SBLive Nebraska Top 25 girls basketball rankings (Feb. 13)
By Sam Pimper
Plenty of familiar faces remain in this week’s top 10 rankings, but there have been a few adjustments. Skutt Catholic, which has shown its toughness against good Class A competition, moves to our No. 2 spot. Bellevue East, with a big win over Bellevue West, jumps a spot this week and Elkhorn North elevates to our No. 3 position from No. 5.
1. Millard South (20-1, 16-0 district)
Coming off a 69-42 win over Lincoln Southwest, Millard South wraps up its regular season with a Friday home game against Marian, followed by a big Saturday matchup with Bellevue East. The Patriots handily won against East in late December, but this Chieftains squad is getting hot at the right time. Circle this matchup.
2. Skutt Catholic (22-1, 1-0 district)
Skutt closes out its regular season Tuesday when they play 8-11 Mercy. Don’t look for this to be much of a game. Then again, almost none have been close. This SkyHawks team has won every game but two by double digits. Last week, Peyton McCabe became Skutt’s career scoring leader during a win over Norris.
3. Elkhorn North (19-1, 2-0 district)
Elkhorn North moves up two spots on our list this week. This team has won 17 straight games, one of which was a huge upset victory in overtime over Millard South. This team has all the tools to make a major state tournament push. Look for them to win their next three games heading into districts.
4. Millard North (18-2, 15-1 district)
After losing earlier this month to Millard South, North has rebounded with wins over Gretna and Papillion-LaVista South. Look for the Mustangs to Beat Lincoln Southwest before heading to Bellevue West for the season finale. The finale will be a big game, with the winner riding a momentum wave into the postseason.
5. Lincoln High (20-1, 16-0 district)
This is an athletic, talented Links squad, but their schedule across the board hasn’t been super challenging. Of their last seven wins, only one has come over a team inside of SBLive’s Top 25 (Benson). Lincoln High wraps up its regular season with games against Norfolk on Tuesday and Lincoln Pius X Friday.
6. Bellevue East (17-3, 10-2 district)
This team is looking sharp at the right time. This past week, led by Mya Scoff’s 30 points, the Chieftains picked up a huge win over Bellevue West. Winners of their last six, the Chieftains close the regular season out with games against Elkhorn South and Millard South.
7. Bellevue West (19-3, 12-2 district)
After falling roughly to Bellevue East, the Thunderbirds rebounded with a 62-58 win over Lincoln Southeast. The loss to East may have offset some momentum, but West will need to regain that edge when they face Millard North at home on Friday. Bellevue West closes out the season with a very winnable game against Omaha Westside Saturday.
8. Millard West (14-6, 11-5 district)
The Wildcats are winners of seven straight, but the road has been pretty smooth sailing over that stretch, with their best win coming over Lincoln North Star. Up next is Omaha Westside on Tuesday and the regular season finale against Omaha Central Friday. Twins Neleigh and Norah Gessert are leading Millard West in scoring with more than 10 points per game.
9. Lincoln East (16-4, 16-3 district)
East wraps up its regular season against Lincoln North Star Tuesday, followed by an away game at Papillion-LaVista South Friday. The Spartans have won nine straight and are led by Regan Barnard, who is scoring just under 11 points per game.
10. Bridgeport (21-0, 4-0 district)
The Bulldogs are the only undefeated team left in the State of Nebraska. Sisters Ruthie and Olivia Loomis-Goltl have carried the scoring load this year, averaging 20.2 and 19.4 points, respectively. Bridgeport wrapped up its regular season Friday with an 85-26 win over Morrill.
11. Omaha Central (14-8, 10-6 district)
Central is coming off a 78-42 win over Norfolk, and should be able to handle 7-13 Omaha North before facing Millard West to close out the regular season. Junior guard Inia Jones is averaging just over 19 points per game, and junior Taylor Gonzales is netting just over 11.
12. Lincoln Pius X (16-5, 12-3 district)
Pius is led by senior Adison Markowski, scoring just under 12 points per game. After losing back-to-back games to Bellevue West and Lincoln East, Pius picked up a lopsided win over Fremont. The Thunderbolts close out the regular season against Lincoln Northeast Tuesday.
