High School Girls Basketball- It might be a New Year, but we are keeping the same traditions, such as the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union releasing their rankings. For much of the season the top teams have remained comfortably at the top, but for Class 5A there is a new top team. First, we start with Class 1A.
The reason that we start with Class 1A is there was no movement by any team. Staying at the top is last year’s State Champion, Algona Bishop Garrigan, followed by Newell-Fonda and North Linn. Burlington Notre Dame, despite the recent stretch of losses, remains at #10 and Winfield-Mt. Union, who is still touting an undefeated record of 11-0, is slotted in 11th.
Class 2A followed suit with no movement in the Top 15 with Dike-New Hartford claiming the top spot at 9-0. West Burlington and Mediapolis are still ranked at 12th and 13th, respectively.
Class 3A saw three new teams enter the Top 15 in Grinnell at 13th, Sioux Center in 14th, and Atlantic in 15th. That knocks out Roland-Story, Monticello, and Harlan. Estherville Lincoln Central is still undefeated and ranked 1st followed by Benton Community.
Cedar Rapids Xavier and Dallas Center-Grimes still hold the top two spots for Class 4A, respectively. North Polk and Ballard flipped positions with North Polk now in 3rd and Ballard in 5th after the Comets beat the Bombers 53-46 January 3rd. Gilbert was the only team to be knocked out of the Top 15 with Pella being ranked 15th with a 7-2 record.
Class 5A had the most movement with the biggest move being a new top team as Johnston now claims the crown followed by Pleasant Valley. Waterloo West fell from 1st to 3rd after their matchup with then 15th ranked Linn-Mar went to double overtime as the Lions came out on top 72-68 thanks to Zoe Kennedy’s 28 points; Linn-Mar is now ranked 10th. Other movements, Ankeny Centennial and Southeast Polk flipped positions with Ankeny Centennial now ranked 5th and Southeast Polk in 6th and Waukee Northwest fell from 7th to 9th. No teams were dropped from the Top 15 but Iowa City Liberty dropped three spots to be ranked 15th.