Central Section high school girls basketball rankings (1/16/2024)

As if Clovis West wasn't impressive enough in two league openers, the Golden Eagles really strut their stuff in MLK Classic win over Nevada power Centennial

Clovis West keeps on winning and obviously they’ll stay on top until someone in the section can topple them. And as everyone knows by now, that’s a tall order.

St. Joseph, like their counterpoint boys team, will hardly be challenged during league play and will most likely stay No. 2 until playoffs begin. And Central, Buchanan and Clovis are all bunched together and by the time league ends, it’ll be sorted out.

We think.

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Tehachapi enters the ranking for the first time after beating then No. 4 Monache. Last season the Lady Warriors lost in the D2 Central Section title game. Bakersfield Christian drops a spot to No. 7 and Bullard stays at No. 10.

1. Clovis West (18-2)

Last week rank: 1

The Golden Eagles impressed this week in its first two games of league with wins over Central (62-48) and Clovis East (82-25) but really impressed with a 71-59 win over Centennial of Nevada at the Martin Luther King Jr. Classic at St. Mary’s. Senior guard Athena Tomlinson scored 25 and Riley Walls 16 in that win.

2. St. Joseph (14-4)

Last week rank: 2

The Knights defeated Orcutt Academy 75-27 and Arroyo Grande 61-51 in league. Avary Cain scored 20 points and Gabby Gimeno had 13 rebounds in the win over Orcutt.

3. Buchanan (14-7)

Last week rank: 5

It’s been an up and down season for the Bears, losing three of their last four including a 52-44 setback to Central. However, they have solid wins against Clovis and Central in a tournament.

4. Clovis (10-6)

Last week rank: 3

The Cougars lost a pair of games last week to Lincoln of Stockton and rival Buchanan 58-44. Then they bounced back with a 77-36 win over Clovis North. They play at No. 1 Clovis West on Friday, a rematch of when the Cougars gave the Golden Eagles their first league loss in six years.

5. Central (10-6)

Last week rank: 8

The Grizzlies have split with Buchanan, beat a good Bullard team and lost to Clovis West 62-48 at home. They’ll take on Clovis and Clovis West on Jan. 23 and 27th.

6. Caruthers (10-5)

Last week rank: 6

The Lady Blue Raiders defeated Fresno Christian 79-22 to open up Northwest Sequoia League and have now won 103 consecutive league games. They dropped a close one in OT 57-55 to Bothell in Washington

7. Bakersfield Christian (11-6)

Last week rank: 7

The Eagles continue their solid season, defeating Bakersfield 73-51 and Ridgeview 67-31 to begin league play. Ruby Yanagi scored 16 against Bakersfield and Alexis Bila and Destiny Francies added 14 each.

8. Tehachapi (14-5)

Last week rank: Not ranked

Entering the rankings for the first time, the Warriors are riding a nine-game winning streak after defeating South 72-15 as junior Riley Walden scored 20 points. They beat Monache 62-50 on Jan. 5.

9. Monache (17-2)

Last week rank: 4

The Marauders have a great 56-50 win over Buchanan but losses to Clovis and Tehachapi hurt. League should be a breeze but they do have a date with defending CIF State D2 Central on Jan. 27.

10. Bullard (13-6)

Last week rank: 10

Despite dropping games to Monache and Central, the Knights responded with two league wins against Sanger (64-58) and Justin Garza (69-34). Jan. 24 they’ll have a test against San Joaquin Memorial, a five time league champ.