Dandy Dozen: girls hoops rankings Week 5

1. Clearwater (18-0)
On tap: Thurs. at Dunedin; Fri. vs. Pine Forest (Pensacola) at Winter Haven
Comment: The Tornadoes have taken up residence in our No. 1 spot. So much so, we hear the cable guy comes this week to set up TV and Internet. Supposedly the team is going puppy shopping next week. Maybe they’ll get a dalmatian. Or a beagle. Who knows? Exciting times at Clearwater. Saturday’s game against Pine Forest is probably the greatest threat to the Tornadoes finishing the regular season undefeated.

2. Jefferson (14-1)
On tap: Mon. vs. Leto; Tues. at Plant; Thurs. at Middleton
Comment: Pivotal week for Jefferson. If the Dragons win all three games against district foes, they will virtually wrap up the top seed for the district tournament (Feb. 2-7 at Plant). Plant will provide the stiffest competition. The Panthers have just one loss in district. Jade Givens returns to the Jefferson lineup after sitting out the Robinson win on Thursday with an injury.

3. Tampa Catholic (16-1)
On tap: Tues. vs. Cardinal Mooney; Fri. vs. Academy of the Holy Names
Comment: The Crusaders had the season’s highest scoring outburst this season after nearly hitting the century mark in a 98-21 drubbing of Lennard. In 14 of their 17 games, the Crusaders have scored 65 or more points. In eight of them they’ve topped 75 points. Folks, that’s how you win basketball games.

4. St. Petersburg Catholic (13-4)
On tap: Tues. at Berkeley Prep; Saturday vs. Academy of the Holy Names
Comment: Barons jump up a spot despite losing by 23 at home. Tough to penalize the Barons, however, when the opponent is Plantation American Heritage, the No. 2 ranked team in Class 3A. The Barons move into the meat of their district schedule. Starting Tuesday at Berkeley Prep, five of SPC’s next six games come against district foes. A rematch with Tampa Catholic (Jan. 23) looms.

5. Gibbs (15-2)
On tap: Thurs. at Northeast; Fri. at East Lake
Comment: The Gladiators must have momentarily forgotten that high school games last 32 minutes, not 16. In a 47-41 win over Seminole on Thursday, Gibbs led 28-8 at halftime, holding the Warhawks to zero second-quarter points. After the break, however, Seminole, which Gibbs blasted by 37 points in the teams’ first go-round, outscored the Gladiators 33-19 to make the final margin surprisingly narrow.

6. Wesley Chapel (15-1)
On tap: Mon. vs. South Lake; Wed. vs. Land O’Lakes; Thurs. at Central
Comment: Wesley Chapel drops two spots after losing its first game of the season by 15 points to Mitchell. In that game the Wildcats lost leading scorer Shantel Houston for much of the second half with an ankle injury. Looking at the rest of their schedule, the Wildcats have a better-than-average chance of winning out. A matchup with Gulf on Jan. 29 appears to be the only road block.

7. Boca Ciega (15-3)
On tap: Thurs. at Lakewood; Sat. vs. Lely (Naples) at Winter Haven
Comment: Rough stretch ahead for Boca Ciega. The Pirates play at Lakewood, travel to Winter Haven for a nondistrict game with Lely and go on the road again to play Gibbs, all in the next two weeks. Should be very interesting to see how Boca Ciega responds against Gibbs (Jan. 20), who beat the Pirates by 30 in their first meeting. Pirates coach Will White said Tamara Taylor returns to the team Jan. 23.

8. Wiregrass Ranch (15-1)
On tap: Tues. vs. Springstead; Thurs. at Gulf; Fri. vs. Zephyrhills
Comment: Wiregrass Ranch, which is 11-0 in district play, can wrap up the top seed for the Class 4A, District 8 tournament by sweeping all three of its games this week. Only the Gulf matchup looks to be much of a challenge. The Bulls slid past Gulf by two points (45-43) on Dec. 5. Both teams are evenly matched, and Thursday’s game should again be a nailbiter.

9. Plant (13-2)
On tap: Mon. at Hillsborough; Tues. vs. Jefferson; Thurs. vs. Robinson
Comment: The next two games will determine Plant’s fate in district. The Panthers took care of Hillsborough by 17 points the first time they played but lost to Jefferson by 23. If the Panthers beat the Terriers and Dragons this week, they’ll be tied with Jefferson for first place going into the final week of the district schedule.

10. St. Petersburg (12-4)
On tap: Thurs. vs. Countryside; Fri. at Dixie Hollins
Comment: Two encouraging victories for the Green Devils last week with four point wins over Lakewood and Sickles (oddly enough, both by the same 47-43 score) solidifying their spot in this poll. St. Pete’s game on Thursday against a decent Countryside team is the first for the Green Devils in eight days.

11. Nature Coast Tech (12-5)
On tap: Tues. vs. Zephyrhills; Thurs. vs. Hudson; Fri. at Springstead
Comment: Barring a collapse down the stretch from Wiregrass Ranch, it looks like the best the Sharks can hope for is a No. 2 seed for the upcoming 4A-8 district tournament. NCT should have no problem getting through this week 3-0. Next Tuesday’s road game at Gulf is the best game on the Sharks remaining schedule.

12. Tampa Bay Tech (12-1)
On tap: Mon. at Armwood; Thurs. at Bloomingdale; Fri. vs. Land O’Lakes at Winter Haven; Sat. vs. Fort Walton Beach at Winter Haven
Comment: TBT might deserve to be ranked a little higher, but their only quality wins came against Armwood and Mitchell. A more convincing victory tonight over Armwood could move the Titans up in the poll. So too could a win this weekend against a good Fort Walton Beach squad.

-- BRYAN BURNS

Comments

[JUST LIKE FOOTBALL]

Gibbs benched their best player in that Seminole game after the 1st qtr...they were up like 30

[philphan]

Actually. What time is the game?

[Tim]

Man. Give Boca Ciega and Clearwater prop for putting together very tough non-district games(very few girls coaches do that.....)
Boca's non-district games are rock solid--6A Sarasota Riverview, 6A Sarasota High, North Port(13-2), Bradenton Southeast(15-1), Naples Lely who nearly defeated state champions Barron Collier, Clearwater at Clearwater. The true test will come with this stretch.

[philphan]

Wow, I feel stupid. Totally skipped right over that. Thansk though.

[Times Editor]

It's at Winter Haven. Says it in the "on tap" part

[philphan]

Where is the Clearwater-Pine Forest game going to be played?