Sacred Heart Cathedral tops the prep rankings

Most times, the rankings more or less fall into place – but not this year. Sacred Heart Cathedral is the clear number one, but after that, it’s all a jumble. Long Beach Poly has beaten three ranked teams, but lost to an unranked one while Notre Dame Academy, the preseason number one, has done pretty much the same.

Meanwhile, the remaining unbeaten teams haven’t played nearly as tough a schedule, so it’s hard to say just how good they are. There will be some sorting out in the next couple weeks, but it looks like it’s going to a long, confusing season in high school girls’ basketball.

? 1. Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco CA) 13-0: As the undefeated team with the most impressive wins (Long Beach Poly of California, Southridge of Oregon, Highlands Ranch of Colorado and Villa Maria of Pennsylvania) the Irish have earned the number one spot. They are small and don’t have the elite BCS athletes of some of the other contenders, but all they’ve done is win – and that’s what it’s all about.

2. Long Beach Poly (Long Beach CA) 9-2: Usually, losing to an unranked team is a quick ticket out of the top ten, if not the top 25, but the Jackrabbits have so many quality wins (Notre Dame Academy, Highlands Ranch, Archbishop Carroll of Pennsylvania, Chaminade-Julienne of Ohio) that they offset that one upset (to a decent crosstown rival, Millikan).

3. Washington (South Bend IN) 15-0: The Panthers haven’t played anyone out of state yet, but they’ll take care of that in the next two weeks. First, Lexington Catholic of Kentucky, and then two of Illinois’ best, Fenwick and Buffalo Grove. If they win all three, they’ll stay this high.

4. Whitney Young (Chicago IL) 14-0: The Dolphins are very good, and won a tournament in Northern California -- unfortunately, it wasn't the West Coast Jamboree, and beating up on two mediocre local teams and one rebuilding power isn't what top teams need to do to get to number one. Bottom line: No wins over nationally ranked teams.

5. Notre Dame Academy (Middleburg VA) 13-2: The Dragons battled back against Long Beach Poly in the Nike TOC but could never get over the hump, and then lost to a solid Archbishop Carroll team at home. Notre Dame is still one of the best teams in the country, and has played a murderous schedule -- but two losses are two losses.

6. Iroquois (Louisville KY) 12-0: The Raiders beat one of the best teams in Tennessee, if not the best (Wilson Central), and also knocked off in-state power Dunbar, which beat Lexington Catholic. Both Wilson Central and Dunbar have just one loss, to Iroquois.

7. Lakota West (West Chester OH) 12-0: The Firebirds have established themselves as the best in Ohio, so far at least, and with Tennessee-bound Amber Gray, they’ve also beaten Archbishop Wood of Pennsylvania and Oak Ridge of Tennessee.

8. DeSoto (DeSoto TX) 25-0: The Eagles are one of those mystery teams. They've beaten everyone they played, but they haven't played anyone notable. They have legit talent, though, and eventually should collide with Bellaire to decide the best in Texas.

9. Murry Bergtraum (New York NY) 9-0: The Blazers just haven’t matched up against another power, so it’s hard to say how good they really are. They don’t have the superstars they’ve had in the past, but they’ve got good players and a great tradition – and they’re the best in the New York.

10. Regis Jesuit (Aurora CO) 10-1: The Raiders lost to Notre Dame Academy, and have since retreated to Colorado to beat up on the locals. Their next big test will be Highlands Ranch in the state playoffs, but it’s hard to rank a team too highly that has played only one elite team, and lost by 20.

11. Ben Davis (Indianapolis IN) 14-1: The Giants beat Detroit Country Day soundly, and have split with in-state rival North Central. Indiana is loaded this year, and the state titlist will have earned some serious respect.

12. St. Mary’s (Stockton CA) 15-0: The Rams have beaten up on all the good teams in Northern California – except Sacred Heart Cathedral. Those two, though, are on a collision course in the state Division III playoffs.

13. Centennial (Circle Pines MN) 12-0: The Cougars have two players who’ve scored 1,000 points in their career, and one, Megan Nipe, is a junior. But Centennial hasn’t played anyone out of state, so they too are a mystery.

14. Murrah (Jackson MS) 15-0: The best in Mississippi, now and in the past, the Mustangs are clearly very good. But how good we’ll never know, because this year they didn’t travel.

15. Bellaire (Bellaire TX) 27-0: The Cardinals were supposed to be very good last year, but injuries slowed them down. This year, they’re rolling, but they aren’t traveling, and will only be tested in the tough Texas postseason.

16. Archbishop Carroll (Radnor PA) 7-3: Beating Notre Dame Academy at Notre Dame Academy is a tremendous achievement, and knocking off Bishop Gorman of Nevada and the Peddie School of New Jersey are also nice wins. Losses to Sequoyah of Oklahoma and Bishop McNamara of Maryland are respectable, but they’re still losses.

17. Highlands Ranch (Highlands Ranch CO) 8-3: Three good losses (Sacred Heart Cathedral, Long Beach Poly and Southridge) – and one good win (Sapulpa) keep the Falcons in the rankings. But the inevitable game with Regis Jesuit will decide who stays.

18. Southridge (Beaverton OR) 8-3: The Skyhawks have split a pair with Washington power Prairie, and have beaten Highlands Ranch of Colorado. The other losses are to number one Sacred Heart Cathedral and number six Notre Dame Academy. They deserve to be ranked.

19. Sapulpa (Sapulpa, OK) 8-1: The Chieftains went 3-1 at the Nike TOC, but lost to Highlands Ranch of Colorado, which has been beaten three times. Still, Sapulpa looks to be the best in Oklahoma, and has a win over Shelbyville of Tennessee.

20. Wichita Heights (Wichita KS) 7-0: The top team in Kansas, and good for years – but again, a team that doesn’t venture out of state.

21. Heritage Christian (Indianapolis IN) 14-0: The Eagles have beaten Bolingbrook and Fenwick, as well as some tough in-state teams, so they creep into the national rankings.

22. Wilson Central (Lebanon TN) 15-1: The Wildcats have beaten the top Tennessee teams – Shelbyville (at Shelbyville no less), Mt. Juliet and Smyrna -- and have lost only to Iroquois. But they play Mt. Juliet again Friday so their stay in the top 25 may be brief.

23. Eleanor Roosevelt (Greenbelt MD) 4-0: Lots of talent, not many games. But a trip to Notre Dame Academy is just down the road – we’ll know a lot more after that.

24. Shabazz (Newark NJ) 6-0: The traditional New Jersey power doesn’t get out much, but Vanessa Watson’s Bulldogs are always tough.

25. Dunbar (Lexington KY) 18-1: Another solid team from basketball country, Dunbar has lost only to Iroquois, and beat Lexington Catholic. The game against Heritage Christian Jan. 26 will reveal a lot.