Top 25 California high school girls basketball rankings (2/13/2024): Archbishop Mitty finishes regular season at No. 1
Outside of a couple notable exceptions, last week was one of the quietest of the season. But by next week, the postseason will have started in all of California high school girls basketball, and some sections will already be in their latter rounds. So get ready for playoff basketball because it's about to pop off.
With that said, here are SBLive's California girls basketball rankings for the week of Feb. 12-18. 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 (23-0 – 1st last week)
Photo by Sam Stringer
With the regular season ending, it's time to ask if anyone has a chance to simply push Archbishop Mitty in the Central Section and Northern Region playoffs. There's not much evidence suggesting that the answer is yes, but to be fair to NorCal's other elite teams, only a few of them have actually gotten a crack at the Monarchs.
2. Etiwanda (26-3 – 2nd)
Shaena Brew (Etiwanda)
Photo by Heston Quan
Etiwanda opened the CIF-SS Open Division playoffs with a statement, crushing Corona Centennial 90-38. Up next in pool play is Bishop Montgomery before a projected unofficial semifinal against third-seeded Ontario Christian.
3. Sierra Canyon (28-1 – 3rd)
Mackenly Randolph (Sierra Canyon)
Photo by Heston Quan
The top-seeded Trailblazers took care of business in their postseason opener, defeating Orangewood Academy 82-43. Next they face Sage Hill, which they defeated 81-57 on Dec. 29, and then Mater Dei.
4. Cardinal Newman (26-2 – 5th)
Undoubtedly one of the top teams to watch this postseason, Cardinal Newman is in good position to rewrite program history. First up is CIF-NCS Open Division playoffs, where it earned a first round bye as the No. 2 seed and a semifinals date with the winner of Carondelet and Piedmont.
5. Folsom (24-4 – 6th)
After an absolute demolition of the Sierra Foothill League, Folsom is the clear favorite to repeat as CIF-SJS champion. It opens the Division 1 playoffs on Wednesday against Edison (Stockton).
6. Ontario Christian (25-3 – 7th)
Now ranked third in the Southern Section after Sage Hill's loss to Mater Dei, the team Ontario Christian beat at Nike TOC to jump in the state rankings and climb into the national rankings bubble. The Knights began Open Division pool play with a 73-58 win over Bishop Montgomery, and finish up against the other top two teams in the Inland Empire, Corona Centennial and Etiwanda. One key stat that bodes well for Ontario Christian is that they're 17-0 since J.W. North transfer Amanda Ajobiewe became eligible after Christmas, with all wins coming by double digits. Ajobiewe had a season-high 24 points to go with 11 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 assists against Bishop Montgomery.
7. Mater Dei (23-6 – 8th)
Mater Dei nearly reentered our national top 25 this week despite missing its biggest-name player, 5-star guard/wing Addie Deal. Beating Sage Hill 56-55 without her is a fantastic accomplishment on its own, and that made it eight in a row for the undisputed Trinity League champion. Mater Dei will be the favorite on Wednesday in the second game of CIF-SS pool play, hosting eighth-seeded Orangewood Academy.
8. Sage Hill (24-3 – 4th)
Technically the Mater Dei loss cost the Thunder four spots, but it didn't drop their stock nearly as much as it sounds like. The cluster of five teams that they're now at the bottom of is extremely tightly-wound, and could see a lot of reordering by the end of the postseason. Also, if by any chance the loss bumps Sage Hill down to Division 1 for regionals, then every team in that bracket will be on notice regarding the 2022 Division 2 state champion.
9. Bishop Montgomery (18-4 – 9th)
Bishop Montgomery played Ontario Christian close for a half in its playoff opener before falling 73-58, which is not a bad showing despite a disappointing result. It won't exactly get easier with Etiwanda up next, but the team could register a landmark victory after that hosting seventh seed Corona Centennial to finish pool play.
10. St. Mary's-Stockton (21-5 – 10th)
The Rams were on upset alert in a big way again last week, tied 32-32 against athletic Lincoln (Stockton) entering the fourth quarter. But they rallied in the fourth as they often do, eventually cruising to a 54-41 finish. They open the Sac-Joaquin Section D1 playoffs against Stagg.
11. San Ramon Valley (25-1 – 11th)
Yet another close win over rival Carondelet, this time for its second consecutive EBAL championship. Can the Wolves bring home a North Coast Section Open Division title as well?
12. Clovis West (27-2 – 12th)
With another TRAC title now official, it's postseason time for Clovis West – a team that often peaks in the playoffs. The Golden Eagles will hope that their No. 12 ranking is apt as they go for their 12th consecutive Central Section championship. And with San Joaquin Memorial Alexis Swillis just recently making her Clovis West debut, this team could rise considerably.
