Top 25 California high school girls basketball rankings (1/22/2024): Archbishop Mitty still No. 1
With the playoffs approaching quickly, many of California's top girls basketball teams have a long-awaited diminuendo to close the regular season after playing elite schedules for two months.
But it's just the calm before the storm. And even then, quite a few have intertwined big non-conference games, and a select few are in high-profile league races.
So, here are SBLive's California girls basketball rankings for the week of Jan. 22-28. After each team's name is its record and previous ranking. The rankings will be released every week for the remainder of the season.
SBLIVE TOP 25 CALIFORNIA GIRLS BASKETBALL RANKINGS
1. Archbishop Mitty (17-0 – 1st)
Photo by Sam Stringer
The CIF State Open Division Championship isn't until Mar. 9, which means it might be nearly seven weeks until the Monarchs play a team that they aren't widely expected to demolish. Last week they played Bishop O'Dowd, Archbishop Riordan, St. Ignatius, and University (San Francisco), and won every game by more than 40 points.
And yes, speaking of Bay Area greatness, that is indeed Sabrina Ionescu posing with them at Carondelet's SI20 Showcase.
2. Etiwanda (19-3 – 2nd)
Photo by Heston Quan
Friday brought another one of Etiwanda's scariest wins yet, a 94-23 beatdown of a state-ranked Rancho Christian squad that entered with momentum. As for its other recent results... let's just say that Baseline League winning streak still isn't going anywhere for a long time, although Los Osos was at least able to avoid complete annihilation.
3. Sierra Canyon (22-1 – 3rd)
Speaking of being far ahead of the pack, Sierra Canyon has won by double-digits in 21 of the 23 games it's played in. The other two were a one-point loss to national championship contender Sidwell Friends (D.C.) and a nine-point win against DeSoto, the top-ranked team in Texas.
4. Sage Hill (18-2 – 4th)
Now on an eight-game winning streak with all coming by 12 or more. Sage Hill may or may not be tested on Saturday in a non-league tuneup against underrated Mira Costa.
5. Cardinal Newman (20-2 – 5th)
Cardinal Newman hit its stride just as its regular season schedule was about to cool off, with only four games against local foes remaining. It will enter as the favorite to win its first CIFNCS Open Division title.
6. Folsom (18-4 – 6th)
Photo by Sam Stringer
Last week, the Bulldogs proved that the Cardinal Newman loss said more about their opponent than about them. They bounced back to beat Mission Hills 58-49, and then made statements by demolishing Whitney (Rocklin) 75-20 and Oak Ridge 66-20.
7. Ontario Christian (20-3 – 7th)
The Knights are on a special run right now, putting up insane offensive numbers and winning every game since Dec. 20. During their 13-game winning streak, while playing six top-25 teams in the state and one of the top teams in Georgia (St. Francis-Alpharetta), they've eclipsed 60 points in all 13 games, 70 points in 10 games, and 85 points in seven games.
8. Mater Dei (18-6 – 8th)
Getting closer to the national-caliber level they were playing at before the injury bug struck now that Kaeli Wynn is back. Since losing 64-48 on the East Coast against Morris Catholic (NJ), one of the top-ranked teams in the country, the Monarchs have beaten Santa Margarita 76-28, Orange Lutheran 75-40, and Mission Hills 56-37.
9. Bishop Montgomery (15-3 – 9th)
After causing past St. Mary's Academy again, the Knights are only three wins away from registering a clean sweep of the Del Rey League. It won't come easy of course, as St. Anthony, St. Paul, and La Salle are still on deck, but they face both St. Anthony and La Salle at home.
10. St. Mary's-Stockton (16-5 – 10th)
Photo by Sam Stringer
St. Mary's stayed busy beating Rancho Christian, Lincoln (Stockton), and Pinewood. The first two were blowout wins, but the latter came by just a point.
11. San Ramon Valley (19-1 – 11th)
For all the increased noise surrounding Cardinal Newman in recent weeks, San Ramon Valley still has to like its chances of emerging atop the North Coast Section. The Wolves scored a season-high 89 points against Amador Valley in their only game of the week.
