Section III girls basketball rankings (Week 5): Three new No. 1 teams in latest polls

Syracuse, N.Y. — We’ve asked area media professionals who cover high school sports to participate in a weekly girls basketball poll. We reward five points for a first-place vote, four points for a second-place vote, etc. From now until the end of the season, girls basketball polls will be published on Wednesdays.

>> Section III girls basketball stats leaders (Week 5)

The voters

Phil Blackwell, sports editor of the Eagle Newspapers

Kenny Lacy Jr., high school sports reporter for syracuse.com

Jackson Lawrence, freelance reporter

James McClendon, high school sports reporter/editor for syracuse.com

Brennan Miller, sports director for WUTR/WFXV/WPNY

Pat Spadafore, high school sports producer for syracuse.com

Class AA

1. Liverpool (7-2)

Last week: 78-39 Brooklyn Law and Tech (W), 75-42 Henninger (W)

Up next: at Auburn, Wednesday; vs. Cicero-North Syracuse, Tuesday

Previous rank: 2

2. Cicero-North Syracuse (5-3)

Last week: 50-19 Plymouth White Marsh (L), 48-39 Caravel (L), 65-25 Baldwinsville (W)

Up next: at Fayetteville-Manlius, Friday; at Liverpool, Tuesday

Previous rank: 1

3. Auburn (6-1)

Last week: 69-65 Henninger (W), 70-51 Cortland (W)

Up next: vs. Liverpool, Wednesday; at Oswego, Tuesday

Previous rank: 3

4. Henninger (6-3)

Last week: 69-65 Auburn (L), 75-42 Liverpool (L)

Up next: at Baldwinsville, Friday

Previous rank: 4

5. Rome Free Academy (5-3)

Last week: 62-44 Webster Thomas (W), 60-42 South Jefferson (W)

Up next: vs. Camden, Friday; vs. Utica Proctor, Saturday; at Whitesboro, Tuesday

Previous rank: 5

Class A

1. Indian River (9-1)

Last week: 50-25 Fayetteville-Manlius (W), 48-36 Bishop Grimes (W)

Up next: at Canton, Wednesday; vs. South Jefferson, Tuesday

Previous rank: 2

2. Central Square (5-1)

Last week: 55-45 Geneseo (W), 49-39 Avon (L)

Up next: vs. Fulton, Thursday; at Jamesville-DeWitt, Saturday; at Cortland, Tuesday

Previous rank: 3

3. Jamesville-DeWitt (5-3)

Last week: 35-33 Christian Brothers Academy (L), 47-29 Cortland (L)

Up next: vs. Central Square, Saturday; at East Syracuse Minoa, Tuesday

Previous rank: 1

4. Oswego (5-2)

Last week: 51-39 Hannibal (L), 62-15 Altmar-Parish-Williamstown (W)

Up next: vs. East Syracuse Minoa, Friday; vs. Auburn, Tuesday

Previous rank: 5

5. New Hartford (3-1)

Last week: 50-36 Little Falls (W), 57-38 Central Valley Academy (W)

Up next: at West Genesee, Wednesday; vs. Oneida, Friday; at Utica Proctor, Tuesday

Previous rank: Not ranked

Others receiving votes: Christian Brothers Academy (5-4)

>> Watch: Christian Brothers Academy junior nails half-court heave to upset Jamesville-DeWitt (video)

Class B

1. General Brown (7-0)

Last week: 82-9 Carthage (W)

Up next: at Lowville, Monday

Previous rank: 1

2. Cortland (7-2)

Last week: 65-21 Whitney Point (W), 70-51 Auburn (L), 47-29 Jamesville-DeWitt (W)

Up next: vs. Chenango Forks, Saturday; vs. Central Square, Tuesday

Previous rank: 2

3. Mexico (8-1)

Last week: 37-25 Chittenango (W), 43-41 Phoenix (W), 47-39 Cazenovia (W)

Up next: at Altmar-Parish-Williamstown, Thursday; vs. Carthage. Tuesday

Previous rank: 3

>> Mexico girls basketball fends off Phoenix for Chittenango Holiday Tourney crown (55 photos)

4. Oneida (5-1)

Last week: 40-26 Holland Patent (W)

Up next: at New Hartford, Friday; at Utica Notre Dame, Tuesday

Previous rank: Not ranked

5. Skaneateles (6-2)

Last week: No games

Up next: vs. Phoenix, Friday; at Marcellus, Monday

Previous rank: 5

Dropped out: No. 4 Holland Patent (5-2)

Others receiving votes: Holland Patent (5-2), Phoenix (5-3), Utica Notre Dame (5-3)

Class C

1. Westmoreland (6-1)

Last week: 61-57 Oriskany (W)

Up next: at Mount Markham, Wednesday; at Clinton, Friday; at Herkimer, Monday

Previous rank: 3

2. Weedsport (6-2)

Last week: 48-40 Southern Cayuga (L), 58-53 Port Byron (W), 55-36 Mynderse Academy (L)

