MaxPreps Top 25 national high school girls basketball rankings

It's a big season for a couple of long-time West Coast coaches — both Karen Weitz of Centennial (Las Vegas) and Margaret Gartner of Carondelet (Concord, Calif.) will celebrate winning their 500th games this year.

Now, just to think about it a little more, figure that a pretty good season is a 20-win season. California and Nevada schools aren't allowed to play as many games as some other states, so playing 30 generally only happens if a team goes deep into postseason. So to win 500 games really means winning 20 games per year for at least 25 years — and during those inevitable down seasons, that still means winning at least 15.

A lot of coaches consider their careers complete with a couple 20-win seasons, but Weitz and Gartner have churned them out with depressing regularity — depressing, at least, to their in-state rivals. Weitz, in a much smaller state, has won six state championships, while Gartner has won only one — but Gartner did send Jayne Appel to Stanford, the USA Basketball National Team and the WNBA All-Star Game.

Coaches who've stuck it out as long as those two aren't just motivated by shiny trophies and articles like this. No one puts in the huge amount of time and absorbs the slings and arrows of bad luck and unexpected whistles without a sincere love for the young people they teach and mentor.

Weitz and Gartner are just two of many superb high school coaches around the country who've won lots of games, and in a way, I feel bad about singling them out — but they deserve all the credit they can get, and I would feel worse about not acknowledging them at all.


1. (Last week 1) Incarnate Word Academy (St. Louis) 1-0
The season really gets under way for the Red Knights this week, as Parkway North and St. Dominic are on tap — though neither are expected to provide the kind of competition Incarnate Word will face later on during the season.

2. (2) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 4-0
The Monarchs, as expected, rolled through the Battle of the Beach, and shouldn't be challenged until the Nike TOC in Phoenix, which starts Dec. 19.

3. (3) Blackman (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) 6-0
It'll be another tough weekend for Blackman, with very talented league rival Oakland Friday and then a return engagement with Sparkman of Alabama on Saturday — this time in Tennessee. The first matchup was a three-point win for the Blaze, but it was on the road.

4. (4) Shabazz (Newark, N.J.) 0-0
The Bulldogs will jump right into the fire after Christmas, as they won't play before running into Louisville-bound Mariya Moore and Salesian in the first round of the West Coast Jamboree Dec. 27.

5. (5) Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) 2-0
The schedule doesn't let up for Paul VI, which handled Pennsylvania power Seton LaSalle last week, and then this weekend draws tough Life Center of New Jersey and New York City's St. Anthony's.

6. (6) Duncanville (Texas) 9-0
After some time off for state testing, Duncanville jumps into league play this week, but the big test will be at the Sandra Meadows Classic after Christmas. No. 18 Whitney Young and No. 15 Manvel are both entered, but those two must get past each other to reach the finals.

7. (8) Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colo.) 3-0
After some easy wins, Regis Jesuit travels to Horizon, a good team last year that gave the eventual Colorado champs a battle in the 2013 playoffs before losing by 13.

8. (10) Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Md.) 2-0
After beating Life Center of New Jersey by 13, the Crusaders should be in cruise control until the Nike TOC Dec. 19.

9. (9) Bedford North Lawrence (Bedford, Ind.) 7-0
The New Albany game was postponed due to the bad weather, meaning Bedford North Lawrence only got to beat up on one Indiana team this week.

10. (11) New Hope Christian Academy (Thomasville, N.C.) 7-0
If you believe in comparative scores — we don't, by the way — you could make the case that New Hope, which beat Life Center by 27, should jump Riverdale Baptist in the rankings. But there are too many variables to just look at margin of victory, and so New Hope still trails.

11. (12) Long Beach Poly (Calif.) 0-0
While watching two other California ranked teams (St. Mary's of Albany and Windward) get beat, the Jackrabbits were packing their beach towels and getting ready for this weekend's Iolani Classic. Tough duty ...

12. (14) Homewood-Flossmoor (Flossmoor, Ill.) 4-0
The Vikings have just one more game in Illinois before joining many of the nation's elite in the Nike TOC in Phoenix. As always, that's where reputations are made and dissolved.

13. (16) Fairmont (Kettering, Ohio) 3-1
Despite 34 points from Ohio State-bound Kelsey Mitchell, Fairmont outlasted Princeton 63-54 Monday as Makayla Waterman led the Firebirds with 21. Greenville and Lebanon are on tap this week.

14. (19) Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) 4-0
A convincing 89-76 win over New York City power Nazareth Regional moved the Royals up to this spot — but it will take a strong showing at the Nike TOC to hang onto it.

15. (18) Manvel (Texas) 14-1
Manvel has already played a half-season's worth of games in most states, and there's still plenty of time to procrastinate about Christmas shopping. It should be smooth sailing for the Mavericks until the Sandra Meadows Classic after Christmas.

16. (20). St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.) 5-0
The Rams rolled through five pretty good Northern California opponents and will play one more Saturday, Sacred Heart Cathedral, before heading to Phoenix for the Nike TOC.

17. (17) Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) 7-1
The Warriors took care of business against always-tough Mount Juliet, 57-40, and now will join No. 11 Long Beach Poly at the Iolani Classic in Hawaii. A change in the weather, for sure ...

18. (NR) Whitney Young (Chicago) 1-0
If you miss 12 of your first 13 shots, you better get rebounds — and the Dolphins snagged an incredible 53 en route to knocking off previous No. 13 Rolling Meadows, 54-40. But Whitney Young must play a long string of games, capped with a battle against St. Thomas More on Saturday.

19. (21) Rock Bridge (Columbia, Mo.) 2-2
After rolling over Blue Springs, Rock Bridge heads to Fort Smith, Ark., for the TOC — hosted by No. 20 Northside. The Bruins definitely don't duck anyone.

20. (22) Northside (Fort Smith, Ark.) 3-0
The Grizzlies handled West Memphis, 69-60, and West Memphis played No. 22 Horn Lake close, losing 50-47. Northside is off to the Cleveland Invitational in Oklahoma this weekend.

21. (23) Southwest DeKalb (Decatur, Ga.) 6-0
The Panthers are playing well early, but next up is Tucker, one of the many solid Georgia teams — and then it's off to Phoenix to the Nike TOC where the competition will be more than just solid.

22. (24) Horn Lake (Horn Lake, Miss.) 9-0
Winless Lake Cormorant and winless Blytheville are next up for Horn Lake, which shouldn't be much of a challenge for the No. 22 team in the nation.

23. (25) Lawrence North (Indianapolis) 6-0
The Marion County (IN) tournament is next for Lawrence North, which blew away long-time Indiana power Ben Davis by 35 last week.

24. (NR) Elizabethtown (Ky.) 1-0
Kentucky's top team had a couple games postponed because of bad weather, but traditional power Mercy of Louisville is coming up next week. The Panthers will get a more serious test when they travel to the Naples Holiday Classic after Christmas.

25. (NR) Etiwanda (Calif.) 1-0
McKynzie Fort and Amy Okonkwo lead the Eagles, who have been hovering on the edge of the Xcellent 25 for a year now. This week, they finally crack the list, but in ever-tough Southern California staying there might prove to be a bigger challenge.

Dropped out: No. 7 Windward, No. 13 Rolling Meadows, No. 15 Saint Mary's (Albany)