California teams top latest prep rankings

There wasn’t a great deal of movement this week, but St. John the Baptist of New York knocked St. Michael Academy out of the top 25 with an upset win – and took over the last spot.

About all that’s left now is the New York championship, which won’t be played until March 29 and 30, for reasons unclear to anyone not from New York. That makes this a good time to note that any team that appeared on this list at any time during the year had a wonderful season – too often, there’s disappointment over the outcome of the last game when there should be satisfaction over a great year.

After all, only five teams in the top 25 went unbeaten and so often, it’s not how many losses there are, but when they occur. And in the end, there can only be one number one.

1. Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco CA) 33-0 (1): The Irish sputtered a bit in the early going against Magnolia of Anaheim, but once they got in gear, they won the Division III title for the third straight time – and incidentally sewed up a national title.

2. Long Beach Poly (Long Beach CA) 31-2 (2): Berkeley proved to be no match for the Jackrabbits, who dominated the game despite getting only four points from 6-3 junior post Monique Oliver. Oh, and there are only two senior starters.

3. Notre Dame Academy (Middleburg VA) 28-2 (3): Unlike most schools, the Dragons don’t play in a state tournament, so their focus is more on the national rankings. And you know, number three isn’t bad. 4. Murry Bergtraum (New York NY) 23-0 (4): The Blazers won their 10th straight PSAL title by pounding Manhattan Center 89-47. Next up is Rush-Henrietta in Glen Falls March 29, as the New York season wends its leisurely way to a conclusion.

5. Cy-Fair (Cypress TX) 39-2 (5): Nneka Ogwumike won the Gatorade Player of the Year, and will move on to Stanford in the fall. Luckily for the Bobcats, her sister Chiney has two more years at Cy-Fair.

6. Highlands Ranch (Highlands Ranch CO) 25-3 (6): Reserve Jenessa Burke grabbed an offensive rebound, stepped back and hit a three-pointer to put the Falcons ahead in the final minute – and they hung to beat Regis Jesuit and win the 6A title.

7. Gentry (Indianola MS) 40-0 (7): Make it 80 straight for the Rams, who needed double overtime, and 36 points from Brizzanai Washington, to beat Murrah and win their second straight overall Mississippi title.

8. Lower Richland (Hopkins SC) 26-0 (8): The Diamond Hornets have won three straight South Carolina titles – and Dorman has been the victim each time. In fact, Dorman has gotten to the final game for four straight years, and come up empty in every one.

9. St. Mary’s (Stockton CA) 33-1 (9): Look for the Rams to be back in the top ten next year: Their top two players are sophomores, and they expect to add even more talent in 2008-09.

10. Whitney Young (Chicago IL) 29-3 (10): The Dolphins took a trip to the West Coast and beat a California state champion, but unfortunately it wasn’t Sacred Heart Cathedral or Long Beach Poly. The win over 11-loss Division II winner Archbishop Mitty isn’t enough to move them past number ten.

11. Mount Notre Dame (Cincinnati OH) 26-2 (11): The Cougars have replaced Pickerington as the Ohio dynasts – and they have a lot of talent coming back.

12. Heritage Christian (Indianapolis IN) 27-1 (12): Even though the Golden Eagles are only a 2A school, their strong intersectional schedule – and 27 wins – makes them Indiana’s best.

13. DeSoto (DeSoto TX) 37-2 (14): The Eagles keep edging up in the rankings as teams above them lose, but they deserve a lot of credit. They lost to Duncanville Jan 11., but beat the Panthers twice thereafter, and the only other defeat was at the hands of number five Cy-Fair.

14. Murrah (Jackson MS) 31-1 (13): The Mustangs lost to Gentry last year by five, and this year in double overtime. LaSondra Barrett had 32, but it wasn’t enough to stop Gentry’s two-year winning streak.

15. Southridge (Beaverton OR) 24-4 (17): The Skyhawks’ Michelle Jenkins, who will play at USC in the fall, came up big down the stretch for the four-time Oregon 6A champions.

16. Lewis & Clark (Spokane WA) 29-0 (16): It’s too bad No. 21 Auburn Riverside and Lewis & Clark never got to play, but like Sacred Heart Cathedral and Long Beach Poly, they were in different divisions in the same state.

17. Cardinal O’Hara (Springfield PA) 25-2 (18): Next year, the Lions return their top six – and should be the favorite to win the first all-Pennsylvania state title.

18. Union (Tulsa OK) 27-0 (21): One of the most difficult things to do, in any sport, is go unbeaten. In basketball, it’s even harder because of the sheer number of games, and going 27 up and none down is a very impressive achievement.

19. Bob Jones (Madison AL) 35-2 (19): If more Alabama teams got out of state (kudos to Hoover, by the way), it would be easier to judge where the champion should be ranked. This might be too low; it might be too high.

20. Carmel (Carmel IN) 23-4 (24): The Greyhounds lost to No. 12 Heritage Christian, which can be excused. They avenged their defeats to Hamilton Southeastern and Ben Davis (nationally ranked for much of the season). They only had one shot at North Central, though, so that one they couldn’t do anything about.

21. Auburn Riverside (Auburn WA) 25-3 (22): The senior-laden Ravens may have trouble making it three straight 3A titles, but there’s always talent in the city: Stanford all-American and WNBA player Kate Starbird is from Auburn.

22. Sapulpa (Sapulpa OK) 27-2 (23): The Chieftains have had a good run with Alyssia Brewer, but expect new powers to emerge in Oklahoma next year.

23. Bolingbrook (Bolingbrook IL) 29-4 (24): The Raiders were nationally ranked in preseason, but lost their first game of the year to Heritage Christian. But by the year’s end, they had earned their way back into the top 25.

24. Lakota West (West Chester OH) 26-2 (25): Amber Gray led the Firebirds to the brink of a state title – but even though they fell short, it was still a great season.

25. St. John the Baptist (West Islip NY) 24-4 (NR): The Cougars knocked off St. Michael, and now will wait to play the winner of the Murry Bergtraum-Archbishop Molloy game on Sunday to decide the New York title.