FCP Top 25 - Feb. 14

The second time around is not always a given - as No. 2 Long Beach Poly discovered in the semfinals of California's Southern Sectional playoffs.

PHOTOS BY GLENN NELSON

Long Beach Poly has stumbled only once all season, losing to Collins Hill in the Nike Tournament of Champions, and the No. 2 Jackrabbits weren't expecting another test until the semifinals of the Southern Section playoffs - but things don't always work out as planned.

Against intracity rival Wilson, a team Poly had beaten 72-36 earlier in the year, the Jackrabbits found themselves down two with less than two minutes to go. 'We had three starters sick,' said coach Carl Buggs, and in addition, they couldn't buy an outside shot. So the Bruins just settled back in their zone and let Poly fire away, and miss.

But Candice Nichols, not known as a three-point shooter, got a good look and buried a three to put Poly ahead by one, and the Jackrabbit defense took over from there. The final was 55-52, and Poly held on for the win, and its ranking. But things aren't going to get any easier now that the playoffs have finally started.

1. (1) Collins Hill (Suwanee, Ga.) 24-0: Mill Creek was within two of Collins Hill back in January - and the Eagles were eager for the rematch. Final score: 75-35, as Collins Hill moves into the playoffs on a roll.

2. (2) Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) 26-1: There are 32 teams in the Southern Section Division I-AA playoffs, and Poly is seeded first - but seeded second, third and fourth are Brea-Olinda, Troy and Lynwood, three SoCal powers. And this is only the first level of the playoffs; there are two more steps after this.

3. (3) Notre Dame Academy (Middleburg, Va.) 25-1: Michael Teasley racked up win No. 100 as the Dragons rolled over two quality opponents: St. Frances of Baltimore and H.C. Woodson of D.C.

4. (4) Murry Bergtraum (Manhattan, N.Y.) 22-0: The Blazers are the top seed out of 20 teams in the AA playoffs, and will coast in round one Friday - and then take a week off.

5. (5) Stephenson (Stone Mountain, Ga.) 25-0: The top three teams in Georgia aren't scheduled to meet until the Final Four March 9 and 10, so look for a steady diet of easy wins.

FCP Top 25

1. Collins Hill
2. Long Beach Poly
3. Notre Dame Academy
4. Murry Bergtraum
5. Stephenson
6. Bolingbrook
7. Brea-Olinda
8. Rockwall
9. Cy-Fair
10. Incarnate Word
11. Edison
12. Lee’s Summit
13. Winter Haven
14. Kentwood
15. Sacred Heart Cathedral
16. Christ the King
17. The First Academy
18. Washington
19. Germantown Academy
20. St. Elizabeth
21. Sequoyah
22. St. Paul Central
23. North Little Rock
24. Bishop McGuinness
25. Mandan

Dropped out: 10. Fenwick

6. (6) Bolingbrook (Bolingbrook, Ill.) 25-1: More easy wins for the Raiders, who are just one upset loss to Morton from being a national title contender.

7. (7) Brea-Olinda (Brea, Calif.) 26-0: The pressure is already on the Ladycats, who have to play well in the Southern Section playoffs to even think of advancing to the Southern California regionals.

8. (8) Rockwall (Rockwall, Texas) 33-0: The Jackets finished up a third straight season with a perfect home record - but they don't get to play in the friendly confines any more.

9. (10) Cy-Fair (Houston, Texas) 33-0: The Bobcats had to battle to get past local rival Cypress Falls, but prevailed 51-40. Down the road, Rockwall awaits.

10. (11) Incarnate Word (St. Louis, Mo.) 23-1: Theresa Davis followed in a missed shot with three seconds left as the Red Knights outlasted St. Thomas Aquinas 38-36 - and thus moved into the top ten

11. (12) Edison (Alexandria, Va.) 22-1: Three games last week. Combined score: 316-67. And two of those were playoff games.

12. (13) Lee’s Summit (Lee’s Summit, Mo.) 22-0: The regular season winds down, at long last, and the Tigers can start to get serious.

13. (14) Winter Haven (Winter Haven, Fla.) 25-3: Last year, Baron Collier upset the Blue Devils in the state playoffs. The two teams will meet again, most likely, next week.

14. (15) Kentwood (Covington, Wash.) 21-0: Sometimes the playoffs don't really offer much competition until the later rounds. Exhibit A: Kentwood 81, Bethel 36.

15. (16) Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) 22-2: The Irish will most likely play Archbishop Mitty of San Jose for the third time this season on Saturday - and if they win again, they will cement this ranking.

16. (17) Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) 17-3: The Royals continue to play tough regional teams - St. John Vianney of New Jersey is next.

17. (18) The First Academy (Orlando, Fla.) 25-3: Sometimes the playoffs don't really offer much competition until the later rounds. Exhibit B: TFA 79, All Saints Academy 27.

18. (19) Washington (South Bend, Ind.) 21-1: Regional play finally starts Saturday, which should finally give the Panthers some competition. They've won 21 in a row since dropping game one of the schedule.

19. (nr) Germantown Academy (22-3): A winner over St. Elizabeth of Delaware, as well as Philly's Cardinal O'Hara and Florida's Monsignor Pace, the Patriots move into the rankings as Pennsylvania's best.

20. (20) St. Elizabeth (Wilmington, Del.) 17-2: The clash of the Delaware titans - St. Elizabeth and Ursuline - was postponed by an ice storm. When it's played, it will be round two of a three-round slugfest.

21. (21) Sequoyah (Tahlequah, Okla.) 19-0: Brea Brewer had 28 in a 58-40 win over Coweta - the Indians' juniors are now 72-4 in two-plus seasons.

22. (22) St. Paul Central (St. Paul, Minn.) 21-0: No misprint: 94-7 over Arlington. Too bad the Minutemen didn't schedule anyone from out of state - a single game against a team like Incarnate Word or Bolingbrook would have really cleared the air.

23. (23) North Little Rock (Little Rock, Ark.) 20-1: The most important piece of equipment for the Charging Wildcats was a hair dryer - which dried out the spilled soda that paralyzed the scoreboard. Once that was fixed, another win.

24. (24) Bishop McGuinness (Kernersville, N.C.) 23-1: The Villains (love that mascot) got a week off, presumably to devise some unfoilable plots. The conference tournament is next.

25. (25) Mandan (Mandan, N.D.) (15-1): The Braves host the number two team in North Dakota, Bismarck, on Thursday. There's no mercy in these rankings: Win or drop out.

Dropped out: 10. Fenwick (Oak Park, Ill.)

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PREVIOUS RANKINGS

February 7
January 31
January 24
January 17
January 10
Preseason

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Clay Kallam is the publisher of Full Court Press (www.Fullcourt.com), an online magazine devoted to women’s basketball. The author of the book “Girls Basketball: Building a Winning Program (Wish Publishing, 2002), Kallam has written about the women’s game for several national publications and is a voter for the McDonald’s All-American team, the Parade All-American team, the All-WNBA team and the Wooden Award. He is the coach of The Bentley School girls’ varsity basketball team and formerly wrote for the Contra Costa Times newspaper chain.