Top 25 high school girls basketball teams of all time

The coronavirus pandemic brought an early end to the California Interscholastic Federation state basketball tournament with the cancellation of the championship games.



The list of the Top 25 teams has one prerequisite — all teams on the list had to finish the season ranked No. 1 by a national ranking service. Additionally, if a team had multiple national No. 1 rankings in a row (or within a year or so), the top team during that streak was chosen. Thus, for Oregon City's three straight national titles teams from 1995 to 1997, only the 1996 team was chosen. Teams were selected based on how they performed relative to their peers, not necessarily how they might perform against other teams on the list.

Thanks go out to Clay Kallam, who does the MaxPreps girls basketball rankings, and Patrick Premo, professor emeritus in accounting at St. Bonaventure who compiled the Premo-Porretta Power Poll for college basketball rankings, for their contributions to the compilation of the Top 25.

Top 25 Girls Basketball Teams of All-Time
1. Oregon City (Ore.), 1996
Ranked by The Oregonian as the greatest girls basketball team in Oregon history, the 1996 squad was the middle of three straight mythical national champions for the Pioneers. USA Today ranked Oregon City the No. 1 team in the nation from 1995 to 1997 and coach Bob Smith was the national Coach of the Year for each season. The 1996 team is considered the deepest with future Division I standouts Brianne Meharry (Oregon), Ashley Smith (Vanderbilt) and Lindsey Yamasaki (Stanford). Oregon City went 26-0 in 1996 and again in 1997. The 1995 team finished 25-1.

2. Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.), 2006
The second of back-to-back Federation Tournament champions and mythical national champions, the 2006 Christ the King team needed to beat the No. 2 team in the nation, Murry Bergtraum, led by Epiphanny Prince, for the Federation title. CTK won handily 79-66 with the final points coming on a dunk by McDonald's Player of the Year Tina Charles. Christ the King won 57 in a row between 2005 and 2006, including 30-0 in 2006. Also defeated Collins Hill and Maya Moore at the Nike TOC.

3. Narbonne (Harbor City, Calif.), 2000
The California state champion in 1998, Narbonne was forced to forfeit the title and missed the postseason in 1999. Narbonne played with a vengeance in 2000 and defeated Berkeley 64-52 in the final. Narbonne also played in the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions and defeated No. 4 Canyon (Texas). Ebony Hoffman was a first team Parade All-American and played 10 seasons in the WNBA. Also chosen all-state by Cal-Hi Sports were junior Loree Moore and Lisa Willis. Moore and Willis also played in the WNBA. Narbonne also went on to win the state title in 2001 and finished as the No. 1 in the nation by USA Today with a 28-3 record.

4. Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.), 1998
Christ the King rose to prominence again in 1998 behind the play of first team All-American Sue Bird. CTK went 27-0, was No. 1 by USA Today from the start of the season to the end and won the Federation Tournament championship for the ninth straight year. Bird went on to become one of the most decorated women's basketball players of all-time with four Olympic gold medals and 11 WNBA all-star appearances. Christ the King had not lost a league game in 14 years and won 14 straight CHSAA city championships.

5. Duncanville (Texas), 2016
The Pantherettes have won 11 state championships and own two of the longest win streaks in history with a 134-game streak from 1987 to 1991 and a 105-game win streak from 2011 to 2014. However, the Duncanville team that might have been the best of them all is the 2016 squad that was a unanimous pick among MaxPreps, USA Today and Blue Star as the No. 1 team in the nation. While Texas teams sometimes suffer in national rankings because they rarely play outside of the state, Duncanville (39-0) picked up a 64-43 win over Blackman (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), which was also a Top 25 team. The Pantherettes won their games by an average of 36 points and had three all-state players in Madison Townley, Zaay Green and McDonald's All-American Ciera Johnson.

6. Shelbyville Central (Shelbyville, Tenn.), 1991
Central won 110 games and three state titles between 1989 and 1991. The Golden Eagles finished ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today in 1989 and 1991 while finishing second to Christ the King in 1990. Central played Christ the King in 1991 and won convincingly 75-42. Central defeated White County 66-53 in the finals to finish 33-0. Theresa Woosley, who had 50 points in one game during the season, was named Miss Basketball for Tennessee and was also a first team Parade All-American. Rick Insell coached 28 seasons at Central and had a record of 775-148 with 10 state championships.

7. Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.), 1993
Led by third-team Parade All-American Chamique Holdsclaw, the 1993 team won its fourth straight Federation Tournament championship and ended the year ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today with a 25-0 record. The 1993 team was the first girls basketball team to be inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. Holdsclaw went on to a Hall of Fame WNBA career.

8. Peninsula (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.), 1992
Peninsula formed in the summer of 1991 when Rolling Hills, Miraleste and Palos Verdes all combined to form one school. At the beginning of the season, Peninsula reportedly had all five starters named to at least one preseason All-American team. The squad also had all five starters returning from a Palos Verde team that won the Division III state championship in 1991. The team traveled to New York and defeated Christ the King, which went on to be named national champions in 1993. Peninsula defeated Monta Vista of Cupertino 63-44 in the state final to finish 34-0. Top players included sophomore Mimi McKinney, senior Jeffra Gausepohl and senior Kristen Mulligan. McKinney was the state Sophomore of the Year by Cal-Hi Sports.

9. Poly (Riverside, Calif.), 1982
Led by four-time prep All-American Cheryl Miller, Poly won the state championship in 1982 and finished the season 34-0. The National Sports News Service ranked Poly No. 1 in the nation in 1981 (29-0) and 1982 and Poly put together an 84-game win streak during that stretch. Miller is considered one of the greatest players in high school history with 3,446 career points including a high of 105 points in one game. Poly was 116-4 in Miller's four-year varsity career.

10. Brea Olinda (Brea, Calif.), 1994
During the Nicole Erickson era at Brea Olinda, the program went 130-5 and won four straight state championships. The last season in the four-year run was the best as the Wildcats went 33-0 and beat out Sacred Heart Prep of Atherton (38-0), the Division 1 state champion, for state Team of the Year honors. Brea Olinda won its games by an average score of 81-32 with Erickson winning Gatorade State Player of the Year honors and first team Parade All-America recognition.

11. Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 2011
USA Today ranked Mater Dei No. 1 in the nation in 2010 and the Monarchs also finished No. 1 the following year despite a loss to Long Beach Poly. Mater Dei defeated teams from eight different states, including Murry Bergtraum of New York by 40 points at the Hoophall Classic in Massachusetts, and won the California Division 1 state title. Along the way, the Monarchs beat Brea Olinda, which was ranked No. 1 in the nation at the time, Narbonne and Berkeley. The team featured Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, the two-time Gatorade State Player of the Year, who went on to an All-American career at UConn before joining the WNBA. 12. Collins Hill (Suwanee, Ga.), 2007
With Maya Moore leading the way, Collins Hill went 125-3 over her four seasons on the varsity with three Georgia state titles and a 2007 USA Today No. 1 national ranking. Moore went on to an All-American career at UConn and has been one of the top players in the WNBA over the last decade. Collins Hill earned the No. 1 ranking in part by winning the Tournament of Champions in Arizona with a win over Long Beach Poly and finishing 30-0.

13. Lynwood (Calif.), 2002
Lynwood went 65-1 over two seasons, winning the state championship in 2002 and 2003. The 2002 team finished 33-0 and was ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today. The team featured three players who made the Cal-Hi Sports All-State team, including sophomore of the year Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood, and seniors Janice Bright and Andrea Adams. Bright was a Parade All-American in 2002 while Wiley-Gatewood would earn Parade National Player of the Year honors two years later.

14. Lowndes (Valdosta, Ga.), 1978
Lowndes dominated the late 1970s with 122 straight wins and four consecutive Georgia AAA state championships. Lowndes was also ranked No. 1 in the nation four straight years (1977-80) by the National Sports News Service. The 1978 team included two all-state first team players in Rhonda Rowell, who would go on to become the state Player of the Year in 1979, and Marcia Player. Chuck Cooper was the coach at Lowndes from 1970 to 1981 and he amassed a record of 227 wins against 25 losses.

15. Altoona (Pa.), 1988
Altoona went 89-3 between 1986 and 1988, winning two AAAA state championships and finishing as runner-up in 1987. The 1986 and 1988 teams both finished the season ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today with the 1988 team going 30-0. Three players made the all-state team, including Jennifer Dorfmeister on the first team, Debbie Taneyhill on the second team and Sandy Baker on the third team. All three were also members of the 1986 national championship team.

