Top 25 California high school girls basketball rankings (1/16/2024): Etiwanda rises to No. 2; Cardinal Newman soars eight spots

With Taissa Queiroz now eligible, Cardinal Newman girls basketball is better than ever

In California high school basketball, the vibe changes for most teams when early January becomes late January. 

After two months of tournaments, showcases, lower-stakes non-league matchups, and for some teams, travel, almost everyone is knee-deep in league play – with the playoffs suddenly just a few weeks away,

With that said, here are SBLive's California girls basketball rankings for the week of Jan. 15-21. After each team's name is its record and previous ranking. The rankings will be released every week for the remainder of the season.

SBLIVE TOP 25 CALIFORNIA GIRLS BASKETBALL RANKINGS

1. Archbishop Mitty (14-0 – 1st)

Photo by Dan Brood

Frankly, the gap between Mitty and the rest of NorCal is unbelievable, and possibly unprecedented. On Friday, the Monarchs steamrolled WCAL foe Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep – the clear No. 2 team in the Central Coast Section – 75-42. And a few days later, they dismantled Bishop O'Dowd 66-18. Archbishop Mitty will win a national championship if it wins out for the rest of the year, and what's crazy about that is that they might not be tested again until the state finals.

Additionally, Mitty's stock rose even higher as a result of Etiwanda losing to a common foe – read on for more.

2. Etiwanda (16-3 – 3rd)

Photo by Heston Quan

After two months of loading and almost never being at 100-percent health-wise, the Eagles fully announced their arrival on Saturday in Boston, winning 71-56 against national contender Sidwell Friends – the only team to beat Sierra Canyon. Kennedy Smith further introduced herself on the national level by scoring 29 points with 6 three-pointers on 10-17 shooting from the field in the win. And she did that despite dealing with not one, not two, but three 5-star forwards Quakers standing 6-1 or taller.

While it was still a tremendous Hoophall Classic showing for the Eagles, they did also lose to national No. 2 Long Island Lutheran by 20 points after the Sidwell win. That doesn't hurt Etiwanda's stock in these rankings, or relative to any team in the country not named Archbishop Mitty. However, it did widen the gap between Mitty and everyone else in the country – which of course won't mean much on the hardwood if the Monarchs face Etiwanda in a state finals rematch.

Also of note is that Etiwanda got a transitive stock boost from nationally-ranked Lake Highland Prep (FL), which Etiwanda defeated earlier in the season, rising in national rankings for a big in-state win against DME Academy.

3. Sierra Canyon (19-1 – 2nd)

Photo by Nick Koza

Sierra Canyon fans may rightfully point out that while Etiwanda beat Sidwell Friends, Sierra Canyon beat DeSoto, which beat Etiwanda. And while Etiwanda has a small edge in wins over top-25 teams in the country, Sierra Canyon has only one third the losses. To that end, the mitigating factor in these rankings is that Etiwanda's loss to Long Island Lutheran was its only one while at full-strength. However, assuming both teams win out until the playoffs, one could argue that Sierra Canyon has the best case to earn the top seed in the Southern Section due primarily to record.

The Trailblazers finish the season with six league games and a non-league matchup with Valencia (Valencia).

4. Sage Hill (15-2 – 4th)

Photo by Lance Smith

Unfortunately, Sage Hill didn't get to play its second (and more highly-anticipated) game at the St. James MLK Classic due to weather. But it did make the most of its one game in Washington D.C., beating Maryland heavyweight Riverdale Baptist by 16 points behind 21 points from Amalia Holguin. Look for Sage Hill to enter the Southern Section Open Division playoffs with a full head of steam.

5. Cardinal Newman (17-2 – 13th)

It's time to welcome Cardinal Newman to the very top echelon of girls basketball. While the Cardinals have been familiar with/to the state's top ranks for years, they are now the consensus No. 2 team in NorCal and a national-level program after knocking off Folsom in Taissa Queiroz' 27-point debut. Queiroz, a junior transfer who just became eligible, is one of the top players in Brazil's international pipeline and a physically-dominant six-foot forward with an inside-out skillset.

6. Folsom (14-4 – 5th)

Despite getting its parade rained on by Cardinal Newman, Folsom is still the favorite to repeat as Sac-Joaquin Section champion. They bounced back from that 57-49 loss to defeat Mission Hills 58-49.

7. Ontario Christian (16-3 – 6th)

It was another high-scoring, overpowering week for the Knights. Kaleena Smith totaled 37 points, 8 assists, 7 steals, and 6 rebounds in an impressive rout of Rancho Christian, and then dropped a career-high 62 points as Ontario Christian 100-pieced Linfield Christian.

8. Mater Dei (15-6 – 7th)

After beating Rosary Academy 70-55, Mater Dei fell 64-48 on the East Coast against Morris Catholic – a top-10 and potential top-five team in the country. That makes the fifth time this season in five tries that the Monarchs played a national-level opponent without Addie Deal and avoided getting blown out, which is a remarkable feat.

9. Bishop Montgomery (14-3 – 8th)

After getting upset by La Salle in the first round of league play last year, Bishop Montgomery pulled out a 59-52 on the road against the Lancers. With wins over both La Salle and St. Anthony in their first league meetings, Bishop Montgomery has a good chance to win the conference in undisputed fashion this time around.

