HoopGurlz

HoopGurlz

Three of the top five teams in the new Rivals.com FAB 50 national girls basketball rankings are from California and two of them could be playing each other in the CIF Division III Northern California championship.

Chelsea Gray is one of two sophomore All-Americans for St. Mary's of Stockton.

Sacred Heart Cathedral of San Francisco, which also is No. 1 in all other national polls except one, gets the top spot for being unbeaten and taking on an elite national schedule. Coach Brian Harrigan's squad captured its biggest win at the Southridge Invitational in early December with a surprising 74-58 win over preseason national No. 1 Long Beach Poly. The Jackrabbits then turned around and won the toughest division at the prestigious Nike Tournament of Champions in Arizona by downing then No. 1 Notre Dame Academy of Virginia in the final.

Sitting in the wings, however, and also firmly in the race to be No. 1 in the nation is yet another California school, St. Mary's of Stockton. The Rams haven't played the national schedule that Sacred Heart Cathedral and Long Beach Poly have played, but have faced many of the best in their state and happen to be in the same playoff division as Sacred Heart Cathedral.

If neither team loses, a title game matchup of unbeatens in the CIF Division III Northern California final appears likely. That also means that St. Mary's has a chance to beat Sacred Heart Cathedral and finish unbeaten. Long Beach Poly, even if it wins the CIF Division I title and doesn't lose for the rest of the season, would therefore have to finish behind St. Mary's in the final rankings due to common opponent criteria. Poly is currently ranked ahead of St. Mary's in three other national rankings, but the Rivals.com FAB 50 is the only one that more closely mirrors the various state rankings around the country.

In addition to the California teams, two others look like they would have strong credentials for a possible No. 1 ranking at the end of the season.

First, there's perennial power Murry Bergtraum of New York. The Blazers, like St. Mary's, haven't faced a national schedule, but fellow New York teams St. Michael's Academy and St. John's the Baptist have done well against noteworthy out-of-state foes. Bergtraum therefore could go unbeaten for the second straight season and win another New York Federation state title in a strong field of contenders.

Winter Haven of Florida is the other possibility. The Blue Devils just avenged their only loss, they could win their third state title in four years and they have a win over a Stephenson of Stone Mountain squad that could end up as the top team in Georgia. The final FAB 50 No. 1 team last year was a Georgia team from Collins Hill of Suwanee.

These rankings that follow include games played from this week, including a big upset in Kansas that saw its No. 1 team, Heights of Wichita, knocked off by Wichita South, 59-49. Other teams that have lost in the last two weeks that may have ended any realistic chances of finishing at No. 1 have been Jackson of Murrah, Miss., and Buffalo Grove of Illinois, which actually lost twice after it won a huge game over Washington of South Bend, Ind.

There's a significant game on Friday night of this week in Alabama with unbeaten Midfield facing Bob Jones of Madison. Jones will be attempting to avenge a loss to Midfield from earlier in the season.

Note: Poly was ranked behind Narbonne of Harbor City in most recent state top 20, but that will have to be flipped next week due to the Jackrabbits avenging their earlier loss to Millikan.

(All teams listed with most current win-loss record; Preseason ranking listed in parentheses; Look for the next Rivals.com FAB 50 girls basketball rankings in two weeks.)

	EA SPORTS All-American Nneka Ogwunmike leads the No. 1 ranked team in Texas, No. 7 Cy-Fair (Houston, Texas).

1. Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco, Calif.) 19-0 (6)

2. Murry Bergtraum (New York, N.Y.) 15-0 (11)

3. St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.) 23-0 (nr)

4. Winter Haven (Winter Haven, Fla.) 26-1 (5)

5. Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) 17-2 (1)

6. Notre Dame Academy (Fitchburg, Va.) 19-2 (2)

7. Cy-Fair (Houston, Texas) 29-2 (3)

8. Dunbar (Louisville, Ky.) 24-1 (nr)

9. Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colo.) 15-1 (nr)

