Pinewood Closes Out Perfect Season To Overtake No. 1 In Our Final NorCal Girls Basketball Rankings •
Spring 2021 Final NorCal Girls Basketball Rankings. Previous rank in parenthesis. (TOP PHOTO: Pinewood Girls Basketball/Twitter)
1. (2) Pinewood-Los Altos Hills (17-0)
Even though only one Northern California section had a postseason, it was the right section — as the only way No. 1 Pinewood and No. 3 Archbishop Mitty were going to meet was in the playoffs. Not surprisingly, it was a close, bitterly fought battle, with Pinewood winning 50-48, thanks in part to Mitty struggles from the free-throw line. It came down to one basket in one game, but Doc Scheppler’s girls went unbeaten to claim to the top spot.
2. (1) St. Mary’s-Stockton (8-1)
Even though St. Mary’s beat Mitty by a larger margin, Pinewood’s unbeaten record was the tiebreaker in deciding to flip them. The Rams’ lone loss came to Central Section power Clovis West-Fresno. Meanwhile, the best backcourt in Northern California will return intact — and will do so for two more years.
3. (4) Archbishop Mitty-San Jose (13-2)
The Monarchs will be losing a host of talented seniors who had hoped this would be their year. Still, 13-2 against a tough schedule is nothing to be ashamed of — though 14-1 with a win over Pinewood would have certainly made the Monarchs a lot happier.
4. (3) Salesian-Richmond (14-1)
Only one senior graduates from a team that lost only to No. 2 St. Mary’s of Stockton.
5. (6) San Ramon Valley-Danville (11-0)
Win over No. 7 Carondelet-Concord was key, but beating a solid Monte Vista-Danville team by 32 was also impressive.
_______________________________
CONNECT WITH US:
Follow SportStars on Twitter & Instagram | Like us on Facebook | Subscribe!
_______________________________
6. (5) Antelope (9-1)
Lost only to No. 4 Salesian, by five, but otherwise wasn’t tested.
7. (7) Carondelet-Concord (10-1)
Lots of close games, but the only stumble was at the hands of No. 5 San Ramon Valley.
8. (8) Santa Cruz (19-1)
Bella Stevens (20.7 ppg, 7.2 rpg) led the way for the Central Coast Section Div. III champions.
9. (9) Folsom (7-1)
Lost to Oak Ridge by two; beat Oak Ridge by five and 17. And only two seniors depart.
10. (12) St. Ignatius-S.F. (13-5)
All five losses were to top-four teams from our final NorCal girls basketball rankings. Wins came against No. 12 Priory and No. 14 Marin Catholic to earn the top 10 ranking.
11. (11) Vanden-Fairfield (11-1)
The Vikings return everyone from a team that lost only to No. 4 Salesian.
12. (10) Priory-Portola Valley (10-4)
Three of the losses came to No. 1 Pinewood and No. 3 Archbishop Mitty, and the fourth was to No. 10 St. Ignatius.
13. (13) Grant-Sacramento (10-0)
It’s hard to go unbeaten, even for just ten games, and Grant also had a couple tough ones along the way.
14. (14) Marin Catholic-Kentfield (9-5)
Marin Catholic returns to prominence by navigating a tough schedule and getting by No. 17 Piedmont in overtime.
15. (15) Miramonte-Orinda (12-2)
A two-point win over No. 16 Heritage-Brentwood offset the two losses to No. 7 Carondelet and No. 14 Marin Catholic.
16. (16) Heritage-Brentwood (10-2)
Just two losses – to No. 4 Salesian and No. 15 Miramonte — but no signature win puts Heritage here.
17. (NR) Piedmont (14-2)
Piedmont avenged its stunning loss to Berkeley in the last game of the season and split with No. 14 Marin Catholic.
18. (17) Del Oro-Loomis (10-3)
The win over No. 9 Folsom offsets a loss to 8-4 Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills, so Del Oro finishes inside the Top 20 of these final NorCal girls basketball rankings.
19. (18) James Logan-Union City (12-1)
After getting surprised by talented San Leandro, James Logan salvaged the season with a big win over rival American.
20. (19) American-Fremont (9-1)
American fell three points short of James Logan in the last game of the year, narrowly missing out on an unbeaten season.
21. (NR) Sequoia-Redwood City (8-1)
The Central Coast Division 1 champ split with 2-6 Carlmont, which is why Sequoia is not in the top 20.
22. (NR) Colfax (8-3)
One of the top small public schools in Northern California, Colfax lost only to ranked teams – No. 5 San Ramon, No. 13 Grant and No. 18 Del Oro, all much larger schools.
23. (20) Valley Christian-San Jose (6-4)
Valley Christian lost to the Central Coast powers, but hammered No. 24 Palo Alto 56-15.
24. (NR) Palo Alto (14-6)
Palo Alto, Lynbrook and Los Altos all took turns beating each other, but since Palo Alto made the CCS Open, Stanford’s neighbor gets the spot in the top 25.
25. (NR) Dixon (10-0)
Dixon makes its first appearance in the rankings thanks to an unbeaten, if truncated, season.