The Sporting News national high school girls basketball top 25 rankings: Etiwanda leaps to No. 10 after big week

The Sporting News national high school girls basketball top 25 rankings: Etiwanda leaps to No. 10 after big week originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Last week was a big one in high school girls basketball.

Etiwanda and Archbishop Mitty returned to peak form with some key frontcourt players freshly available, Johnston remained the unbeaten queen of Iowa girls hoops, Princess Anne made the most of limited opportunities to play national competition, and St. John Vianney pulled a key upset to make its season debut in the top 25. Those are just a few of many key items of note.

So, here are The Sporting News national high school girls basketball rankings for the week of Jan. 5.

PREVIOUS RANKINGS: Preseason | Dec. 1 | Dec. 8 | Dec. 15 | Dec. 22 | Dec. 29

Top 25 High School Girls Basketball Rankings

1. Ontario Christian (CA) (18-0 – 1st last week)

The tour de force continues. Ontario Christian got its «closest» game of the season, a 76-54 win over Summer Creek, before annihilating fellow California powerhouses Oak Park, Carondelet, and Clovis by a combined score of 283-146. Saturday brings quite literally the most anticipated game of the regular season anywhere in high school basketball in our eyes: a rematch with a healthy Archbishop Mitty.

2. DME Academy (FL) (12-0 – 2nd)

After a few weeks off, DME Academy gets going again this week against increasingly strong competition. It faces Assumption, Hamilton Heights Christian Academy, and then a particularly dangerous Example Academy National squad.

3. Bishop McNamara (MD) (8-2 – 3rd)

Can the Mustangs sweep the WCAL for the second year in a row? It’s a strong possibility, although probably a taller order than it was a season ago. This week brings Elizabeth Seton followed by non-conference meetings with bubble teams Bishop Ireton and Monsignor Scanlan.

4. Long Island Lutheran (NY) (10-1 – 4th)

The Crusaders got it done with room to spare against big-name competition last week. They beat Neumann-Goretti 77-50, reigning disputed national champion Morris Catholic 70-53, and Red Bank Catholic 56-42.

5. Archbishop Mitty (CA) (10-1 – 5th)

Photo by Aaron Woliczko

At long last, McKenna Woliczko has returned for the Monarchs, and it’s like she never left. She had 19 points and 13 rebounds in just 14 minutes as the Monarchs crushed Clovis, one of California’s better teams, 82-44 following a 29-0 opening run. Saturday brings as big a non-league, non-tournament regular season game as it gets as the Monarchs face No. 1 Ontario Christian.

6. Princess Anne (VA) (11-0 – 10th)

If you’re a public school team playing in a state without much nationally ranked competition, it’s not easy to shut up the critics who say you don’t face tough enough competition to contend for a national title. Well, Princess Anne just did exactly that. It did more than just pass its tests against St. Frances Academy and Bullis, beating the nationally ranked Maryland foes 82-54 and 70-57, respectively.

7. Sierra Canyon (CA) (13-1 – 8th)

Sierra Canyon wasn’t in the easiest spot facing Corona Centennial on Tuesday. It had much more to lose than to gain, and it was tasked with beating a national contender that didn’t start its season until Dec. 26 and thus didn’t have film available until a few days before the game. The Trailblazers prevailed 62-55 to remain unbeaten with Jerzy Robinson in the lineup.

8. Johnston (IA) (10-0 – 11th)

The Dragons’ offense made a statement in a battle of Iowa’s top teams as they took down previously unbeaten Valley 82-72. Johnston faces Valley again on Feb. 6, three days after its rematch with Dowling Catholic.

9. Bishop Gorman (NV) (11-1 – 17th)

While Etiwanda now has two star players who weren’t available when it lost to Bishop Gorman a couple weeks ago, Bishop Gorman has been so good that we rose the Gaels with Etiwanda after Etiwanda’s big week as the Gaels had another big week themselves. They smoked previously unbeaten Clovis West 67-46 to win the Las Vegas Classic, and have still lost only to Bishop McNamara.

10. Etiwanda (CA) (13-2 – 25th)

Nicole Mullen/The Arizona Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn

Etiwanda is back where it started – No. 10 in the nation – after outlasting Oregon powerhouses Tualatin and Benson Tech to win the Nike POA Holiday Classic and defeating Northern California heavyweights St. Mary’s (Stockton) and Oakland Tech. Some will understandably argue that 15 spots is too high a leap for Etiwanda less than a month after an upset loss to DPAC. We’d argue that recent history has been pretty telling when it comes to what Etiwanda does from Dec. 26 onward as opposed to the first month of the season when it’s at full strength due to the CIF transfer sit-out period and, in the previous two seasons, health issues. The Eagles immediately reached a new level after debuting junior transfers Tess Oldenburg and Jaylee Moore from Chino and Caruthers, respectively, in their frontcourt following the sit-out period.