10. DeSoto (DeSoto, Texas) 30-1 (nr)

11. St. Michael Academy (New York, N.Y.) 10-1 (33)

12. Lakota West (West Chester, Ohio) 17-1 (nr)

13. Prairie (Brush Prairie, Wash.) 14-3 (45)

14. Southridge (Beaverton, Ore.) 15-4 (18)

15. Highlands Ranch (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) 13-3 (nr)

16. Sapulpa (Sapulpa, Okla.) 17-1 (nr)

17. Lower Richland (Hopkins, S.C.) 16-0 (28)

18. Bellaire (Houston, Texas) 31-1 (nr)

19. Midfield (Midfield, Ala.) 24-0 (nr)

20. Centennial (Circle Lakes, Minn.) 18-0 (nr)

21. Hinsdale Central (Hinsdale, Ill.) 24-1 (nr)

22. Stephenson (Stone Mountain, Ga.) 19-3 (nr)

23. Murrah (Jackson, Miss.) 22-1 (7)

24. T.C. Williams (Alexandria, Va.) 14-0 (nr)

25. Coffman (Dublin, Ohio) 19-0 (nr)

26. Shabazz (Newark, N.J.) 14-1 (26)

27. Skyview (Vancouver, Wash.) 16-1 (nr)

28. Lake Gibson (Lakeland, Fla.) 23-3 (nr)

29. Buffalo Grove (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) 22-3 (19)

30. Washington (South Bend, Ind.) 17-2 (8)

31. Eleanor Roosevelt (Greenbelt, Md.) 11-1 (36)

32. Ben Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.) 20-1 (nr)

33. Bob Jones (Madison, Ala.) 26-2 (nr)

34. Oak Ridge (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) 22-1 (nr)

	No. 38 Narbonne (Harbor City, Calif.) won an early-season tournament to get their season started on the right foot with guard Reiko Thomas leading the way.

35. Cardinal O'Hara (Springfield, Pa.) 15-1 (nr)

36. Heights (Wichita, Kan.) 13-1 (21)

37. Hoover (Hoover, Ala.) 25-1 (nr)

38. Narbonne (Harbor City, Calif.) 22-3 (nr)

39. Woodson (Washington, D.C.) 19-4 (nr)

40. Lewis & Clark (Spokane, Wash.) 16-0 (nr)

41. Hope (Chicago, Ill.) 23-1 (nr)

42. Gentry (Indianola, Miss.) 26-0 (nr)

43. Lake Mary (Lake Mary, Fla.) 19-3 (nr)

44. Wakefield (Raleigh, N.C.) 20-0 (nr)

45. Edison (Alexandria, Va.) 13-1 (nr)

46. Seton Keough (Baltimore, Md.) 22-2 (nr)

47. Sequoyah (Tahlequah, Okla.) 14-2 (48)

48. St. John the Baptist (West Islip, N.Y.) 13-4 (50)

49. Dulles (Sugar Land, Texas) 27-4 (nr)

50. Baron Collier (Naples, Fla.) 24-3 (nr)

30 More On The Bubble Teams:
A.B. Miller (Fontana, Calif.) 17-2
Auburn Riverside (Auburn, Wash.) 14-3
Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) 24-4
Brea Olinda (Brea, Calif.) 19-3
Central (Andover, Kan.) 13-0
Central Catholic (Portland, Ore.) 14-3
Clovis West (Fresno, Calif.) 18-2
Detroit Country Day (Birmingham, Mich.) 12-1
Dickinson (Dickinson, Texas) 27-4
Duncanville (Duncanville, Texas) 27-3
East St. Louis (East St. Louis, Ill.) 20-1
Edwardsville (Edwardsville, Ill.) 24-1
Frisco (Frisco, Texas) 30-3
Heritage Christian (Indianapolis, Ind.) 19-1
Incarnate Word (St. Louis, Mo.) 18-3
Lake Howell (Winter Park, Fla.) 21-3
Lexington Catholic (Lexington, Ky.) 19-4
McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) 20-2
Midwest City (Midwest City, Okla.) 16-0
Millikan (Long Beach, Calif.) 18-3
Mt. Lebanon (Mt. Lebanon, Pa.) 21-1
Mt. Notre Dame (Cincinnati, Ohio) 17-2
Paint Branch (Paint Branch, Md.) 11-0
Parkersburg South (Parkersburg, W. Va.) 14-0
Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, Va.) 18-0
Redondo (Redondo Beach, Calif.) 18-2
Southwood (Shreveport, La.) 21-3
Sparkman (Harvest, Ala.) 21-2
St. John the Baptist (Islip, N.Y.) 13-4
Whitney Young (Chicago, Ill.) 20-2