Video: Half court buzzer beater for the win
See how Covenant Christian (Palm Bay, Fla.) stole a win earlier this year.Some teams lose and they disappear from the Xcellent 25. Riverdale Baptist, though, is not only still in the rankings but remains in the top 10 even after losing to nine-loss Life Center of New Jersey. Why?
Because the one way to offset losses to unranked teams is to beat a horde of elite teams -- and Riverdale Baptist has done just that. The list of victims (in chronological order) is impressive: McEachern of Georgia, Miami Country Day of Florida, Homewood-Flossmoor of Illinois, Long Beach Poly of California, No. 6 Centennial of Nevada, Cedar Hill of Texas, Princess Anne of Virginia, St. Frances of Maryland, plus Christ the King and South Shore of New York. Coming up in the next few days are games against No. 3 National Christian and No. 8 Forestville, followed by a rematch with Life Center next week.
Play that schedule -- rather than ducking nearby opponents to preserve a national ranking -- and a loss can be forgiven.
Oh, and that other loss for Riverdale Baptist? To No. 1 St. Mary's. In overtime.
Note: The rankings are more accurate when all the results are on MaxPreps, so we encourage everyone to make sure their schedules and scores are up to date. If you have any issues, contact MaxPreps Coach Support at coachsupport@maxpreps.com, and you'll be taken care of.
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Girls Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard
Kayla Vallin and Grandview have moved into the Xcellent 25
File photo by Dave Regensburger
The next big game is Saturday against Bishop O'Dowd, a perennial Oakland power that's on a roll of late. And though the game is in Stockton, it's at Delta College, not St. Mary's, which cuts into the home court advantage.
2. (3) Duncanville (Texas) 31-0
After three quarters, the score against Cedar Hill was tied -- but then Duncanville took over. The 59-49 win also means there's only more game left before the Texas playoffs begin.
3. (5) National Christian Academy (Fort Washington, Md.) 21-0
Is National Christian really the third-best team in the country? Given that it must face Riverdale Baptist at least once more, plus some serious competition in the NACA championships, if National Christian wins out, then there will be no doubt.
4. (6) Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia) 19-0
Neumann-Goretti moves to No. 4, and any loss from here on out would be a major upset. Unfortunately the top three teams in Pennsylvania -- Neumann-Goretti, Cardinal O'Hara and No. 17 Villa Maria -- are all in different postseason divisions.
5. (2) Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Md.) 24-2
Even though Riverdale Baptist lost to nine-loss Life Center by four over the weekend, redemption awaits Friday at No. 3 National Christian. And then a trip to No. 8 Forestville follows on Sunday.
6. (4) Centennial (Las Vegas) 22-1
Since Centennial lost to Riverdale Baptist, it has to drop when Riverdale Baptist does. But of course, Centennial has to keep winning, and Wednesday's trip to Desert Oasis could be a challenge.
7. (7) Miramonte (Orinda, Calif.) 21-0
Miramonte won't be tested until it faces 3-point bombers Pinewood on Feb. 20 -- and then comes the gantlet of the California postseason, including No. 12 Archbishop Mitty and of course, No. 1 St. Mary's.
8. (8) Forestville (Md.) 14-1
No. 5 Riverdale Baptist will be playing its third game in four days when it comes to Forestville on Sunday -- and remember, Forestville's only loss is to No. 1 St. Mary's.
9. (9) North Shore (Houston) 29-1
The beat goes on for North Shore, which lost only to No. 2 Duncanville back on Nov. 11. Revenge for that 26-point defeat, though, can come only in the postseason.
10. (11) St. Francis (Alpharetta, Ga.) 22-1
It's 20-1 Collins Hill Wednesday night, and that could be the toughest test St. Francis could face the rest of the way, as the competition in the Georgia A postseason will not be a challenge.
11. (12) Cicero-North Syracuse (Cicero, N.Y.) 18-0
Cicero North moves to No. 11, primarily due to its win over No. 12 Archbishop Mitty back in December -- but aside from that, New York's best has played the weakest schedule of any team in the Xcellent 25.
12. (13) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) 15-3
The little things count. Archbishop Mitty beat Our Lady of Good Counsel in great part thanks to a defender drawing a technical for reaching over the sideline to contest an inbounds pass. And since Good Counsel beat Paul VI, that puts Mitty at No. 12 and Paul VI at No. 13.
13. (14) Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) 20-1
Things were going along swimmingly for Paul VI in its game against league rival St. John's College, leading by 15 in the second half. But St. John's came storming back to cut the lead to one -- and then missed a late layup, allowing PVI to hold on, 59-58, and hold on to a spot in the Xcellent 25.
14. (15) Bellevue (Wash.) 18-0
Bellevue has only two games left before the Washington postseason begins, but one of them is at league rival Mercer Island this Friday.
15. (16) Highlands Ranch (Colo.) 17-1
It might be easy to dismiss Regis Jesuit, Friday's opponent, because of those five losses. But four of them were in California and Missouri. Regis Jesuit, a bitter rival of Highlands Ranch, has lost only once in Colorado.
16. (17) Lynnwood (Bothell, Wash.) 18-0
Like many members of the Xcellent 25, only bad things can happen between now and the postseason, as any loss would be considered a huge upset.
17. (19) Villa Maria Academy (Erie, Pa.) 18-0
Bishop Canevin, which has played the Pennsylvania spoiler in the past, comes to Villa Maria Saturday -- and brings a 17-2 record along with it.
18. (10) Blackman (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) 21-3
According to the MaxPreps National Girls Basketball Computer Rankings presented by the Army National Guard, Blackman has played the toughest schedule in the country -- which kept it in the Xcellent 25 despite the overtime loss to unranked Stewarts Creek Friday.
19. (20) St. John-Vianney (Holmdel, N.J.) 16-1
After leading by 20, St. John-Vianney watched rival Manasquan cut the lead to one. But thanks in great part to
Kimi Evans, Vianney held on to win 61-55.
20. (21) Heritage (Saginaw, Mich.) 15-0
The only roadblock between now and the postseason appears to be a trip to Midland Dow on Feb. 12.
21. (23) Memphis Central (Tenn.) 26-0
After getting by always-tough Overton, Memphis Central now hosts Hamilton -- and it needed overtime to handle Hamilton the first time around.
22. (24) Rutgers Prep (Somerset, N.J.) 17-0
Rutgers Prep's win over one of New Jersey's best, Gill-St. Bernard's, further justifies this ranking. The next two games, however, will not be nearly as challenging.
23. (25) Mansfield Timberview (Arlington, Texas) 28-0
Mansfield Timberview has played -- and won -- a lot of close games this year, and one of those close games (five points) was against Red Oak. And Red Oak just happens to be next Tuesday's opponent.
24. (NR) South (Wichita, Kan.) 14-0
Wichita South has been in the Xcellent 25 before, and also has won state titles before, including the last three in a row. After knocking off previously unbeaten Derby 48-34 Saturday, that fourth-straight Kansas championship looks to be within reach.
25. (NR) Grandview (Aurora, Colo.) 16-0
Grandview makes its first appearance ever in the Xcellent 25, but faces its two toughest league rivals this week, so a return next week is not guaranteed.
Dropped out: No. 18 Central (Little Rock, Ark.), No. 22 Wenonah (Ala.)
