Nease continues to remain at the top of the Fab Five girls basketball rankings for the fifth straight week, but Bishop Kenny remains close after winning the St. Pius Holiday Tournament over the weekend.
1 Nease (13-1)
Last ranking: 1
Last week: def. Loyola Academy (IL) 60-52, def. Rogers (OH) 56-44, fell to Aquinas 64-62
Next: Winter Haven (Jan 4), Tampa Bay Tech (Jan 5)
Note: Nease came within seconds of remaining undefeated but dropped a stunner at the buzzer to St. Thomas Aquinas in the final of the Naples Holiday Classic. Camille Hobby led the Panthers with 26 points and 16 rebounds in the win over Loyola, while Kiya Turner chipped in 10 points, Tia Robinson with 8 and Stephanie Manherz with 7 points. In the semifinals, Hobby took charge again with 24 points and 10 rebounds, Mannherz and Robinson each had 9 points, while Peyton Carter added 8 points and 8 rebounds and Turner 6 points and 12 assists. In the title game. Hobby again led the Panthers in scoring with 23 points and 15 rebounds, while Robinson chipped in with 15 points and 7 rebounds and Turner added 12 points and 5 rebounds and Carter was clutch with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Nease trailed St. Thomas Aquinas 29-20 at the half and rallied to take a 44-43 thanks to a 24-14 run in the third, only to see the Raiders rally back and win it at the buzzer.
Wow. For the win pic.twitter.com/5IZO2yZx4V
— Holiday Shootout (@HolidayShootout) December 30, 2018
2 Bishop Kenny (14-1)
Last ranking: 2
Last week: def. Holy Cross (MD) 56-43, def. St. Pius (GA) 42-37, def. Holy Spirit (GA) 51-36
Next: Stanton (Jan 3)
Note: The streak has reached 10 in a row now after sweeping their way through the St. Pius Christmas Classic in Atlanta over the weekend. In the opener, Rose Dolmovich, Lindsay Miller and Jasmyne Roberts led Kenny in scoring with 12 points each, while Cara McCarthy and Maddie Millar chipped in with 9 points and 8 points respectively. Down 27-23 heading into the fourth quarter, Kenny rallied from behind with a 19-10 run to pull out the semifinal win over host St. Pius thanks to solid contributions from Jasmyne Roberts (16 points, 11 rebounds), Maddie Millar (11 points) and six points each from Lindsay Miller and Cara McCarthy. In the title game, Jasmyne Roberts led the Crusaders with 30 points and 11 rebounds, while Cara McCarthy added 8 points and 10 assists to take the tourney title.
3 Middleburg (12-3)
Last ranking: 4
Last week: fell to Jones 69-58, def. West Oaks 55-53, def. Oak Ridge 61-51
Next: Off
Note: A 2-1 finish at the prestigious Florida Prospects Tournament should give the Broncos plenty of confidence heading into the second half of the season. The Broncos dropped their opener to Orlando Jones despite 24 points and 6 rebounds from Britany Range, 19 points and 5 rebounds from Mallory Roney and 10 points and 8 rebounds from Skylar Baltezegar. Roney helped the Broncos rally from a halftime deficit in the win over West Oaks with 22 points and 9 rebounds, while Range added 18 points and 13 rebounds and Baltezegar chipped in 8 points and 11 rebounds. A 22-15 run in the second quarter, helped Middleburg break away from Oak Ridge in the third place game of the Silver Bracket thanks to Range 24 points and 10 rebounds, Roney 13 points and 10 rebounds, Mar’ria Davis 9 points and 5 rebounds, Jamyah Harkins 7 points and 4 rebounds and Baltezegar 6 points and 7 rebounds.
4 Sandalwood (9-3)
Last ranking: 5
Last week: fell to Lake Highland Prep 48-42, def. Winter Haven 49-46, def. Boilingbrook (IL) 42-32
Next: Tampa Bay Tech (Jan 4)
Note: The Saints went 2-1 in the prestigious Florida Prospects Tournament to finish in third place in the Platinum bracket in Orlando over the weekend. In the opening loss to Lake Highland Prep, Caitlin McGee led the Saints with 24 points and 15 rebounds, Nadya Matthews contributed 8 points and Amari Wright chipped in 7 points. In the win over Winter Haven, McGee led with 28 points and 8 rebounds, Wright with 9 points and 6 assists and Matthews 6 points and 4 rebounds. In the third place game, Auriyah Stewart was the leading scorer with 16 points, while Matthews chipped in 9 points and 7 rebounds, McGee had 9 rebounds and 14 rebounds and Wright had 5 points and 9 rebounds.
5 Raines (12-2)
Last ranking: 3
Last week: def. First Coast 60-46, fell to Ribault 65-62 (2 OT)
Next: at PK Yonge (Jan 4), Jenkins (Jan 5)
Note: The Vikings came close to taking the Northwest Classic title home but host Ribault held them off in the title game. In the semifinal win over First Coast, Teyana Carswell 17 points and 9 rebounds led the Vikings in scoring, while Nyla Allen added 16 points and 8 steals, Selah Reddick contributed 10 points and 4 steals and Ahliah Brown added 8 points and 5 steals. Stephanie Thorton and Allen each had 12 points in the loss to Ribault, while Reddick added 8 points.
Dropped out: None
Honorable Mention: Bartram Trail (11-4), Bolles (9-3), Columbia (11-3), Creekside (9-4), Fernandina Beach (13-2), Flagler Palm Coast (9-1), Orange Park (12-1), Ribault (9-4), Ridgeview (6-3), St. Johns Country Day (11-1), University Christian (9-2)