13. North Bend Central (22-1, 3-1 district)
Since a surprising season-opening loss to Bishop Neumann, the Tigers have fired off 22 straight wins and are looking poised to defend their Class C-1 title this spring at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln. NBC wrapped up its regular season with a 66-25 win over Howells-Dodge.
14. Kearney (13-9, 10-5 district)
Kearney is the winner of three straight, and has winnable games against Fremont and Lincoln Southwest to cap the regular season. Tatum Rusher is scoring just under 12 points per game, leading the Bearcats in offensive productivity. Kiara Dutenhoffer is also adding nearly eight points per game.
15. Lincoln Northeast (13-9, 8-7 district)
Northeast is coming off of back-to-back wins, including a quality performance against Omaha Central. The Rockets take on Lincoln Pius X Tuesday before wrapping their regular season up during an away game Thursday at Fremont. Doneelah Washington leads the Rockets in scoring with 17 per game.
16. Lincoln Southwest (11-9, 11-8 district)
It’s a bumpy drive down the stretch for the Silverhawks, who face Millard North and Kearney – both teams they’ve lost to this season – heading into their district tournament. It would be big to win one of two heading into tournament play. Leading Southwest in scoring is Brinly Christensen, netting just under 14 per game.
17. Benson (10-9, 7-6 district)
Benson, one of the feel-good stories in Class A this year after playing high quality ball with a depleted roster, has lost its last five games. This is a good team, but a lack of depth is wearing on them late in the year. The next two games, though, are winnable against Westview and Omaha North.
18. Papillion-LaVista (11-10, 9-9 district)
Coming off a lopsided win over Westview, look for Papillion to finish its regular season with a win Thursday against 7-14 Columbus. Rease Murtaugh leads the Monarchs in scoring at just over 14 per game. Mia Slizinski and Brooklyn Holloway are scoring 9.2 and 8.7 per game, respectively.
19. Sidney (21-1, 4-0 district)
The Red Raiders finish their regular season Tuesday against 12-9 Alliance. Look for Sidney to wrap up on a winning note. Most of their games this season have been lopsided, and their one loss came against Gordon-Rushville, a team they look to get redemption against later this postseason.
20. York (17-3, 1-0 district)
After being demolished by Elkhorn North 55-9, York bounced back with wins over Columbus Lakeview and Seward. The Dukes regular season finale is a district away game against 3-16 Hastings. Kiersten Portwine leads york in scoring at just under 10 points per game, and Chloe Koch is adding nine.
21. Beatrice (15-3, 1-1 district)
The Orangemen have notched back-to-back wins over Wahoo and Grand Island Northwest after falling to Norris 52-30 in late January. They have a tough matchup against a good Waverly squad to close out the regular season.
22. Adams Central (21-1, 2-1 district)
The Patriots closed out their regular season with seven straight wins, the last coming against 0-20 Lexington. Adams Central’s lone loss of the season came in late January to Grand Island Central Catholic. Adams Central lost in the second round of last year's Class B State Tournament to Skutt Catholic before moving down to Class C-1.
23. Lincoln Christian (20-2, 0-0 district)
Winners of 11 straight, the Crusaders are led by Kena Ailes 17 points per game. Mattea Kassebaum and Jessa Hueser are adding 8.8 and 6.2 points per game, respectively. Lincoln Christian closes out its regular season Tuesday against 12-9 Raymond Central.
24. Marian (10-11, 7-9 district)
Marian is led by Maggie Tynan, who is scoring just under 15 points per game. KcKenna Stover and Zoe Wiegert are averaging 10 and 7.5 points per contest, respectively. Coming off a win over a struggling Benson squad, Marian wraps up its season Friday against 20-2 Millard South.
25. Gretna (9-11, 6-9 district)
Aiden Pohlmann is scoring just under 10 points per game, and Brooke Rose and Emma Martin are averaging just under nine and six points, respectively. Look for the Dragons to pick up a win over 5-15 Burke to close out the regular season.
Next 5: Papillion-LaVista South, Fremont, Scotts Bluff, Omaha North, Lincoln Southeast