16. Bradley Central (Cleveland, Tenn.), 1976
Winners of back-to-back mythical national championships by the National Sports News Service in 1975 and 1976, Bradley County won 90 games in a row from 1974 to 1977 under coach Jim Smiddy. The all-time winningest coach in Tennessee, Smiddy had a record of 1,217 wins and 206 losses. Bradley County defeated Smyrna 36-35 on a last-second shot to finish 36-0 on the season for the second year in a row. Data Caldwell earned all-area honors, along with Kathy Chastain, and finished her career as the school's all-time leading scorer with 3,011 points — a position she still holds today.

17. Towson Catholic (Towson, Md.), 1984
Towson Catholic was named the USA Today No. 1 team three years running (1983-85). Coach Gus Grason coached 12 seasons with the Owlettes and had a record of 342-29 including a 70-game win streak when he retired at the end of the 1985 season. Each year Towson Catholic finished No. 1, it benefited from the No. 1 team in the USA Today rankings losing in the final weeks of the season. The 1984 team, however, had the best record of the three mythical champions at 37-0 and it had one of the best players in school history in first-team Parade All-America Gert Scott, who had 2,555 points in her four-year career on the varsity.

18. Nashua (N.H.), 1987
Nashua had one of the top programs in the nation throughout the late 1980s, winning 108 games in a row and finding a home in the national rankings for five years. The 1987 crew finished the season ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today with a 24-0 record while averaging 89 points per game and giving up just 31. Leading scorer Celeste Lavoie was a Parade All-American who played in college at Stanford and finished at Duke. Coach John Fagula won 11 state titles at Nashua and had a record of 432-72.

19. St. Mary's (Phoenix), 2012
St. Mary's dominated at the Nike TOC, beating Christ the King, Riverdale Baptist, Our Lady of Good Counsel and Cicero-North Syracuse. St. Mary's also beat Windward at the MLK Extravaganza. Those teams (except for Christ the King) all finished among the Top 20 in the MaxPreps computer rankings. St. Mary's (30-0) finished No. 1 by USA Today and ESPN after beating Hamilton 65-40 for the state title.

20. Bergtraum (New York, N.Y.), 2004
Bergtraum didn't rise to the top spot in the rankings until late in the season when No. 1 Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.) lost and the Blazers defeated Christ the King in the Federation Cup semifinals. Bergtraum (30-1) finished with its third straight Federation championship with sophomore Epiphanny Prince leading the way. She went on to score 113 points in one game as a senior.

21. Duncanville (Texas), 2013
The 2013 team went 42-0 and was part of a 105-game win streak. The Pantherettes only played one out-of-state team, beating Overton (Tenn.), but it won its seven playoff outings by an average of 27 points per game. Senior Kiara Perry was named the Class 4A-5A athlete of the year by the state coaches association while junior Ariel Atkins, the team's leading scorer, went on to a career in the WNBA.

22. Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), 2017
The Warriors finished 34-0 and ranked No. 1 in the nation by MaxPreps while beating teams from six different states. Riverdale was one of the top teams in the nation from 2016-2019, going 134-7 during the four seasons. The team featured Anastasia Hayes, a McDonald's All-American and a first-team MaxPreps All-American.

23. Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia), 2015
The Saints were 59-1 over two seasons, losing in the state finals in 2014 and finishing 30-0 with a state championship and a No. 1 national ranking by MaxPreps and USA Today in 2015. Neumann-Goretti dominated in the postseason, winning the state championship game over La Salle 79-34. Forward Christina Aborowa was a MaxPreps All-American selection.

24. Ben Davis (Indianapolis), 2009
Facing South Bend Washington, led by All-American Skylar Diggins, in the Class 4A state championship game, Ben Davis won 71-69 to clinch the mythical national championship. Washington was ranked No. 1 and Ben Davis No. 2 by ESPN while USA Today had Ben Davis at No. 1 and Washington at No. 4. MaxPreps had Ben Davis at No. 2 and Washington at No. 3. Alexandria Bentley was a third team Parade All-American for the Giants.

25. Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory (San Francisco), 2008
The Fighting Irish defeated teams from six different states along and some of the top teams in California, including Archbishop Mitty, Sacred Heart Prep (Atherton) and St. Mary's (Stockton), en route to a state championship and a 33-0 record. The team featured second-team Parade All-American Tierra Rogers and Division 1 prospect Ki-Ki Moore.