Video: Ciera Johnson highlights, Duncanville (TX)
See the star from the nation's top team in action.Miramonte can't look past No. 12 Chaminade and its four losses in the California Open Division championship Saturday, but its chances for a national title took two hits in the last two weeks that were out of its control.
Ideally, unbeaten Miramonte would have faced then No. 12 Archbishop Mitty in the NorCal Open semis and then No. 1 St. Mary's in the finals. Two wins over ranked teams -- assuming that would have happened, and that's a big assumption, granted -- would have given Miramonte a case to push past Duncanville for the top spot. But both Mitty and St. Mary's were upset, and so Miramonte has to settle for beating the teams that pulled off the upsets.
That's all well and good, but wins over Salesian and Pinewood don't have the same impact as wins over ranked teams, so even if Miramonte does get past Chaminade -- and there's no more guarantee of that than there was of Miramonte beating Mitty and/or St. Mary's -- No. 1 is out of reach.
It just goes to show how much a national ranking depends on things out of a team's control. If the wrong teams get upset, if your state doesn't let you travel, if you star gets sick at the wrong time … it can all go south in a hurry.
And, for example, if Chaminade star Leaonna Odom hadn't missed nine games, it's possible that this discussion would have been all about Chaminade, not Miramonte.
Check out girls basketball state champions from across the countryMaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Girls Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard
Sabrina Ionescu and Miramonte have one more win to go to reach a California title and perfect season.
Photo by Dennis Lee
Season complete.
2. (2) St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.), 28-1After Pinewood made 16 of 32 3-pointers to knock off St. Mary's last week, that same team went ice cold against Miramonte and lost 73-40. Woulda shoulda coulda ...
3. (3) Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Md.), 35-3No. 8 St. Francis is next in the Dick's Invitational.
4. (4) Centennial (Las Vegas), 31-1Season complete.
5. (5) Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.), 33-1Season complete.
6. (6) Miramonte (Orinda, Calif.), 32-0Kelly Sopak coaches the CalStars as well as Miramonte, and that summer team went 59-1 against the top competition in the country. The only loss came to a team led by Leaonna Odom. Guess who the star is for Saturday's opponent in the California Open Division championship?
7. (7) Forestville (Md.), 25-2 This top 10 finish will be Forestville's last, and not because of graduation or a new coach. The reason is that the school will close at the end of this school year to save the school district money. But at least for the girls basketball program, it was a pretty grand finale.
8. (8) St. Francis (Alpharetta, Ga.), 31-1How good can St. Francis be without 6-foot-3
Kasiyahna Kushkituah? We'll find out in the Dick's Invitational.
9. (9) Bellevue (Wash.), 29-0Season complete.
10. (11) St. John-Vianney (Holmdel, N.J.), 31-1Kelly Campbell made 14 free throws, including a clutch series in the second overtime to help St. John-Vianney outlast Manasquan for the New Jersey state title. And note that SJV's only loss, in triple overtime, came when Campbell didn't play.
11. (12) Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia), 29-1No surprise here, as Neumann-Goretti more than doubled up 27-3 North Star, 65-28, in the PIAA 2A final. The only loss was at the hands of Archbishop Wood, which knocked previous No. 10 Villa Maria out of the Xcellent 25 -- but Wood's six losses were too many for inclusion.
12. (13) Chaminade (West Hills, Calif.), 30-4According to the MaxPreps computers, which hum away constantly in Cameron Park Calif., Chaminade has played the toughest schedule in the country. But if
Leaonna Odom's 3-pointer in the final seconds didn't hit the rim twice before going in to beat Long Beach Poly 50-49, Chaminade would no longer be in the Xcellent 25.
13. (14) Seton Catholic (Chandler, Ariz.), 31-1Is Seton Catholic ready for the athleticism of No. 17 Ribault? If Arizona's best can make that adjustment at the Dick's Invitational, a shot at the top 10 beckons.
14. (15) Dekaney (Houston), 37-2 Season complete.
15. (16) ThunderRidge (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), 25-3Season complete.
16. (17) Argyle (Texas), 35-1Season complete.
17. (18) Ribault (Jacksonville, Fla.), 28-1Florida hasn't gotten much respect this year, but Ribault has a chance to make a statement for the entire Sunshine State at the Dick's Invitational.
18. (23) Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, Va.), 29-2Upon further review, Princess Anne deserves this jump. One of the losses was to No. 3 Riverdale Baptist, and the other was avenged three times -- and Princess Anne's overall schedule was tougher than the teams it just moved ahead of.
19. (19) South (Wichita, Kan.), 25-0Season complete.
20. (20) Wadsworth (Ohio), 28-1Season complete.
21. (21) Konawaena (Kealakekua, Hawaii), 27-1Season complete.
22. (22) LeFlore (Mobile, Ala.), 35-0Season complete.
23. (24) Highlands Ranch (Colo.), 26-2Season complete.
24. (NR) Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), 32-4Riverdale, the AAA champion in Tennessee, avenged every one of its four losses, and also had several quality wins against out-of-state opponents. And the three top scorers return next season.
25. (25) Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.), 32-3Season complete.
Dropped out: No. 10 Villa Maria.