11. Westtown (PA) (11-1 – 6th)

Since the loss to FB Cresset at Nike TOC, the Moose have responded by beating Aussie Basketball Travelers – which holds a win over FB Cresset – followed by Example Academy National and Fort Erie International.

12. Legion Prep (TX) (8-2 – 7th)

The Bulldogs resumed action with a 62-25 rout of Cardinal Ritter College Prep.

13. SPIRE Academy National (OH) (3-0 – 9th)

SPIRE returns to action this week as the overwhelming favorite against Cleveland Central Catholic.

14. The St. James Performance Academy (VA) (9-3 – 12th)

The Strivers face NC GBB Academy National on Saturday in their last tune-up before taking on IMG Academy and Monsignor Scanlan next week.

15. Tualatin (OR) (7-1 – 13th)

Can’t fault Tualatin for losing by 10 points to an Etiwanda team that was guaranteed to rise with two of its best players freshly eligible after the transfer sit-out period. Before that, the Timberwolves cruised past Mater Dei 63-43.

16. Westlake (TX) (25-0 – 15th)

Holding down the fort nicely. Westlake beat Tivy, Vandegrift, Round Rock, and Glenn by a combined 82 points in the span of Monday and Tuesday alone before cruising past Austin 70-46 a few days later. Tuesday brings Bowie, the next-highest ranked team in Westlake’s district, but Westlake is the still overwhelming favorite.

17. St. John Vianney (NJ) (6-0 – Bubble)

No surprise to see St. John Vianney making an appearance in the top 25 this season, although we didn’t expect it to upset St. John’s on Sunday. St. John Vianney now needs to avoid upset itself with bubble team Red Bank Catholic coming to town on Tuesday in a projected playoff preview.

18. St. John’s (DC) (10-3 – 20th)

To some extent, St. John’s’ stock actually dropped with Grace Christian losing to unranked competition, as Grace Christian beat Montverde Academy which beat St. John’s. But we can’t ragdoll St. John’s around based on Montverde Academy all season – we know that Montverde is an outstanding but inconsistent team, and that three-point loss was nearly a month ago. The situation just got more complicated as St. John’s was upset by St. John Vianney, but Vianney was an unbeaten bubble team with enough talent for a top-25 season. For now, the Cadets remain in the same vicinity.

19. Bullis (MD) (9-4 – 21st)

Bullis has now dropped three of its last five after a 70-57 loss to Princess Anne. But all of four of its losses have come against higher-ranked competition, and it has many upcoming chances to bolster its resume.

20. IMG Academy (FL) (11-2 – Bubble)

We pushed the Ascenders to the bubble last week with the expectation that we’d bring them back with the bubble of California and Nevada teams about to burst. That bubble sure did burst with DPAC falling off and Etiwanda taking down Tualatin and St. Mary’s (Stockton) with two of its top players eligible after the transfer sit-out period. So, IMG is back in the top 25 with room to spare. It made a statement with a 64-36 rout of Elizabeth Seton in its only game of the week.

21. Corona Centennial (CA) (5-1– 14th)

In its first shot at national competition, Cen10 gave Sierra Canyon a run for its money before losing 62-55. This is a huge week for the Huskies with a slew of excellent unranked teams on the schedule, headlined by a Monday night meeting with JSerra, the top California team not currently in SN’s national rankings.

22. Wagner (TX) (22-0 – Bubble)

The unbeaten Thunderbirds are back in the top 25 and are yet to be seriously tested in district play. They’re clearly the team to beat so far in Texas UIL 5A, although the likes of Denton Ryan, Tascosa, and Argyle might have something to say about that down the stretch of the season.

23. Clovis West (CA) (17-1 – 22nd)

Clovis West’s unbeaten streak was ended decisively by Bishop Gorman, which won 67-46 in the Las Vegas Classic finals. But the Golden Eagles bounced back for one of their more impressive wins of the season, 79-54 over Fairmont Prep.

24. Arrowhead (WI) (9-0 – Bubble)

Through nine games, the Warhawks have scored at least 60 points every game and 88 a whopping five times, including their only game of last week. They defeated reigning Minnesota champion Providence Academy 94-83 behind 41 points, 13 rebounds, and four assists from 5-star Minnesota commit Natalie Kussow and 15 points, 27 rebounds, and three blocks from fellow senior W Libby Gilmore.

25. Belleville (MI) (5-0 – Bubble)

The last of four teams that returned to the top 25 after dropping to the bubble while the cluster of California and Nevada teams holding ranked wins finally dissolved. Belleville blew out Mumford 76-33 last week, and the previous week it picked up a 65-50 win over Indiana powerhouse Lawrence Central.