SBLive's L.A. City Section girls basketball rankings (1/29/2024): Westchester returns to No. 2; Eagle Rock, Arleta debut

Here are SBLive's L.A. City Section girls basketball rankings for the week of Monday, Jan. 29. Rankings will be released every week throughout the season.

(Team names are followed by record and previous ranking.)

1. Birmingham (18-6 – 1st)

Still living up to the hype, Birmingham is three games from completing its best regular season ever. The closest games the first time were 15-point victories over El Camino Real and Granada Hills Charter. And the Patriots thrashed ECR 61-30 the second time around. Sophomore transfer Zoee Mitchell has averaged 11.7 points and 7.6 rebounds in 10 games since becoming eligible, both of which are team-high marks if they stand through the rest of the season.

2. Westchester (18-5 – 3rd)

Despite taking its first loss since Jan. 6, Westchester is back in the top two after an insane week. As a result of the Hamilton game getting rescheduled, the Comets played LACES, Hamilton, University (Los Angeles), and Brentwood School in consecutive games, and won the first three to unofficially clinch a share of the Western League title. After defeating Palisades 79-43 the previous Friday, Westchester beat LACES 72-48 on Wednesday, Hamilton 51-32 the next day, and University 80-24 before falling 53-42 to Brentwood. Even the loss constitutes a respectable finish against a state-ranked team played on the tail-end of a back-to-back-to-back-to-back. 

3. Hamilton (20-5 – 2nd)

Hamilton is still tied atop the Western League standings despite losing the rematch with Westchester, and has a strong chance to win what would be a historic conference title. The Lady Yankees were able to get back in the wins column quickly, beating Los Angeles CES 82-61 and Animo Robinson 63-24. To finish the league quest, they'll need to close the regular season strong against Palisades, which they defeated 66-52 the first time around.

4. King/Drew (15-6 – 4th)

The Golden Eagles keep on keeping on, holding their own against Southern Section heavyweights and mowing down everyone else. Before losing to state-ranked St. Anthony by single digits on Saturday, they'd won five straight games. The last two years, they beat Crenshaw the first time but lost in the second go-around of conference play to split the title. Can they hold on at home next week for their first undisputed Coliseum League title?

5. Palisades (15-9 – 5th)

The lopsided loss to Westchester was a stinger, especially right after losing to Hamilton, but Palisades will still finish on the Western League podium. And it could still possibly make major noise with one more crack at Hamilton next week.

6. Crenshaw (16-7 – 6th)

Crenshaw took care of business the last couple weeks, blowing out Fremont, Dorsey, and GALA before holding off underrated Washington Prep 67-57 to clinch yet another top-two finish in the Coliseum League – their ninth in a row. And if the Cougars get revenge against King/Drew on Wednesday to claim a share of the title, it would be make four straight.

7. Granada Hills Charter (15-9 – 8th)

Before falling to Birmingham on the road on Monday, Granada Hills Charter proved its meddle by taking down all other West Valley League challengers. Its previous 46-39 win against El Camino Real capped off a season-best six-game winning streak, and it has since rebuilt momentum with double-digit wins over Taft and Chatsworth.

8. El Camino Real (13-8 – 7th)

Despite losing to Birmingham (twice) and GHC, El Camino Real is still one of the top stock-risers of the season thus far. The Royals routed Cleveland for the second time on Wednesday, and have rematches with Chatsworth, Granada Hills Charter, and Taft to go with a non-league battle with Shalhevet. They fell 48-42 to Shalhevet in their season-opener, and have an opportunity to show they've come a long way over a few months.

9. Kennedy-Granada Hills (20-4 – 14th)

With a crucial revenge win at Van Nuys, Kennedy is in line to split the Valley Mission League title. But it's far from a guarantee. The Cougars finish the regular season with a rubber match against San Fernando, which upset them before league play started. Kennedy was without senior guard Magdalena Paloma in that loss, and won by 11 at San Fernando less than a week later. Still, that's one of the top games of the week to watch.

10. Chatsworth (15-10 – 10th)

Chatsworth snapped a grueling four-game losing streak to beat Taft on Friday before Monday brought a game of the year candidate. The Chancellors won the fourth quarter 21-7 to defeat Cleveland in a game with huge rankings/playoff seeding implications. They've since fallen to Birmingham and Granada Hills Charter by double digits again, but that's just life in the ever-deep West Valley League.

11. Cleveland (11-12 – 15th)

Cleveland's first go-around of league play and second loss to El Camino Real combined to constitute a grueling six-game losing streak. But it's over. After watching from the sidelines as her team was shocked by Taft the first time, Valerie Anzora totaled 7 points, 13 rebounds, 6 steals, and 2 blocks as Cleveland won 35-31 to retaliate. Don't forget, the Cavaliers have wins against Kennedy, Verdugo Hills, and Eagle Rock, all of which are rising quickly.

12. San Pedro (14-9 – 11th)

Before taking a non-league loss to Rolling Hills Prep, San Pedro continued what appears to be its second straight jaunt through Marine League play. It defeated rivals Carson and Banning by 13 points and 18 points, respectively, and already had a lopsided win over second-place Gardena before that. Now bumped up to Division 1, the reigning Division 2 champions will have the chance to make serious noise soon, as the postseason brings a chance to show what they can do against a host of incumbent D1 contenders near them in the rankings.

13. Sun Valley Poly (11-6 – 9th)

Until recently, the Parrots hadn't yet had any trouble in East Valley League play. But they had to climb out of an 18-9 deficit to hold off Arleta 45-37 on Jan. 19, and fell 41-31 on Wednesday to Verdugo Hills in a major upset that shakes up the rankings. After all, the Parrots defeated Verdugo Hills 52-29 the first time around when Heart Lising was in the fold. Poly did mix in a good non-league win in between, beating Heritage Christian 62-48.

14. Eagle Rock (16-5 – Bubble)

Since losing 46-29 to Verdugo Hills on Dec. 14, Eagle Rock is 11-2 with a win over Arleta and its only losses against Cleveland and Crenshaw. Thanks to Arleta's 2-0 record against Verdugo, the Eagles' aforementioned two-point win over Arleta was the difference of two spots here. Eagle Rock also just beat formidable Franklin for the second time this season to unofficially claim its third straight Northern League title.

15. Arleta (15-10 – Bubble)

After Verdugo Hills' 10-point win against Poly, leaving off Verdugo Hills was brutal. Especially when Verdugo Hills beat Eagle Rock – which moves up to No. 14 – 46-29 on Dec. 14. However, leaving off Arleta or Eagle Rock would've been brutal as well, with each team having a case for 14th, 15th, and 16th. Given that recency is a major emphasis in power rankings, the deciding factor was that Verdugo moved to 0-2 against Arleta after the Poly win. So the Mustangs get the nod here, and their last 32-28 victory made them winners of seven of their last eight.

ON THE BUBBLE:

Verdugo Hills, Van Nuys, Los Angeles CES, Franklin, Sylmar, San Fernando, Harbor Teacher