New State Girls BB Divisional Rankings

St. Mary’s of Stockton coach Tom Gonsalves makes a point to one of his players during last year’s game against Bishop O’Dowd of Oakland. The two state powers collide again on Saturday in Oakland.

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By Mark Tennis
Contributing: Harold Abend, Paul Muyskens

Top-ranked girls basketball teams by division heading into the second week of February and the close of the regular season in almost all sections of the state are Mater Dei (D1), Carondelet (D2), Bishop O’Dowd of Oakland (D3), Windward of Los Angeles (D4) and Brookside Christian of Stockton (D5).

All teams have been ranked according to their CIF divisions, but some will obviously be pulled up into the new CIF Open Division for the Northern California and Southern California regional playoffs. We have indicated which teams in which divisions are eligible for the Open Division so readers can then visualize which non-Open Division teams may end up battling it out for the various CIF divisional state titles.

Of the top-ranked teams this week, Mater Dei, Carondelet, Bishop O’Dowd and Windward all look like they’ll be in the open division.

Teams throughout the state also can petition the CIF to be considered for the open division once they have qualified for the regional playoffs. This likely isn’t going to happen, though, for any team that is outside top 10 overall in the state.

(After results of Saturday, Feb. 2 with some scores from early this week indicated)

DIVISION I
1. (1) Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 23-0
2. (2) St. Mary’s (Stockton) 22-1
3. (4) Santiago (Corona) 22-2
4. (5) Troy (Fullerton) 20-3
5. (3) Long Beach Poly (Long Beach) 20-4
6. (6) Millikan (Long Beach) 23-2
7. (7) Etiwanda 22-2
8. (8) Rancho Verde (Moreno Valley) 21-2
9. (9) Heritage (Brentwood) 17-5
10. (10) Hanford 19-4
11. (11) Centennial (Corona) 20-3
12. (12) Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 20-3*
13. (13) Vista Murrieta (Murrieta) 20-5
14. (14) Brea Olinda (Brea) 18-4
15. (15) Kennedy (Sacramento) 18-4
Dropped Out: None.
Eligible for Open Division: Mater Dei, Stockton St. Mary’s, Long Beach Poly, Berkeley, Brea Olinda, Hanford, Sacramento Kennedy, Harbor City Narbonne.
Teams on the Bubble: A.B. Miller (Fontana) 20-3, Berkeley 13-9, Bishop Amat (La Puente) 18-7, Canyon Springs (Moreno Valley) 13-9, Clovis West (Fresno) 16-5, Deer Valley (Antioch) 13-7, Granite Hills (El Cajon) 19-5, McClymonds (Oakland) 18-3, Narbonne (Harbor City) 17-8, Stockdale (Bakersfield) 18-4, Wilcox (Santa Clara) 18-2.
Notes & Highlights: As noted in the overall Top 20 state writeups, the big news of the week was Long Beach Poly falling to Troy 50-39 at home last Saturday night. The Jackrabbits dropped from No. 5 to No. 10 overall and in this division went from No. 3 to No. 5. Troy is a team, remember, that would not seem eligible for the open division. This makes the Warriors a legit contender for a CIF Division I state title. If they had to beat Mater Dei to win that title, obviously the chances would be slim at best but the Monarchs will be in the open division. This week, Long Beach Poly hopes to bounce back with a game against No. 6 Millikan.

DIVISION II
1. (1) Carondelet (Concord) 18-3
2. (2) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 17-5
3. (3) Ridgeview (Bakersfield) 20-3
4. (4) Cajon (San Bernardino) 23-0
5. (6) Lynwood 16-5
6. (7) Sacramento 19-4
7. (8) Mark Keppel (Alhambra) 21-4
8. (5) J.W. North (Riverside) 15-5
9. (9) McNair (Stockton) 23-2
10. (10) Woodbridge (Irvine) 22-3
Dropped Out: None.
Eligible for Open Division: Archbishop Mitty, Carondelet, Lynwood, Sacramento.
Teams on the Bubble: Bonita (La Verne) 19-5, Canyon (Canyon Country) 20-4, Clayton Valley (Concord) 17-6, Garces (Bakersfield) 21-2, Gregori (Modesto) 21-1, Lynbrook (San Jose) 18-3, Lutheran (Orange) 21-3, Murrieta Valley (Murrieta) 19-5, Patriot (Riverside) 21-3, Serra (San Diego) 17-6, St. Francis (Mountain View) 17-6.
Notes & Highlights: For the second straight week there were no new teams in the D2 rankings, but there were changes. This time, it had to do with J.W. North dropping a 55-46 contest to Rancho Verde of Moreno Valley. Although Rancho Verde is ranked in D1, moving down the Huskies behind Keppel of Alhambra does match the order of the CIF Southern Section Division 2AA rankings.

