THE DIGITAL
TOP 20: GIRLS BASKETBALL March 18, 2008
1) St. Frances (26-5) (last
week: 1)
2) Seton
Keough (29-5) (last week: 2)
3) Arundel
(22-6) (last week: 3)
The Wildcats routed Dulaney (67-29) in the 4A semi-finals, as Ashley Davis led
the way with 25 points. Then they lost to Eleanor Roosevelt, 52-50, in the 4A
championship game. Davis led the team again with 17 points.
4) Mount Hebron (28-0) (last
week: 4)
The Vikings survived another close
one in the state semi-finals, edging Winters Mill by one (54-54) in a battle of
unbeaten teams, as Qiana Coleman (14) and Deanna Dydynski (13) combined for 27
points. Then they beat Poly by 15 (55-40), as Megan Schaaf had game-highs of 16
points and 19 rebounds, to win the 2A state title and finish undefeated at
28-0.
5) Atholton
(22-6) (last week: 7)
The Raiders beat Western by four in overtime (60-56) in the state semi’s,
as Elie Snyder (17) and Brittany Coughlan (16) combined for 33 points. Then
they lost to Paint Branch (74-39) in the state 3A championship game. Snyder led
Atholton with 22 points.
6) Winters
Mill (25-1) (last week: 6)
The Falcons came close but lost to Mount Hebron by one (54-53) in the 2A
semi-finals, as Cassie Cooke led the team with 19 points including a 40-foot
“three” with 1.5 seconds to go.
7) Western
(24-3) (last week: 5)
The Doves lost to Atholton by four in overtime (60-56) in the 3A state
semi-finals. Achiri Ade led Western with 14 points.
8) City (22-3) (last week: 8)
9) Catonsville (23-3) (last
week: 9)
10) McDonogh
(15-11) (last week: 10)
11) Severn (23-3) (last week: 13)
12) Archbishop Spalding (19-8) (last week: 11)
13) Poly
(21-6) (last week: 14)
The Engineers beat Wicomico by seven points (62-55) in the state
semi-finals, as Elisha Clayton had 14 points and 14 rebounds. Then they lost to
Mount Hebron by 15 (55-40) in the 2A title game. Shenika Johnson led Poly with 14
points.
14) Mercy
(19-6) (last week: 12)
15) Towson Catholic (16-10)
(last week: 15)
16) Oakland Mills (17-6)
(last week: 17)
17) Fallston (21-4) (last week: 18)
18) River Hill (19-6) (last week: 19)
19) Dulaney (19-4) (last week: 16)
The Lions lost to Arundel by 38 (67-29) in the state 4A semi-finals, as
Danielle Parker scored 13 points.
20) Digital Harbor (19-7) (last
week: 20)
The Rams lost to Pocomoke by two
(41-39) in the state 1A semi-finals, as Asia Logan scored 17 points.
Others considered:
Century (18-6)
C. Milton Wright (17-6)
South River (17-8)
Old Mill (19-7)
Reservoir (17-8)
POLL CHANGES THIS WEEK:
Wow, some great play-off games at UMBC last
week. Adding in Arundel’s 4A title game
on Monday, the season is COMPLETE. However, if a coach or player or fan has a
comment, please e-mail to me (below) and I WILL consider, and have done so
throughout the season. Some slots, you could basically flip a coin between two
teams. One thing about a poll: we are all basically guessing which team would
beat which team if the two played head to head, not on final record (otherwise Mount Hebron would be No. 1). We have posted our final video poll
on the DigitalSports website. However, I will post a final poll next week,
along with All-Metro and All-County teams. The final poll may remain exactly as
is, or it may change based on any comments I receive between now and next week.
By season’s end, I was able to get out and
see, in person, 18 of the 20 teams in my poll. Ten of the 20 teams I saw more
than once. So I did my homework, instead of just pulling names out of a hat.
Here are a few changes this week, from top
to bottom. The top four (St. Frances, Seton Keough, Arundel and Mount Hebron) remained the same. I flip-flopped Western and
Atholton, moving Atholton from 7 to 5 and Western from 5 to 7, as the Raiders
beat the Doves in the 3A semi’s. Winters Mill remained at 6, but you could flip
a coin between Atholton and Winters Mill at 5 and 6, since the Falcons lost to Mount Hebron by just one point in the 2A semi’s. By Atholton
getting to the finals, I slotted it one spot higher.
No’s 8, 9 and 10 (City, Catonsville , McDonogh) remained the same. I moved Severn up from 12 to 11: the Admirals did not go head to head with the IAAM A
teams near them in the poll, but went undefeated in the B and won that title
... again, you could flip a coin among Severn, and Spalding and Mercy, which both dropped down a couple spots. Poly,
on the strength of its 2A semi-final win over Wicomico and then its 15-point
loss to Hebron in the finals (a game closer than the final score
indicated) moved up one spot from 14 to 13. I considered moving them up higher,
but Poly played No. 12 Spalding head-to-head in-season in a Christmas
tournament and lost by 10, so I kept Poly behind Spalding. Towson Catholic
remained at 15.
In the next group of five, Oakland Mills,
Fallston and River Hill all moved up one spot, and here again I think you could
flip a coin among these teams. Oakland Mills had probably the toughest draw in
the play-offs, having to travel to PG’s Gwynn Park, and played a solid game with McKenzie scoring 35
points in a Region semi-final loss. Fallston got one step farther, making it to
the Region finals, but couldn’t hold on to a half-time lead at Atholton. River
Hill lost at Hebron in the Region semi’s by just four. After seeing all
three of these teams, I just think Loyola-bound McKenzie puts Oakland Mills higher.
After seeing the Scorpions twice, and taking into account that they lost to Hebron twice by just single digits, I could even see
slotting them anywhere from 10 to their current 16. What do you think??
Dulaney dropped from 16 to 19. The Lions
made it to the Final Four, but lost by 38 points to Arundel; most other teams
also lost big to the Wildcats in the play-offs. Even though Dulaney did make it
to UMBC, most people I spoke to felt that Dulaney belonged behind the
aforementioned group of teams. Digital Harbor remains at 20.
Here is a look back at my original poll of
December 9. Four teams from that poll did not end up in this final (or
near-final) poll: 10 Annapolis, 16 South
River, 17 Southern-AA and
20 C. Milton Wright (two of those DID end up in Others
Considered). Four teams NOT in my original poll which DID make this current
poll: 9 Catonsville, 11 Severn, 14 Poly and 15 Towson Catholic (three of those four DID start out in
Others Considered and moved up over time.
Here is that original poll, and where each
team stands as of this week:
1) St.
Frances 1
2) Seton Keough 2
3) Arundel 3
4) Western 7
5) City 8
6) McDonogh 10
7) Mount Hebron 4
8) Atholton 5
9) Oakland Mills 16
10) Annapolis Unranked
11) Winters Mill 6
12) Dulaney 19
13) Spalding 12
14) River Hill 18
15) Fallston 17
16) South River Others Considered
17) Southern-AA Unranked
18) Mercy 13
19) Digital Harbor 20
20) CM Wright Others Considered
Others Considered:
21) Towson Cath. 15
22) Severn 11
23) Old Mill Others Considered
24) Catonsville 9
25) Severna Park Unranked
Note: The Poll was
formulated after consultation with area coaches and informed fans, along with
my personal knowledge of area basketball. Strength of schedule IS an important
factor. Our staff will be out in person
covering numerous games throughout the season. However, to make it a better Poll,
we welcome your comments and suggestions. Please e-mail to Mike Buchanan at:
mbuchanan@digitalsports.com