SBLive Florida Girls Basketball Power 25: DME Academy drops out of Top 10 after loss to Central Pointe Christian

The girls basketball district tournaments have concluded and is now currently in postseason play on the road to Lakeland. The Sunshine State features a couple of the top teams in the country as Montverde Academy and Dr. Phillips head into our twelfth week of rankings as our No. 1 and No. 2 teams. A team to keep an eye on throughout the postseason is the Hagerty Huskies, as they've played some of their some of their best ball down the stretch. Not a lot of movement throughout the rankings as mostly every team won in the region quarterfinal round. 

Find the complete breakdown of the SBLive Florida Girls Basketball Power 25:

1. Montverde Academy (24-1): The Eagles are coming off their first national championship (Geico High School Nationals) and return a star-studded cast of players. Players like Lety Vasconcelos, Sahnya Jah and Mjracle Sheppard are the primary players to watch for over at Montverde Academy. Montverde Academy lost its first game of the season to Sidwell Friends 65-53.

2. Dr. Phillips (26-1): Already armed win a solid win over Faith Christian this season, the Panthers looking to make it a second straight Class 7A state crown. Trinity Turner averaged around 16 points per game last year and will be a force this winter. The Panthers are the Class 7A, District 5 champions. A 70-9 win over Harmony in the region quarterfinal was proof of their dominance. 

3. Lake Highland Prep (21-6): Early season wins against St. Thomas Aquinas and Miami Country Day proved to be big games early on in the 2022-2023 campaign. With players like guard Eleecia Carter, Bri Rivera and Lexi Blue make this team extremely formidable. A 61-56 loss to Montverde Academy tells us this Lake Highland team isn’t far off from the top spot. The Highlanders won the Class 4A, District 7 championship and beat North Marion 90-21 in the opening round of the playoffs. 

4. Palm Bay (21-8): Avenging an earlier season loss to Miami Country Day and routing them the second time around 55-42, gives validation that Palm Bay had to be re-inserted into the Power 25 rankings. The Pirates also defeated St. Thomas Aquinas and Cardinal Mooney as well. Palm Bay won the Class 4A, District 8 championship and defeated Lake Weir 81-14 in the region quarterfinals. 

5. St. Thomas Aquinas (20-8): Coming off a stellar 27-4 season and winning the Class 6A state championship over Wekiva, the Raiders bring back the bulk of their roster. The Raiders return seniors Karina Gordon (East Carolina commitment) and Alancia Ramsey. Recent wins over Blanche Ely and Miami Country Day lift Aquinas to No. 6. The Raiders won the Class 6A, District 14 championship and knocked off Dwyer in the first round of the playoffs. 

6. Blanche Ely (21-3): Only losses on the year came up against Legacy Early College (SC), Miami Country Day and St. Thomas Aquinas. The Tigers have met every other challenge and just recently defeated Westminster Academy 50-49, catapulting this team into the top 10. Blanche Ely clinched winning the Class 6A, District 13 championship.

7. Seffner Christian (24-4): The Crusaders entered the Power 25 rankings for the first time this season after pulling off a victory over Cardinal Mooney. Seffner Christian’s losses are to Sarasota Booker, McGill-Tookes (AL), McDonogh (MD) and Liberty (NV). The Crusaders won the Class 3A, District 7 championship and defeated The First Academy in the region quarterfinal. 

8. Cardinal Mooney (18-5): The Cougars have had one of the more impressive starts to the season as the notched key victories over Faith Christian, Chaminade-Madonna and Lakewood. Key matchups against Bell Creek Academy, Calvary Christian and Bradenton Christian coming up. Cougars dropped their first game of the season to Seffner Christian. The Cougars won the Class 3A, District 11 championship and cruised past Bishop Verot in the first round. 

9. Winter Haven (21-4): Losing guard/forward Kayla Smith is tough, but this Blue Devils team returns plenty of talent across the board. Bre’Asia Washington comes back after averaging 13.6 points per game in 2021-2022. The Blue Devils only losses of the season have come against Mercy (KY) and McEachern (GA). Winter Haven won the Class 7A, District 9 championship and beat Sickles 73-38 in the region quarterfinals. 

10. IMG Academy (12-13): This Ascenders group has the talent to be the best in country compared to recent years. A loss to Seffner Christian drops IMG Academy in our rankings. IMG Academy brings back Virginia commitment Olivia McGhee to the roster and Kelis Fisher arrives with a new offer from UConn. The Ascenders fell to Montverde Academy in their last game 67-56. 

11. Central Pointe Christian (19-4): You might see the White Tigers have losses to their record already, but they’re against the No. 1 team Montverde Academy, No. 2 DME Academy and Elizabeth Seton (MD). Point guard Sofia Munoz is one of the team’s top players back on the roster.

12. Plantation American Heritage (20-7): It was a rout in the Class 5A state championship game over Orlando Bishop Moore and the Patriots are back for more. Plantation American Heritage is led by Sydni Studesville, who is the top returning point scorer from a year ago. The Patriots won the Class 5A, District 14 championship and defeated North Miami handily to start the postseason.