DIVISION III
1. (1) Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland) 18-3
2. (2) Chaminade (West Hills) 22-2
3. (3) Miramonte (Orinda) 21-1
4. (4) Alemany (Mission Hills) 20-5
5. (5) Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) 18-4
6. (8) St. Ignatius (San Francisco) 15-7
7. (6) Campolindo (Moraga) 18-4
8. (9) Enterprise (Redding) 22-1
9. (10) Jurupa Valley 23-1
10. (NR) Santa Barbara 18-7
Dropped Out: Previous No. 7 El Dorado (Placentia).
Eligible for Open Division: Bishop O’Dowd, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Laguna Hills. Note: Miramonte also has been informed by its section it is eligible but unknown how being a possible runner-up to O’Dowd would impact its inclusion over other section champions.
Teams on the Bubble: Burlingame 19-2, Christian Brothers (Sacramento) 17-7, El Dorado (Placentia) 21-4, Laguna Hills 18-7, Lakeside (Lake Elsinore) 20-4, Modesto Christian 17-7, Oak Park (Agoura Hills) 16-8, Selma 24-1, Sonora (La Habra) 18-5, Vanden (Travis AFB) 21-3.
Notes & Highlights: We already know there will be changes in this division for next week because on Tuesday night No. 4 Alemany knocked off No. 2 Chaminade 57-50. It was a game that Chaminade led by seven points in the fourth quarter only to have the Warriors score the final 14 of the contest. Of the changes made based on last week’s results, El Dorado of Placentia had to go following a loss to Foothill of Tustin. Santa Barbara, which almost went in last week instead of Jurupa Valley, did get the nod to go in this week.

DIVISION IV
1. (1) Windward (Los Angeles) 22-0
2. (2) St. Mary’s (Berkeley) 20-4
3. (3) Salesian (Richmond) 21-4
4. (5) JSerra (San Juan Capistrano) 18-6
5. (6) Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 17-6
6. (7) St. Bernard (Playa del Rey) 22-6
7. (4) La Jolla Country Day (La Jolla) 11-11
8. (8) Serra (Gardena) 19-5
9. (NR) Mater Dei Catholic (Chula Vista) 15-5
10. (10) Bradshaw Christian (Sacramento) 20-2
Dropped Out: Previous No. 9 Bishop’s (La Jolla).
Eligible for Open Division: Windward, Berkeley St. Mary’s, La Jolla Country Day, Gardena Serra, Salesian.
Teams on the Bubble: Argonaut (Sutter Creek) 24-0, Bear River (Lake of the Pines) 22-3, Bishop Montgomery (Torrance) 19-6, Bishop’s (La Jolla) 16-9, Monte Vista Christian (Watsonville) 18-3, Piedmont 16-6, St. Anthony (Long Beach) 13-10, St. Joseph (Santa Maria) 15-7, St. Paul (Santa Fe Springs) 14-11.
Notes & Highlights: Two of the top teams in this division – and for overall in Northern California – met on Tuesday night in Richmond and at the end St. Mary’s of Berkeley had a 59-53 triumph over Salesian. Mariyah Moore of the host team hit for 18 of her 32 points in the second half, but the Pride couldn’t overcome the Panthers’ superior depth and balance. Gabby Green topped St. Mary’s with 21 points. Both teams will stay highly ranked next week. Based on results from last week, it was a bad week for La Jolla as La Jolla Country Day had to fall from No. 4 to No. 7 after a loss to St. Bernard of Playa del Rey while previous No. 9 Bishop’s of La Jolla had to drop out due to a loss to the Torreys.

DIVISION V
1. (1) Brookside Christian (Stockton) 20-4
2. (2) Horizon (San Diego) 17-6
3. (3) Eastside College Prep (E. Palo Alto) 16-5
4. (4) Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 17-8
5. (5) Pinewood (Los Altos Hills) 18-4
6. (6) Valley Christian (Dublin) 20-2
7. (8) Mesa Grande Academy (Calimesa) 21-3
8. (10) Desert (Edwards) 17-1
9. (NR) Ripon Christian (Ripon) 16-6
10. (9) Turlock Christian 20-4
Dropped Out: Previous No. 7 International (San Francisco).
Eligible for Open Division: Brookside Christian.
Teams on the Bubble: Animo South (Los Angeles) 20-5, Central Catholic (Modesto) 14-6, International (San Francisco) 21-3, Loma Linda Academy (Loma Linda) 21-3, Providence (Burbank) 15-9, Urban (San Francisco) 19-5.
Notes & Highlights: Sierra Canyon’s 40-38 loss to St. Mary’s of Berkeley should cause coaches of teams in this division to take notice due to the close margin. Keep in mind that this is the same team that has a win over Long Beach Poly. It’s not a team that according to MaxPreps has a 62-38 win earlier this week over national power Windward. That was obviously entered into the system incorrectly. Still, with 6-foot-1 sophomore Kennedy Burke, it’s a team in this division that’s’ going to be tough to beat. This week’s only major change was to drop out previous No. 7 International of San Francisco after it lost to Castilleja of Palo Alto and put in Ripon Christian. The Knights recorded a 64-53 win over previous No. 9 Turlock Christian, which stayed in this week since it won over RC earlier in the season.

Comments or corrections? Email markjtennis@gmail.com.