13. Bishop O'Dowd (18-5 – 13th)
Add Bishop O'Dowd to the list of teams with a legitimate chance to come out of the CIF-NCS this postseason. It enters its Open Division opener against Acalanes on a season-best eight-game tear.
14. Mission Hills (18-8 – 15th)
It seems to be the Grizzlies' year to win the San Diego Section. But that's easier said on paper than done on the court, where they'll face a host of formidable opponents. They open the Open Division bracket as the top seed hosting No. 8 Scripps Ranch.
15. Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep (19-3 – 13th)
With a 59-44 win at St. Ignatius, Sacred Heart Cathedral clinched an undisputed silver medal in the vaunted West Catholic. But a regular season-ending loss to Archbishop Riordan, a potential playoff foe, would hurt momentum a lot, so look for the Irish to give the finale their best shot.
16. Acalanes (25-4 – 16th)
As expected, Acalanes had no trouble sweeping the Diablo League, and enters the postseason on a 14-game winning streak as a team no one wants to face. Its playoff opener against Bishop O'Dowd looks to be a potential instant classic.
17. Corona Centennial (19-11 – 17th)
Opening the postseason with a 52-point annihilation at the hands of Etiwanda certainly couldn't have felt good. But the seventh-seeded Huskies are playing with house money in the remaining two games of pool play, opportunities to make noise against Ontario Christian and Bishop Montgomery. And if they do end up going winless in pool play, they could still pick up big wins in the Division 1 regional playoffs – if they don't run out of gas.
18. Orangewood Academy (21-7 – 18th)
Everything in the previous blurb about No. 17 Corona Centennial is directly applicable to No. 18 Orangewood Academy, except the Spartans' loss was to Sierra Canyon, and their remaining pool play games are against Mater Dei and Sage Hill. As a team that no one expected to make the Open Division, Orangewood is a long shot to push the only two higher-ranked teams in Orange County, Mater Dei and Sage Hill. But solid showings could parlay into a regional playoff run.
19. Brentwood School (21-8 – 19th)
Brentwood began the playoffs with a bang, routing Crescenta Valley 75-48 after technically opening with a bye week. However, it now has to beat one of Division 1's top title contenders in Lynwood just to make the quarterfinals.
20. Moreno Valley (26-4 – 21st)
Simply put, 2023-24 brought one of the deepest and most balanced Southern Section 2AA brackets ever. All eight teams that made the quarterfinals are relevant at a statewide rankings level and could plausibly go all the way. And with all that said, Moreno Valley and Rancho Christian – the two 2AA inclusions in our top 25 – got a particularly brutal draw running into each other in the quarterfinals. Higher-ranked MoVal could be called a slight favorite, possessing home court advantage and entering on a 10-game winning streak after an impressive 49-36 win against Bonita.
21. La Jolla Country Day (22-6 – 22nd)
These San Diego Section playoffs are not only a title defense for the Torreys but in fact a shot at a three-peat. As the second seed in the Open Division, they begin the quest against Rancho Bernardo.
22. Carondelet (25-4 – 23rd)
Despite losing two battles to arch rival San Ramon Valley in the span of less than two weeks, Carondelet's stock remains solid. In fact, those results only reaffirmed that Carondelet is a serious threat to go on a finals run in the North Coast Section, and it'll be the favorite opening up against Piedmont.
23. Rancho Christian (18-7 – 24th)
Rancho Christian scored 78 and 75 points in playoff-opening wins against St. Mary's Academy and San Clemente, respectively. It will be put to the test running into No. 20 Moreno Valley in the CIF-SS 2AA quarterfinals in what could be the game of the week.
24. Santiago-Corona (19-11 – 25th)
The Sharks were undeniably one of the scariest teams in Division 1 entering the Southern Section playoffs, and they looked the part in their first two games, beating Cypress 87-28 and San Juan Hills 60-42. They'll need another strong effort in the quarterfinals against red-hot North (Torrance).
25. Windward (20-7 – 20th)
The Wildcats' season came to a close earlier than expected with a 63-57 loss to Harvard-Westlake in the CIF-SS D1 round of 16. Harvard-Westlake has too many losses against unranked teams to debut from the win, but Windward doesn't drop out because it still went 2-1 against Harvard-Westlake – one of the most dangerous teams in Division 1 – on the season. That's in addition to a host of other excellent wins, of course.
ON THE BUBBLE:
McClatchy, Buena Park