12. Clovis West (21-2 – 13th)
Photo by Sam Stringer
It's always too easy to take for granted the remarkable consistency of Clovis West, which is currently on an 11-game tear. The Golden Eagles still have only the two losses coming against Santiago (Corona) and Sidwell Friends (D.C.), with the former now being more than two months into the past and the latter coming against a team that beat Sierra Canyon. And with plenty of big wins before league play, they appear to be on their way to another breezy sweep of the TRAC.
13. Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep (13-2 – 12th)
While Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep still only has a couple high-profile wins on the season, it still hasn't lost a game to a team not named Archbishop Mitty or San Ramon Valley. And of the 13 others who've challenged, only Cardinal Newman and Archbishop Riordan were able to play SHCP to single digits.
14. Bishop O'Dowd (12-5 – 14th)
Finally, a week to cruise for the battle-tested Dragons, who blew out Encinal and Castro Valley.
15. Moreno Valley (20-4 – 15th)
As expected, Moreno Valley utterly dominated its first go-around of Sunbelt League play. Last week it beat Rancho Verde 63-15 and J.W. North 86-6.
16. Mission Hills (14-8 – 16th)
Never one to play an easy schedule, Mission Hills struggled to remain competitive in a loss to Mater Dei on Saturday. But not before staying unbeaten in Palomar League play against Poway and San Marcos.
17. Brentwood School (15-7 – 19th)
After much ado, the Eagles finished their first round of Gold Coast League action with the breakthrough win against Windward they've been looking for. Jocelyn Pascual dropped 26 points on just 11 field goal attempts (with seven makes) and Lev Feiman notched a double-double as Brentwood won 64-55. It fell 78-61 to Ontario Christian later in the week, but that's not a real stock-dropper.
18. Village Christian (16-3 – 17th)
Village Christian held off an upset bid from formidable Bonita in its lone game of the week, winning 49-42.
19. Acalanes (16-4 – 18th)
After dropping three straight games to higher-ranked competition around the turn of the year, Acalanes has had no problem picking back up against lower-level competition. They've since won five straight by an average score of 72-21.
20. Windward (15-5 – 20th)
Losing by single digits to Brentwood School, while disappointing for Windward fans, doesn't change the Wildcats' ranking. They have a non-league battle with Rancho Christian on Saturday, and then rematch Brentwood the following Friday.
21. La Jolla Country Day (17-6 – 24th)
For those who don't remember, the Torreys dropped a few spots last week after getting upset by McClatchy, which previously wasn't even on the bubble. But after blowing out Rancho Christian, La Jolla Country is now 3-0 against the next three teams in the rankings, and McClatchy has continued its hot play. So it just wouldn't do for the Torreys to remain ranked below Carondelet, Centennial, and Rancho Christian.
22. Carondelet (19-2 – 21st)
Photo by Sam Stringer
The Cougars are on a vicious seven-game winning streak, and are likely to make it 10 games before facing San Ramon Valley next Tuesday in their biggest game of the regular season. Can they pull off the upset?
23. Corona Centennial (14-10 – 22nd)
While this isn't Cen10's most highly-touted group, it's really rounding into form, and continuing the program's run of being competitive at the highest levels. Now winners of nine of their last 10 games, the Huskies rebounded from a near-upset of St. Mary's (Stockton) to steamroll Norco and Roosevelt (Eastvale) in Big VIII League play, and then held off surging Orangewood Academy 49-45. With double-digit wins against rival Santiago in the books, Centennial is about to be an undisputed conference champion once more, and will likely enter the playoffs ready to play its best ball yet.
24. Rancho Christian (10-6 – 23rd)
Playing a brutal schedule since the new year began, Rancho Christian has fallen to Ontario Christian, La Jolla Country Day, Corona Centennial, and St. Mary's (Stockton), and Etiwanda. The concern isn't that the Eagles didn't win one of those games, but that none came down to single digits, and all but the Centennial game were total blowouts. Still, Rancho Christian did mix in an impressive in against Piedmont and otherwise take care of business during that stretch.
25. Santiago-Corona (13-10 – 25th)
Santiago regained its footing after the Orangewood Academy loss on Monday by defeating Roosevelt 63-47, and then cruised past Corona. With only three games left, coming against M.L. King, Norco, and Long Beach Poly, Santiago has a strong chance to enter the playoffs on a season-high five game winning streak.
ON THE BUBBLE:
McClatchy, Orangewood Academy, Piedmont, Buena Park