13. DME Academy (19-7): DME Academy is just about as talented as they come. The team is averaging 59.2 points per game and is led by a slew of talented players, including Minnesota commit Dominika Paurova. A loss to Central Pointe drops DME Academy in our rankings. 

14. Bishop Kenny (27-1): An early season 40-35 loss against Westminster Academy showed where this Crusaders club is exactly at. Clare Coyle, a junior forward, leads Bishop Kenny with 11.5 points per contest through 27 games. Bishop Kenny won the Class 4A, District 4 championship and beat West Florida 66-28 in the region quarterfinal round. 

15. Dillard (19-8): So this was a long time coming in getting the Panthers put into our Power 25, but this team has the viable wins to back it up. Dillard has defeated South Florida powers like St. Thomas Aquinas, Chaminade-Madonna and Everglades. It’s no surprise they’re getting it done throughout the season and heading into districts. The Panthers defeated Everglades 53-32 to open up the Class 6A playoffs. 

16. Hagerty (27-1): Though the Huskies make a big leap into our Power 25 poll, this probably should've happen sooner. A 51-50 win over Colonial for the Class 7A, District 4 championship provided more than enough convincing that Hagerty should be included in this week's rankings. The Huskies defeated Ocoee 50-33 in a region quarterfinal matchup. 

17. Westminster Academy (21-7): The defending Class 3A state champions from a year ago bring back a very talented roster, which features sophomore guard Lena Girardi. If that last name sounds familiar, she’s the daughter of former MLB manager Joe Girardi. The Lions fall after dropping two in a row last week. The Lions won the Class 3A, District 14 title over Miami Country Day Last week and beat Ransom Everglades to begin the postseason. 

18. Miami Country Day (20-7): Seven state championships in eight years isn’t too shabby. The Spartans are back and though Andrea Daley is now to George Washington for college ball, this program is always one of the state’s best. Country Day dropped two games recently to St. Thomas Aquinas and IMG Academy. Miami Country Day bounced back with a 66-37 win over St. Andrew’s in the region quarterfinal. 

19. Miami (21-5): Miami has been playing solid basketball all season long as they’re coming off a 69-47 win over Lourdes Academy. The Stingarees has proven victories over Horeb Christian and Doral Academy. Miami snatched the Class 7A, District 16 championship last week and defeated Cypress Bay 62-33 in the region quarterfinals. 

20. Plant (24-4): When you look at the Panthers’ schedule, they are preparing to be a team in making another deep playoff run. The team’s go-to-player is senior guard/forward Morgan Sieper, who is averaging a team-high 14.9 points per game. A recent loss to Palm Bay doesn’t drop Plant in our rankings. The Panthers won the Class 7A, District 10 crown over Sickles last week and face No. 23 Venice in the region semifinals. 

21. Somerset Academy Silver Palms (21-4): The Stallions have been in our rankings before and return after picking up an impressive 71-62 victory over No. 21 ranked Miami. Ashley Martinez (13.9 points), Shanaii Gamble (14.6 points) and Victoria Valle (14.2 points) are the team’s leading scorers. The Stallions pulled away winning the Class 3A, District 16 crown.

22. Colonial (19-8): The Grenadiers fell to Hagerty in the Class 7A, District 4 championship game, but just by a single point. This team still has plenty of enough talent to make a run through the playoffs and who knows, maybe see Hagerty once more time. Colonial defeated West Port to reach the region semifinals. 

23. Venice (20-5): The Indians one menace during the regular season has been rival Sarasota Riverview, but other than that, Venice sneaks into our Power 25 rankings. A big reason we implemented them in is because of a 67-41 blowout victory of previous Power 25 ranked Sarasota Booker. Venice won the Class 7A, District 12 title last week over Sarasota and defeated them in the rematch 72-61. 

24. Oakleaf (24-2): Outside of a losses to Valor Christian in the second game of the season and Bishop Kenny, the Knights have been the next best team in Northeast Florida. Kaylah Turner leads the team in scoring at 22.6 points per game. Oakleaf blew by Ponte Vedra for the Class 6A, District 3 title and beat Pace to open the playoffs. 

25. Spruce Creek (22-5): The Hawks have played many of the teams within the SBLive Sports Florida Power 25 and are returners into the poll as the playoffs begin. Spruce Creek was able to win the Class 7A, District 2 championship after defeating Lake Mary and opened up the postseason with a win over district champion Mandarin.

Teams on the bubble: Academy of the Holy Names, Bishop Moore, Bloomingdale, Bolles, Brooks-DeBartolo, Cardinal Gibbons, Charlotte, Clearwater, Edgewater, Fort Walton Beach, King's Academy, Mainland, Nease, North Broward Prep, Ponce De Leon, Sarasota Booker, Rutherford, Wildwood

Andy Villamarzo can be reached at andyvillamarzo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @Andy_Villamarzo.