SBLive's Central Section Top 10 girls basketball rankings: Clovis West is gold standard once more

Girls basketball in the Central Section has certainly made their mark in California and this year boasts strong teams from all divisions.

Clovis West has been the gold standard for years punctuated by their 2017 CIF Open Division title and No. 1 national ranking. They return a loaded roster.

Without further ado, here are the first rankings for the girls basketball programs in the Central Section.

1. Clovis West

Last year’s record: 28-4

This year’s record: 11-0

League: Tri-River Athletic Conference

Clovis West will be the top team in the section until someone knocks them off, and this season they return another strong team with at least two future D1 college players. The Craig Campbell coached squad has won the last ten D1 and Open Division Central Section titles and have only one loss to a section opponent in the last ten years. Leading the team is Long Beach State bound Etoyah Montgomery (15 ppg) and junior guard Athena Tomlinson (15 ppg), who has multiple D1 offers. Senior Trinity Tolbert and sophomores Keagan Meideros and Riley Walls are major contributors. The Golden Eagles won three games in Washington D.C. at the Capital Invitational and the She Got Game Classic.

2. St. Joseph-Santa Maria

Last year’s record: 22-5

This year’s record: 4-0

League: Central Coast Mountain League

The Knights have a standout team led by junior Avary Cain who averages 24.5 ppg and 3.5 steals. Cain is complemented by 6-4 senior Candace Kpetikou’s 8.8 ppg, 14 reb and 2.3 blocks. They have a quality 71-65 win over Clovis to begin the season and will play in the prestigious Nike TOC in Arizona and the Gator Winter Classic in Las Vegas during Christmas break.

3. San Joaquin Memorial-Fresno

Last year’s record: 27-7

This year’s record: 4-3

League: CMAC

The Panthers were oh so close last season to winning a state championship last season, losing to Sage Hill 51-47 in D2, and return a good chunk of their roster including 6-2 standout senior Meadow Roland and 6-3 sophomore Alexis Swillis. Sophomore Saiya Sidhu, a very capable shooter and Jailynn Clayton are excellent guards. Clayton is the daughter of first year head coach Geoffrey Clayton who coached at JSerra the last three seasons. Don’t let the 4-3 record fool you, this is a really good team.

4. Buchanan-Clovis

Last year’s record: 19-13

This year’s record: 9-2

League: Tri-River Athletic Conference

The Bears have fared very well in the early season, beating SoCal’s Redondo Union and Chaminade and barely losing to Windward by four. They are led by three juniors in Aloni Oliver, Vanna Quintana and Journey Morrison and senior Kylee Barnes. Buchanan displays tough, full court defense. High energy coach Adam Wall has built Buchanan into a winning program and plays in the Tri-River Athletic Conference that includes Clovis West, Clovis, Central and Clovis East. They beat Central 57-42 to win the Hoover Holiday Classic.

5. Clovis

Last year’s record: 14-15

This year’s record: 6-1

League: Tri-River Athletic Conference

A squad to be reckoned with this season, Clovis has one of the top senior duos in the section with guards Devin Miller and Alyssa Kem. Genevieve Tamondong is a strong leader and defensive specialist. The Cougars only blemish is a 71-65 home loss to St. Joseph but have won their other games by an average of 22 points. Yep, another Top 10 team that plays in the TRAC, widely considered the top public school league in California across the board.

6. Central-Fresno

Last year’s record: 23-9

This year’s record: 6-2

League: Tri-River Athletic Conference

The Grizzlies made an impressive run in last year’s state D3 playoffs before falling 38-35 to No. 1 Lincoln and this year will rely heavily on 6-foot Senior Talia Maxwell who’s averaging 25.6 ppg and 7.1 rebounds. Junior guard Keytonna Ross is scoring 12.9 points and the team averages 14 steals per game.

7. Caruthers

Last year’s record: 28-4

This year’s record: 5-0

League: Northwest Sequoia League

The 2019 D5 CIF state champs are the best small to medium school in the section and have risen to the ranks of one of the top programs in the area. Senior Morgan Trigueiro is one of the top players — and shooters — in the area and classmates Anisa Torres and Yuliza Padilla are excellent guards. Freshman Emmi Almeida — coach Anna Almeida’s daughter — scored 27 points in a season-opening 87-15 win over Stockdale. Their signature win was a 53-40 toppling over Oak Ridge on Dec. 3 at the Clovis West Nike Invitational. They'll play in the Tarkanian Classic starting Dec. 19.

8. Sierra Pacific

Last year’s record: 24-9

This year’s record: 3-3

League: Tri-County

The Lady Bears certainly have pedigree with their 2020 D4 NorCal championship and a 2018 D5 state title and boast 11 returners this season. Senior Makayla Carre is averaging 18.6 ppg and 12.4 rebounds and a pair of sophomores Mia Va’asili (7.6 ppg) and Izabel Mendez (7.2 ppg) are having strong starts to the season.

9. Clovis East

Last year’s record: 18-12

This year’s record: 5-2

League: Tri-River Athletic Conference

The Timberwolves have steadily improved over the years, going from 6 wins in 2020 to 9 in 2021 to 18 last season. Key players are seniors Kylie Ward, Allie Madron, Amaya Anderso and Rajdeep Kaur. Sophomore Taylor Rombaoa poured in 29 points in a 73-29 win over Kingsburg. They are coached by Garrette Mantle, the nephew of New York Yankees legend Mickey Mantle.

10. Nipomo

Last year’s record: 22-8

This year’s record: 5-1

League: Central Coast

From the Central Coast League, the Titans were the No. 4 seed in the Central Section Open Division last season and return two top notch players in the Simonson sisters - senior Makennah (15.9 ppg) and sophomore Belle (16 ppg). Their only loss on the season was a 37-35 setback to Clovis East.