SBLive's end-of-regular season L.A. City Section girls basketball rankings (Feb. 6-12)
We said multiple times in the past couple of weeks that the LACS girls hoops Open Division bubble was solidifying itself early. And we were wrong.
Los Angeles CES upset Hamilton last week to finish the regular season with a twist, bringing a new team into the top eight just before the start of the playoffs. And now it's time for playoff basketball.
Here are SBLive's L.A. City Section girls basketball rankings for the week of Feb. 6-12. The rankings are released every Monday throughout the season.
1. Westchester (26-1 – 1st)
Swept the Western League? Check. Now the Comets are the No. 2 seed in the Open Division, and tip off the postseason against Taft.
2. Granada Hills Charter (23-4 – 2nd)
The Highlanders didn't let a single game come down to single-digits in their second straight sweep of the WVL. They earned the top seed and are asked with welcoming eight-seeded San Fernando to the Open Division.
3. Crenshaw (19-6 – 4th)
Friday was a major gut check for the Cougars, and they prevailed. They defeated King/Drew in overtime on the road to force a tie for first in the Coliseum League. As the third seed in the Open Division, Crenshaw will be a light favorite hosting Palisades on Thursday.
4. King/Drew (15-13 – 3rd)
While King/Drew couldn't quite get it done against Crenshaw on Friday, it still shares the league title for its road win against Crenshaw two weeks prior. And that was enough to secure a home game to open the playoffs as it looks to dethrone reigning champion Birmingham.
5. Birmingham (13-11 – 7th)
The Patriots showed their poise and pedigree down the stretch of league play. They held off upset-minded El Camino Real and turned the tables against Taft to finish tied for second in the WVL and ranked top-five in the section. Their postseason opener at King/Drew could prove to be one of the best games of the LACS playoffs.
6. Palisades (13-14 – 6th)
Pali challenged itself with a particularly challenging schedule down to the very end of the regular season, and we're about to see if it pays off.
While it needed double-overtime to put away Los Angeles CES, it ultimately took care of business in the second round of league play to finish as the undisputed No. 2 team in the Western League. It also mixed in tune-up games against formidable Southern Section squads Village Christian and Ontario Christian in the last 10 days, losing both by double-digits but not in blowout fashion. Losing record and low playoff seed aside, absolutely no one wants to see Palisades come playoff time, this year included.
7. Taft (16-8 – 5th)
Taft couldn't quite take down Birmingham a second time for an undisputed No. 2 finish in the West Valley League, but it did more than enough to secure an Open Division bid. That marks Taft's first since the 2019-20 season even though many counted it out. Can it now give Westchester a run for its money?
8. San Fernando (22-3 – 9th)
In the past decade or so, the Tigers have had plenty of banner years. And this time, their regular season dominance warranted an appearance in the Open Division.
9. Hamilton (17-7 – 8th)
After playing consistent ball through most of the regular season, the Lady Yankees went cold at the wrong time and fell out of the Open Division. After dropping their second league matchup against Palisades, they got upset by LACES to finish "only" 11 games above .500.
One could also argue that they went cold at the right time. For a very young squad that was overachieving against larger and more experienced teams, being in the hunt for a Division 1 title is still a great place to be.
10. Sun Valley Poly (20-5 – 10th)
Despite being a physically small team that's heavily reliant on outside scoring, Poly was remarkably consistent this season. And that's a very difficult thing to be/do successfully.
Poly's four in-section losses came against higher-ranked non-league foes, and its only other loss was against arguable Southern Section 2-AA favorite Hart. And Poly even put a scare into most of those opponents. Other than that, it was 20 up, 20 down. Poly would jump at the opportunity to get a rematch with Hamilton for a D1 title.
ON THE BUBBLE:
Eagle Rock, Los Angeles CES
