SBLive's Central Section girls basketball rankings: Clovis moves to No. 1 with stunner over Clovis West

The shocker heard around not only the section but the state is that No. 1 Clovis West fell 52-51 at home to No. 2 Clovis. 

Consider how monumental that loss was for the Golden Eagles: 

• It was their first league loss since Feb 4, 2019

• Their last home loss was to Milwaukee King on Dec 2, 2017

• Their last home league loss was in 2012.

Certainly major props to Clovis for a stellar game plan and execution. It’s been a long time coming.

Now, how does that affect the rankings?

It’s not as easy as 1, 2, 3.

Clovis had three losses, St. Joseph (Clovis 71-65 on Nov. 19) has three and Clovis West one. The Golden Eagles traveled to Washington D.C. and Texas and swept them all.

Surely, Clovis West's history and 2022-23 power schedule favors the Golden Eagles. But a head-to-head matchup won on Clovis West's home court is hard to deny the Cougars.

While we try our best to shake it all out, we fully understand that there’s a lot of great basketball left to be played.

Below are the latest Top 10 rankings for the Central Section. 

1. Clovis

Last week’s rank: No. 2

Record: 19-3

One of, if not, the program’s biggest win was a road upset of No. 1 and state ranked No. 4 Clovis West on Jan. 24. Tied at 48 last in the 4th, it was eventually freshman Sadie Sin’s second free throw with 1.9 seconds remaining that sealed the deal. It had already been a banner year so far for the Cougars who had no problem beating Clovis North 61-32 before fighting off fast-rising Clovis East 45-33 last week.

2. Clovis West-Fresno

Last week’s rank: No. 1

Record: 22-1

The Golden Eagles league streak ended at 33 games with a home 52-51 loss to No. 2 Clovis and bumped them from the undefeated ranks. Last week they went 4-0 but it wasn’t easy. They started off with a 65-46 win over Monterey Trail followed by a 70-35 victory over No. 8 Clovis East. Up 28-27 at half at No. 5 Buchanan, junior guard Athena Tomlinson scored 17 third quarter points in a 70-42 win at Buchanan then they beat Marin Catholic 56-38. We are already looking forward to the Clovis rematch on Feb. 10.

3. St. Joseph-Santa Maria

Last week’s rank: No. 4

Record: 19-3

Defeated Cabrillo 77-25 on Jan. 24. The Knights are a team to keep an eye on as they continue to beat up on league opponents, evidenced in wins against Arroyo Grande (58-26), Righetti (85-41) and Morro Bay (69-17) last week. Their toughest challenge until the playoffs begin is Orcutt Academy, who they beat 62-49 on Jan 6. They play the Royals this Friday.

4. Buchanan-Clovis

Last week’s rank: No. 4

Record: 19-4

Defeated Clovis North 77-23 on Jan 24 and played former No. 1 Clovis West tough in the first half on Jan. 20 when they trailed 28-27 only to lose 70-42. They did beat a very good Central team 51-37 two days before and will take on No. 8 Clovis East on Friday of this week.

5. San Joaquin Memorial-Fresno

Last week’s rank: No. 3

Record: 11-8

Defeated Bullard 69-18 on Jan. 24. The Panthers had a chance to make their mark against state power Etiwanda on Jan. 21 but fell behind 40-20 at half in a 63-44 loss. A talented squad when 6-foot-2 Meadow Rowland is available to play (missed games due to injury), they should have no problems breezing through CMAC league play.

6. Central-Fresno

Last week’s rank: No. 6

Record: 12-8

The Grizzlies beat No. 9 Clovis East 53-45 on the road and yes, the Grizzlies are 2-3 in league but all three losses were to teams ranked ahead of them in Clovis (51-46), Clovis West (57-45) and Buchanan (51-37). They beat No. 7 Caruthers 54-50 in a Saturday Showcase at Sierra Pacific on Jan 21. They’ll tackle new No. 1 Clovis on Friday.

7. Caruthers

Last week’s rank: No. 7

Record: 16-5

The Lady Blue Raiders continued their dominance in the Northwest Sequoia League with a 97-8 win over Minarets for their 97th straight league win, tying a Central Section record. They have a nice 73-36 win at Sierra on Jan. 20, however, they dropped a game to No. 6 Central 54-50 in a game that was tied at 48 with under two minutes to go on Jan. 21. Something to ponder–Central has 4,420 students while Caruthers has 672.

8. Clovis East-Clovis

Last week’s rank: No. 8

Record: 12-8

The Timberwolves are 1-4 in the Tri-River Athletic Conference but it's hard to knock them for playing in the toughest public school conference in the state. They lost to No. 6 Central but they had No. 5 Buchanan on the ropes before losing by two and were down 23-22 to No. 1 Clovis before falling 45-33. They play No. 4 Buchanan on Friday.

9. Monache-Porterville

Last week’s rank: No. 9

Record: 21-2

It’ll most likely be smooth sailing the rest of the way in the East Yosemite league as they beat Redwood 64-33 and Mt. Whitney 61-10 last week and Porterville 61-22 on Jan 23. The Marauders are doing it with six freshmen getting regular minutes.

10. Orcutt Academy

Last week’s rank: No. 10

Record: 17-3

Beat Mission Prep 58-44 on Jan. 24 as the Spartans went 3-0 last week in beating Cabrillo 58-45, Coast Union 60-30 and squeaking by Nipomo 46-41 at home. They play No. 3 St. Joseph at home on Friday, Jan. 27 in a game that has major playoff implications as well as a league title.