Up next: at Cato-Meridian, Tuesday

Previous rank: 2

3. Thousand Islands (5-1)

Last week: 51-28 LaFargeville (L)

Up next: at Lyme, Wednesday; vs. Copenhagen, Friday

Previous rank: 1

4. Dolgeville (5-2)

Last week: No games

Up next: at Canastota, Friday; at Mount Markham, Monday

Previous rank: 4

5. Cato-Meridian (6-2)

Last week: 57-27 Red Creek (W), 56-53 Williamson (L), 62-33 Tully (W)

Up next: vs. Jordan-Elbridge, Thursday; vs. Weedsport, Tuesday

Previous rank: 5

Others receiving votes: Utica Academy of Science (2-0), Port Byron (5-4), Cooperstown (5-4)

Class D

1. West Canada Valley (9-0)

Last week: 51-25 Adirondack (W)

Up next: vs. Frankfort-Schuyler, Wednesday; vs. Little Falls, Monday

Previous rank: 1

2. Poland (6-1)

Last week: 51-24 Cincinnatus (W), 54-19 Fabius-Pompey (W)

Up next: vs. Cincinnatus, Wednesday; vs. Hamilton, Friday; vs. Frankfort-Schuyler, Monday

Previous rank: 3

>> Poland girls basketball grabs back-to-back Fabius-Pompey Tournament crown (53 photos)

3. Copenhagen (6-2)

Last week: 55-43 Heuvelton (L)

Up next: vs. Alexandria, Wednesday; at Thousand Islands, Friday

Previous rank: 2

4. Hamilton (5-2)

Last week: 53-37 Whitesboro (W)

Up next: at Poland, Friday; vs. Cooperstown, Monday

Previous rank: 4

5. Watertown IHC (4-2)

Last week: No games

Up next: at Watertown, Wednesday; vs. South Lewis, Friday; at Carthage, Monday

Previous rank: 5

Others receiving votes: LaFargeville (3-5)

>> Section III girls basketball scoring leaders, ranked by sectional class, through Dec. 29

Comments

Phil Blackwell: So the question is who had it better: teams that were tested in holiday tournaments or those who rested? The answer might arrive in early January with a full slate of league games, though it’s doubtful any game, of any stakes, will top Sydney Vaughn sinking a half-court shot to give CBA a win over state-ranked Jamesville-DeWitt.

Kenny Lacy Jr.: The Class AA reshuffle continues for me this week. I still have C-NS in the top spot, but Auburn and Henninger move to No. 2 and 3 for me this week. In Class A and C, I have new No. 1s. In A, I went with Indian River this week, and in C, I went with Westmoreland. With the new year here, league play will start to heat up and I’m sure there will be many more changes.

Jackson Lawrence: Does anyone really know what is going on in Class AA? I can’t say that I do. Just when we think we have a new number one, someone gets knocked off, and I think it is truly anyone’s guess as to who comes on top in March, although Cicero-North Syracuse, Liverpool and Auburn all seem to be gaining some steam. CBA jumps after a miracle half-court game-winner over J-D, and that also puts Indian River in my Class A top spot for the time being, although that decision was harder than you would think. In Class D, West Canada Valley is now 9-0, but I’m not yet ready to take defending state champion Copenhagen out of the top spot. Things are still very muddy in Class C, but Weedsport holds the current top spot in my rankings this week.

James McClendon: It’s a new year, and with it comes a major shakeup of my Class AA and Class A rankings this week. After a week of holiday surprises, heartbreaking upsets and buzzer-beaters, my top three in the two large school classes underwent a bit of a shuffle. C-NS drops from the top of my weekly ranking after two tough non-league losses but will have the chance to reclaim the throne when it faces Liverpool on Tuesday. I also moved Indian River to the top of my Class A rankings after two impressive victories last week. Jamesville-DeWitt drops to No. 3 for me in Class A after being upset by CBA.

Brennan Miller: Class C is such a toss-up, it seems like it really is any team, any day. Weedsport and Westmoreland have somewhat separated themselves from the rest, but the team that I had first in my poll last week, Thousand Islands, just lost by 23 to a then 2-5 Class D LaFargeville team, so I’m not really sure what happens there. I’ve got Cato-Meridian and Dolgeville as my 4 and 5 teams in C, but look at their losses: Cato-Meridian dropped a game to 4-4 Port Byron, a Class C opponent, and Dolgeville has a loss to 4-4 Little Falls, who is also in C. League play gets started now after holiday tournaments, and I think that’s really when we’ll start to see the standings start to smooth out.

Pat Spadafore: Despite suffering two losses at the prestigious Diamond Classic in Delaware, I’m keeping the Cicero-North Syracuse in the top spot in Class AA. These games will help to prepare C-NS for sectional play. J-D falls out of the top spot in Class A after suffering a loss to CBA, and yes, I put a 3-5 LaFargeville team in my Class D rankings after knocking off previously undefeated Class C Thousand Islands

Contact James McClendon anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook

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