 25 standing in the final MaxPreps Nebraska Computer Rankings presented by the Army National Guard. For instance, if a school claimed the top spot, it received 25 points, while a No. 25 ranking is good for one point.
Nebraska's Top 10 dominant girls basketball programs since 2006-07
1. Crofton – 336 pointsState titles: 6
Runner-ups: 2
Top 25 state rankings: 2006-07 (6), 2007-08 (12), 2009-10 (24), 2010-11 (16), 2011-12 (8), 2012-13 (3), 2013-14 (1), 2014-15 (1), 2015-16 (1), 2016-17 (7), 2018-19 (11).
2. Seward – 240 points
State titles: 4
Runner-ups: 0
Top 25 state rankings: 2007-08 (15), 2008-09 (4), 2009-10 (1), 2010-11 (2), 2011-12 (2), 2012-13 (11), 2016-17 (17), 2017-18 (15), 2018-19 (7).
3. Bellevue West (Bellevue) – 235 points
State titles: 3
Runner-ups: 3
Top 25 state rankings: 2006-07 (1), 2008-09 (1), 2009-10 (2), 2010-11 (3), 2012-13 (2), 2013-14 (9), 2014-15 (19).
4. Bishop Neumann (Wahoo) – 215 points
State titles: 3
Runner-ups: 2
Top 25 state rankings: 2007-08 (7), 2008-09 (3), 2009-10 (6), 2013-14 (25), 2015-16 (20), 2016-17 (2), 2017-18 (8), 2018-19 (2).
5. Lincoln Southeast (Lincoln) – 206 points
State titles: 2
Runner-ups: 2
Top 25 state rankings: 2006-07 (12), 2007-08 (1), 2008-09 (2), 2009-10 (9), 2010-11 (8), 2011-12 (3), 2012-13 (1).
6. St. Cecilia (Hastings) – 205 points
State titles: 2
Runner-ups: 3
Top 25 state rankings: 2010-11 (7), 2011-12 (25), 2012-13 (18), 2013-14 (7), 2014-15 (8), 2015-16 (13), 2016-17 (16), 2017-18 (4), 2018-19 (1).
7. Millard West (Omaha) – 199 points
State titles: 0
Runner-ups: 3
Top 25 state rankings: 2006-07 (7), 2007-08 (3), 2008-09 (7), 2009-10 (4), 2010-11 (5), 2011-12 (11), 2012-13 (9), 2013-14 (11), 2014-15 (20), 2015-16 (14).
8. Guardian Angels Central Catholic (West Point) – 196 points
State titles: 2
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2006-07 (17), 2007-08 (14), 2009-10 (11), 2010-11 (19), 2011-12 (13), 2012-13 (16), 2013-14 (12), 2014-15 (5), 2015-16 (3), 2016-17 (4).
9. Kearney Catholic (Kearney) – 182 points
State titles: 2
Runner-ups: 3
Top 25 state rankings: 2006-07 (8), 2009-10 (23), 2012-13 (13), 2013-14 (10), 2014-15 (9), 2015-16 (4), 2016-17 (3).
10. Omaha Westside (Omaha) – 173 points
State titles: 2
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2006-07 (2), 2007-08 (21), 2008-09 (11), 2009-10 (3), 2010-11 (20), 2014-15 (6), 2017-18 (1), 2018-19 (21).