Central Section high school girls basketball Top 10 rankings (2/06/2024)

As Buchanan, Central and Clovis continue to beat up each other on the court, Clovis West continues to power through the Central Section

For the second straight week, the Central Section girls rankings are a case of who beat who lately. But, one thing’s for certain … the Clovis West girls are the team to beat.

The Golden Eagles, who won a CIF State Open title in 2017, have won 11 straight Central Section titles and will be the top seed in D1 when the rankings are released on Saturday.

In fact, Buchanan, Central and Clovis keep beating up on each other and how about those Monache Marauders, who defeated San Joaquin Memorial 62-59 last Saturday. And don’t forget about Tehachapi who beat Monache earlier in the season.

1. Clovis West (25-2)

Last ranking: 1

Business as usual for the Golden Eagles as they swept Clovis East (70-27) and Buchanan (71-33) at home, clinching their 19th straight TRAC title. In fact, they’re 181-5 during that time. They’ll travel to face No. 4 Clovis and host Clovis North this coming week.

2. St. Joseph (20-5)

Last ranking: 2

The Knights continued their run through the Mountain League with wins over Arroyo Grande and Righetti but dropped a Saturday showcase game to North Coast Section power San Ramon Valley 60-35. They have one more game remaining at Nipomo and most likely will receive the No. 2 seed in D1.

3. Buchanan (17-10)

Last ranking: 3

Last week the Bears defeated Central 42-40 but fell to No. 1 Clovis West 71-33 on the road. They finish the rugged TRAC with home games against Clovis East and Clovis North, teams they’ve beaten by an average of 32 points in three games.

4. Clovis (16-11)

Last ranking: 4

The Cougars are riding a tidy little four game winning streak, beating Clovis North, Clovis East and Bakersfield Christian in a Saturday showcase. They have home games against No. 1 Clovis West and No. 5 Central to finish out the regular season.

5. Central (16-10)

Last ranking: 5

The Grizzlies lost a tight one 42-40 to Buchanan but rebounded with a 61-24 win over Clovis North. Clovis East and Clovis round out their regular season for the defending D2 CIF state champs.

6. Tehachapi (22-2)

Last ranking: 8

Senior Riley Walden broke a school record with 48 points in a 82-12 win over East-Bakersfield and the team followed with a 62-37 win over North-Bakersfield. They hold an impressive win over Monache and look to finish a perfect league record when they face West, Liberty and Arvin.

7. Monache (22-2)

Last ranking: 9

Impressively, the Marauders defeated San Joaquin Memorial 62-59 on a Saturday Showdown after beating El Diamante and Redwood. Mt. Whitney and Porterville stand in their way from a perfect league season.

8. Caruthers (17-7)

Last ranking: 7

The Lady Blue Raiders upped their Central Section record league winning streak to 109 with wins over Sierra and Yosemite but fell 58-57 to Esperanza in their Caruthers Showcase. They’ll finish with games against Chowchilla and Liberty and it looks like they’ll be placed in D1 when playoffs are announced Saturday.

9. San Joaquin Memorial (15-6)

Last ranking: 6

The Panthers dominated league foes Sanger 88-37 and Justin Garza 78-24 last week before losing to No. 7 Monache 62-59 on Jan. 3. They’ll look to go 10-0 in CMAC this week at Madera and Bullard, who is currently 7-1 in league.

10. Bullard (19-7)

Last ranking: 10

The Knights took care of Justin Garza, Madera and Righetti last week with an eye on their matchup against San Joaquin Memorial this Friday. Sanai Herod scored 21 points with 10 rebounds in the Righetti win.