FCP's final high school rankings

The final pieces of the puzzle slipped into place this past weekend when Murry Bergtraum claimed yet another New York championship, and cemented its number four spot in the rankings.

The two wins, over Rush-Henrietta and St. John the Baptist, also opened the door for Michigan’s best, Detroit Country Day (which, in a burst of geographic confusion, is located in Beverly Hills, but not that Beverly Hills). Country Day takes the 25th spot in the final ranking, but since girls’ basketball lacks any kind of organized, head-to-head competition between the nation’s top teams, there’s plenty of room for argument about who should really be where.

Still, it’s more than safe to say that every school listed below has an outstanding team that had a great season, and our congratulations go out to all of them.

1. Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco CA) 33-0 (1): A truly deserving national champion, the Irish overcame tragedy, injury and an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit against a top ten team in the state semifinals to go unbeaten.

2. Long Beach Poly (Long Beach CA) 31-2 (2): The losses were to number Sacred Heart Cathedral on a neutral court, and to a league rival the Jackrabbits later doubled up. And they beat Notre Dame Academy.

3. Notre Dame Academy (Middleburg VA) 28-2 (3): The Dragons were thisclose again, and graduation will hurt. But Mike Teasley has more talent coming in, so don’t expect too big a dropoff.

4. Murry Bergtraum (New York NY) 25-0 (4): The Blazers beat Rush-Henrietta soundly and St. John the Baptist easily to win the New York Federation title. If only they had played a better schedule ...

5. Cy-Fair (Cypress TX) 39-2 (5): The two losses came early in the year, with the Ogwumike sisters playing volleyball. Too bad the Bobcats never got out of state.

6. Highlands Ranch (Highlands Ranch CO) 25-3 (6): The Falcons lost to Sacred Heart Cathedral (number one), Long Beach Poly (number two) and Southridge (number 15). This might be Caryn Jarocki’s best team, which is saying something.

7. Gentry (Indianola MS) 40-0 (7): Stop for a second and think about winning 80 in a row. Most teams would be pretty darned happy to win 18 in a row, or even eight. But 80? The mind reels.

8. Lower Richland (Hopkins SC) 26-0 (8): Stop for a second and think about winning three straight state titles, Most teams would be pretty darned happy with one. Or two. But three? The mind reels.

9. St. Mary’s (Stockton CA) 33-1 (9): The Rams didn’t get out of California in 2007-08, but with almost everyone returning, they’ll be much more visible next season – and maybe even better.

10. Whitney Young (Chicago IL) 29-3 (10): The Dolphins were clearly the best in Illinois, and there were, as usual, more than a few high-quality teams in the state.

11. Mount Notre Dame (Cincinnati OH) 26-2 (11): Mount Notre Dame has changed coaches during its three-titles-in-a-row run, but it hasn’t slowed the Cougars. Expect them to be good again.

12. Heritage Christian (Indianapolis IN) 27-1 (12): Indiana is another state with very strong high school basketball, and the Golden Eagles combined the best record and the best schedule.

13. DeSoto (DeSoto TX) 37-2 (13): The Eagles were very good, and this well could have been Larry Goad’s best team – which is very high praise.

14. Murrah (Jackson MS) 32-2 (14): The Mustangs have lost to Gentry in what is known as the state’s Grand Slam (all the divisional winners play) the last two years. This season it was in double OT.

15. Southridge (Beaverton OR) 24-4 (15): The Skyhawks have replaced Oregon City as the team to beat in the Beaver State.

16. Lewis & Clark (Spokane WA) 29-0 (16): Lewis & Clark may finally be able to play out of state next year – in the past, the league schedule took up the entire allotment of games.

17. Cardinal O’Hara (Springfield PA) 25-2 (17): A young Cardinal O’Hara team might do even better next year – which is a scary thought if you’re a Pennsylvania rival.

18. Union (Tulsa OK) 27-0 (18): All the preseason talk was about Sapulpa and Sequoyah, but in the end, it was Union that proved to be Oklahoma’s best.

19. Bob Jones (Madison AL) 35-2 (19): The Patriots lost to Sparkman, but beat the Senators twice; they lost to Midfield by five, and then administered a 43-17 beatdown in the rematch.

20. Carmel (Carmel IN) 23-4 (20): Another team that came out of nowhere, Carmel won the large school Indiana title – and stunned the favorites along the way.

21. Auburn Riverside (Auburn WA) 25-3 (21): The Ravens may say nevermore to the Nike TOC, where they suffered all three of those losses.

22. Sapulpa (Sapulpa OK) 27-2 (22): Sapulpa lost to Highlands Ranch in the Nike TOC, and to Union, by one, in the Oklahoma title game. That’s a pretty good season.

23. Bolingbrook (Bolingbrook IL) 29-4 (23): Two of the losses were to Whitney Young and one was to Heritage Christian. The 20-point defeat at the hands of a good Incarnate Word team, though, is tougher to explain.

24. Lakota West (West Chester OH) 26-2 (24): The Firebirds did almost everything right, but couldn’t get past Mount Notre Dame.

25. Detroit Country Day (Beverly Hills MI) 25-1 (NR): The only loss was at Ben Davis of Indianapolis, one of Indiana’s top teams. Otherwise, only four wins weren’t by double digits.