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HomeTeam 25: Girls basketball rankings

 
Tampa Catholic's Tanyia Gordon (23) dribbles past Plant High School's Sydney Johnson (1) during the first period of the game at Tampa Catholic in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Tampa Catholic's Tanyia Gordon (23) dribbles past Plant High School's Sydney Johnson (1) during the first period of the game at Tampa Catholic in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Published Jan. 2, 2017

1. Seffner Christian (15-1)

This week: Tuesday vs. Fort Myers, Friday vs. South Broward (Flagler Palm Coast tournament), Saturday vs. Spruce Creek (Flagler Palm Coast tournament)

Skinny: The Crusaders have won 13 straight, including three wins at their own Christmas Invitational. They are scoring just over 78 points per game. Leading the way is Chelsie Hall, with 16.7 points per game. But Brylee Bartram isn't far behind with 16.2. Junior Audra Leipold, who averages 12 points per game, recently surpassed 2,000 points in her high school career.

2. Tampa Catholic (16-1)

This week: Thursday at Berkeley Prep

Skinny: The Crusaders won 16 straight before dropping their first game Dec. 30 in a holiday tournament in Atlanta. There have been some impressive wins just in late December alone, including against Plant, Palm Harbor University and St. Pius X Catholic of Atlanta. Alise Davis is awfully tough to deal with, but Tanyia Gordon, Ashley Sieper and Lenise Santiago are also talented players.

3. Plant (14-1)

This week: Wednesday vs. Steinbrenner, Friday vs. Wharton

Skinny: The lone loss was against Tampa Catholic, and it was close most of the way. The Panthers bounced back with five straight wins, including overtime wins against Parkview (Ga) and Carrollwood Day. Payton Paro (14.8 ppg) isn't all Plant has. Bella Moreno (13.7 ppg) is also in double figures and the bench is solid.

4. Clearwater (10-1)

This week: Tuesday vs. Lakewood, Thursday vs. Boca Ciega

Skinny: The Tornadoes lost to a good Plant team to snap their 10-game win streak. Lakewood is going to be a test Tuesday. When Clearwater's fast-break offense is working, and so far it has been, it is hard to stop. Eleven total players have scored this season, so depth is a strength.

5. Lakewood (8-2)

This week: Tuesday at Clearwater, Thursday at St. Petersburg, Friday at Tarpon Springs

Skinny: The Spartans have been relatively idle in the early part of the season. They did not play a Thanksgiving or Christmas tournament, but the schedule heats up in 2017. It starts with the game at Clearwater. Lakewood will try to come back from a loss to Leesburg on New Year's Eve.

6. Academy of the Holy Names (12-2)

This week: Tuesday at Calvary Christian, Thursday vs. Brooks DeBartolo, Saturday vs. Sarasota Military Academy

Skinny: AHN was tripped up by Wharton in its own holiday tournament, but that was followed with a win over Robinson. This week is not at all easy, especially the district game against Brooks DeBartolo. Lindsey Perez remains the top scorer with 12.4 points per game.

7. Anclote (13-1)

This week: No games scheduled

Skinny: After beating Ridgewood on Dec. 22, the Sharks don't play again until Jan. 10 against Pasco. They have won seven straight since a Dec. 6 loss to River Ridge. Lyndsey McWhorter has been the first option, with 20.4 points per game.

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8. Carrollwood Day (12-2)

This week: Thursday vs. Indian Rocks Christian, Friday vs. Keswick Christian

Skinny: Ignore the Patriots at your own risk. First-year coach Karim Nohra has already led the school to its most wins in a season. They lost in overtime to Plant at the Jaguar Invitational. In the CDS holiday tournament, C.C. Mays had a quadruple double in a win over Middleton (10 points, 14 assists, 11 rebounds, 12 steals). CDS has five freshmen who contribute.

9. Mitchell (12-3)

This week: Friday vs. Wesley Chapel

Skinny: The Mustangs will have to wait a week to get back on track after a Dec. 30 loss to Bishop McLaughlin. That loss snapped an 11-game win streak. Aleyah Proper averages 15 points per game and Ariyanna Jurkowski has 7.4 rebounds per game.

10. Robinson (8-3)

This week: Tuesday vs. Tampa Bay Tech, Wednesday at Jefferson, Friday vs. Lennard

Skinny: The Knights will try to bounce back from a two-game losing streak. Sophomore Kaliah Henderson leads the way with more than 16 points per game. Junior Christiana Rolack is at 12 points per game. This week should allow the Knights to get back on track.