10. St. Mary's-Stockton (14-5 – 10th)

St. Mary's bounced back from the Bishop O'Dowd loss in style. Last week it cruised past Perry (AZ), outdueled Corona Centennial 69-62, and a made statement with a 73-42 rout of Rancho Christian.

11. San Ramon Valley (17-1 – 11th)

For a backcourt-heavy squad that's been among the top three-point shooting teams in the state or even country for a good few years running, it's hard to believe that San Ramon Valley didn't make a single three on Wednesday against Pinewood. And even more impressive than Pinewood holding San Ramon Valley three-less is the fact that the Wolves were somehow able to win 48-41 anyway.

12. Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep (11-2 – 12th)

It goes without saying that SHCP's 75-42 loss to Archbishop Mitty is not a stock-dropper, although it surely stings anyway. On the bright side, the Fightin' Irish bounced back to defeat both St. Patrick-St. Vincent and San Joaquin Memorial by double-figures.

13. Clovis West (18-2 – 15th)

Clovis West fit a battle with Las Vegas Centennial (NV) in during TRAC play, and won 71-59 for one of its better wins of the season. This is another big week for the Golden Eagles, who face Buchanan (Clovis), Clovis, and Oakland Tech.

14. Bishop O'Dowd (9-5 – 17th)

The Dragons were unable to build on the win against St. Mary's, losing a 59-50 shocker to Piedmont in their league opener. They also offered minimal resistance in a 66-18 demolition at the hands of Archbishop Mitty.

Ultimately it was a concerning week for Bishop O'Dowd, but ups and downs are expected with such young teams. They did squeeze in a nice 16-point win over Salesian College Prep between the two losses.

15. Moreno Valley (19-4 – 14th)

Last week was business as usual for MoVal, which blew out Heritage (Menifee) and Rancho Verde to continue what should be a dominant jaunt through league play. Could Moreno Valley be headed to the CIFSS Open Division?

16. Mission Hills (12-7 – 16th)

Despite ending it with a loss, last week was another impressive one for the Grizzlies. They blew out Rancho Bernardo and Westview to open Palomar League play, defeated Priory 66-50, and gave Folsom a good battle in its 58-49 defeat. 

17. Village Christian (15-3 – 17th)

The Crusaders may or may not be tested on Saturday in their non-league finale hosting Bonita (14-6).

18. Acalanes (14-4 – 18th)

While there are more than a couple good teams in the Diablo, Acalanes will most likely cruise until the playoffs start. It thrashed Benicia 72-8 its last time out.

19. Brentwood School (14-6 – 19th)

Took care of business after Jan. 6 loss to Cardinal Newman, blowing out Viewpoint, Campbell Hall, Rolling Hills Prep, and Serra (Gardena) before Tuesday's monumental meeting with Windward.

20. Windward (14-4 – 21st)

Fittingly, Brentwood and Windward, which were neck-and-neck last year, wound up right next to each other heading into their first league title battle. Then on Thursday, the Eagles head to Fairmont Prep for an intriguing non-league game.

21. Carondelet (16-2 – 22nd)

The last five teams in the rankings – and every team on the bubble – are wound in a tight cluster with no definitive order because of an interrelated web of head-to-head results. It wasn't too bad until La Jolla Country Day's upset loss against McClatchy, which disrupted the small amount of order that existed.

Despite losing to LJCD by three points less than two weeks ago, Carondelet gets the nod atop the knot. It won all three of its games last week by double digits, including a 52-37 victory against Pinewood. The Cougars' only other loss came against Bob Jones, arguably the top team in Alabama, and their 56-47 win over Corona Centennial on Dec. 19 is another deciding factor.

22. Corona Centennial (11-10 – Bubble)

It appears the Huskies have turned a corner since a 16-point loss to Acalanes on Dec. 28. They outdueled Westview by nine points the following day, and then won another five games in a row, including Rancho Christian and Santiago (Corona), all by double-digits. Cen10 even game St. Mary's (Stockton) a run for its money in its last game, a 69-62 loss.

23. Rancho Christian (9-4 – Bubble)

Despite getting blown out by Ontario Christian and St. Mary's, last week was a solid for Rancho Christian, which played five games in six days. The Eagles blew out Riverside Poly and Paloma Valley in league play, and then cooled off Piedmont with a 55-45 win. 

24. La Jolla Country Day (14-5 – 20th)

Ultimately, the McClatchy loss drops La Jolla Country Day three spots from where it would've been. As the Torreys have beaten two of the teams that passed them, there's clearly not much room for precision in this situation; the McClatchy loss (which also sprung McClatchy to the bubble) had to count for something, but not an excessive amount. So things could shake out any number of ways going forward.

25. Santiago-Corona (11-10 – 23rd)

While the Sharks have been trending downward, their loss to Orangewood Academy (which is now on the bubble) likely says more about red-hot Orangewood than themselves.

ON THE BUBBLE:

St. Anthony, McClatchy, Orangewood Academy, Piedmont, Buena Park