11. Strawberry Crest (9-3)

This week: Tuesday vs. Hillsborough, Wednesday at Spoto, Friday at Tampa Bay Tech

Skinny: The Chargers have lost three straight, but take that with a grain of salt. Top players Ayanna Trigg, Briana Trigg and Zora Strawder have been out with injuries. They are expected back soon, so the holiday losses could be just a blip.

12. Hernando (10-3)

This week: Tuesday at Crystal River, Wednesday vs. Crystal River, Friday vs. Weeki Wachee

Skinny: The Leopards have won five straight, including a 45-38 overtime win over Weeki Wachee in the Hernando Christmas tournament.

13. Durant (7-2)

This week: Wednesday vs. Plant City, Friday vs. East Bay

Skinny: It will be three weeks between games when the Cougars take on Plant City on Wednesday. They have won three straight but must shake off some rust from the long break.

14. Palm Harbor University (10-5)

This week: Tuesday at East Lake, Thursday at Countryside

Skinny: The Hurricanes have lost three of their past four games, and all three losses came at the challenging Crusader Classic at Seffner Christian. Two neighborhood rivalry games await this week. PHU is 5-0 in Class 8A, District 10 and wins this week can go far in wrapping up the top seed.

15. Bishop McLaughlin (13-2)

This week: Wednesday at Tampa Prep

Skinny: The schedule has not been overly taxing, but the Hurricanes do have two wins over Weeki Wachee and a quality win over Mitchell.

16. Clearwater Central Catholic (10-3)

This week: Tuesday vs. Brooks DeBartolo, Thursday at St. Petersburg Catholic, Friday vs. Sarasota Cardinal Mooney

Skinny: The Marauders are clearly much improved. They have won three straight but haven't played since Dec. 19. Izzy Gilroy and D'Mya Ferguson have been the top offensive players in the first half of the season.

17. Newsome (9-3)

This week: Tuesday at Plant City, Friday at Riverview

Skinny: The Wolves have been consistent. No player averages in double figures, but 11 players have scored at least a point. Defense has been the key. They score fewer than 40 points per game but still have nine wins.

18. Northeast (10-4)

This week: Tuesday vs. Manatee, Thursday at Largo

Skinny: The Vikings suffered two losses at the Hernando tournament before Christmas and lost to Manatee at the Keswick tournament last week. Manatee awaits again Tuesday. Sam Lee and Gigi Merkel were named to the Keswick Classic all-tournament team.

19. Alonso (10-4)

This week: Tuesday vs. Blake, Thursday at Middleton, Friday vs. Riverview

Skinny: The Ravens suffered two losses in the Tampa Bay Christmas tournament, but did win the last game 70-45 against a team from Tennessee. This week is not overly difficult, so they should get back to winning.

20. Springstead (7-3)

This week: Thursday at Nature Coast

Skinny: Just one game this week, then the Eagles really get going with some tough district games. Reagan Huden leads the way with 19.1 points per game. Sarah Vo is at 12.6 ppg.

21. Weeki Wachee (12-5)

This week: Tuesday vs. Nature Coast, Friday at Hernando

Skinny: The Hornets lost in overtime to Hernando over the break, and they'll get a rematch on Friday. Prior to the Hernando loss they had won six straight.

22. River Ridge (9-5)

This week: No games scheduled

Skinny: The Knights rebounded from a big loss to Plant by beating a short-handed Strawberry Crest in the Jaguar Holiday Tournament. They are idle this week because Pasco schools are not in session.

23. Wiregrass Ranch (9-7)

This week: Wednesday at Gaither, Friday at Leto

Skinny: The Bulls lost two straight in a holiday tournament last week against Orlando Boone and Celebration. Now comes two straight district games, so they must be focused. Stephanie Brower is the scoring leader with 14.7 points per game.

24. Tampa Prep (6-3)

This week: Wednesday vs. Bishop McLaughlin, Saturday at Berkeley Prep

Skinny: The three losses are to quality teams — Holy Names, Seffner Christian and Lakeland McKeel. It won't be easy this week against Bishop McLaughlin, but it will be a good indication about where they stand.

25. Seminole (7-4)

This week: Tuesday at Dunedin, Wednesday vs. Pinellas Park

Skinny: The Warhawks will try to rebound from two straight losses over the break. This week should bring back some confidence.

On the bubble: Tampa Bay Tech (6-6), Brooks DeBartolo (12-7), Freedom (7-5), Plant City (4-4), Countryside (5-4), Steinbrenner (8-6), Sunlake (5-5), Academy at the Lakes (5-3)