Local team, Thomasville Prep girls (21-1) breaks into ESPN’s top ranking list at number 50

Change, they say, is inevitable. And with a Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday weekend
packed with big matchups, it’s fitting that there are plenty of changes in the
POWERADE FAB 50 this week.
There was no change at the top, though, as No. 1 St. Mary’s (Phoenix, Ariz.) took
care of last week’s No. 5 team, Windward (Los Angeles, Calif.), with a 62-48 victory
in Phoenix. With Bolingbrook (Ill.) and Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) continuing
to play at a high level, Windward slides a few spots to No. 7. The return of junior
point guard Tyisha Petty for Riverdale helped power the Warriors over Norcross
(Ga.), which falls one spot to 14th.
Eight new teams earned spots in the national rankings. The highest ranked of the
newbies is No. 30 Cardinal O’Hara (Springfield, Pa.), which knocked off last week’s
No. 25 team and in-state rival Archbishop Carroll (Radnor, Pa.). The 41-39 nailbiter
moved Carroll down a few spots to No. 31.
Rounding out the last seven spots are Lake (Unionville, Ohio), Edwardsville (Ill.),
Science Hill (Johnson City, Tenn.), Fairmont (Kettering, Ohio), North Gwinnett
(Suwanee, Ga.), Carroll (Southlake, Texas) and Thomasville Prep (N.C.).
North Gwinnett, with its dynamic duo of juniors Lexie Brown and Peyton Whitted, has
a tough league and a Feb. 10 matchup with Norcross before the gauntlet of Georgia’s
5A state playoffs. This gives the Bulldogs a chance to continue moving up, in a
hurry, if they take care of business.
Panelists: Rebecca Gray, Chris Hansen, Glenn Nelson, Brandon Clay and Keil Moore.
Through games of Jan. 16.

2011-2012 POWERADE FAB 50 Girls’ Basketball Rankings: Week 6
RK (LW) SCHOOL (CITY, STATE) REC COMMENT
1 (1) Saint Marys
Phoenix, AZ 16-0 The Knights proved they belong in the top spot after taking down
previous No. 5 Windward (Los Angeles, Calif.) 62-48 on Monday.
2 (2) Nazareth
Brooklyn, NY 4-0 The Kingsmen posted a 77-63 win over Archbishop Molloy (Queens,
N.Y.) on Wednesday after an emotional week that included the cancellation of
tournament games. On Saturday, they said goodbye to head coach Apache Paschall.
3 (3) Riverdale Baptist
Upper Marlboro, MD 16-1 The Crusaders cruised through the week and capped it off
with a 90-30 victory over Hampton (Va.) in the MLK Classic.
4 (4) McEachern
Powder Springs, GA 14-0 The Indians cruised through the week with two convincing
wins over South Cobb (Austell, Ga.) and Hillgrove (Powder Springs, Ga.).
5 (7) Bolingbrook
Bolingbrook, IL 13-1 With three more wins from last week, the Raiders are rolling
into this week. Next up are matchups vs. Lincoln-Way West and Lincoln-Way Central
(New Lenox, Ill.).
6 (8) Riverdale
Murfreesboro, TN 16-3 The Warriors finished 3-0 last week, including a 63-40 win
over previous No. 13 Norcross (Ga.) in the Battle of the Southeast behind Alexa
Middleton’s 22 points.
7 (5) Windward
Los Angeles, CA 16-3 The Wildcats finished 1-1 after traveling to Phoenix, Ariz.,
and taking a 62-48 loss to No. 1 St. Mary’s on Monday.
8 (6) Cicero-North Syracuse
Cicero, NY 8-2 Breanna Stewart led the Northstars to two wins, scoring 19 points
against Central Square (N.Y.) and 22 points vs. West Springfield (Mass.).
9 (9) Clarksville
Clarksville, TN 22-0 The Wildcats added two more wins to their undefeated record and
will play crosstown rivals Northwest and Northeast this week.
10 (10) Hoover
Birmingham, AL 16-3 The Bucs showed off their defensive ability by holding Thompson
(Alabaster, Ala.) to 27 points and Pelham (Ala.) to 19 points in the two wins last
week.
11 (12) Mater Dei
Santa Ana, CA 17-2 Jordan Adams, Nirra Fields, and Alexas Williamson led the
Monarchs to four straight wins. The trio scored 43 of the team’s 69 points in a win
over Pacifica (Oxnard, Calif.).
12 (14) Twinsburg
Twinsburg, OH 12-2 The Tigers finished 2-0 in the Classic in the Country Challenge,
beating Fairmont (Kettering, Ohio) 56-49 and Mason (Ohio) 55-42. Leah Fechko led the
Tigers with 15 points in the win over Mason.
13 (17) Whitney Young
Chicago, IL 17-0 Linnae Harper continues to shine for the Dolphins, posting an
impressive double-double that included 23 points and 15 rebounds in a win over Niles
West (Skokie, Ill.).
14 (13) Norcross
Norcross, GA 13-3 After two convincing wins at the beginning of the week, the Blue
Devils suffered a tough 63-40 loss to Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) in the Battle
of the Southeast.
15 (15) Spring Valley
Columbia, SC 13-3 The Vikings posted two quality wins, including a 46-39 win over
Dutch Fork (Irmo, S.C.) and a 64-60 win over Blythewood (S.C). Asia Dozier scored 23
points in the win over Blythewood.
16 (16) M. X. Shabazz
Newark, NJ 9-1 The Bulldogs had to grind out a 45-36 win over Mount St. Dominic
(Caldwell, N.J.). Zaire O’Neil and Aliyyah Handford led Shabazz, scoring 37 of the
team’s 45 total points.
17 (18) MacArthur
Irving, TX 25-2 The Cardinals continue to roll in the state of Texas, picking up two
more wins. Next up is a game vs. Richland (North Richland Hills, Texas) on Friday.
18 (20) Wesleyan School
Norcross, GA 13-2 The Lady Wolves went 2-0, including a solid 60-50 win over Oak
Hill (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) in the Battle of the Southeast.
19 (21) La Jolla Country Day School
La Jolla, CA 18-1 The Torreys skated through the week with four more wins and have
their sights set on Serra (San Diego, Calif.) before beginning conference play at
the end of the week.
20 (22) L. B. Polytechnic
Long Beach, CA 15-1 The Jackrabbits downed conference opponent Lakewood (Calif.)
66-18 last week. Olivia Montgomery led the way with 13 points for Poly.
21 (24) Good Counsel
Olney, MD 14-3 The Falcons tallied two more wins last week, and face two tough
opponents this week in the Academy of the Holy Cross (Kensington, Md.) and St.
John’s (D.C.).
22 (26) Marion County
Lebanon, KY 14-2 The Knights muscled out a 63-61 win over DuPont Manual (Louisville,
Ky.) to take top honors in the Bluegrass State. Marion County was led by a balanced
attack from Kyvin Goodin-Rogers (16 points), Makayla Epps (16 points) and Bre Elder
(11 points).
23 (27) St. Joseph’s Academy
Saint Louis, MO 16-2 The Angels added three more wins, including a victory over
Fenwick (Oak Park, Ill.) in the Chicagoland Shootout on Monday.
24 (28) North Little Rock
N Little Rock, AR 14-2 After dropping in the rankings last week, the Charging
Wildcats picked up two wins.
25 (29) Hopkins
Minnetonka, MN 14-0 The Royals picked up another win last week and they find
themselves at 14-0. Next up are two road games before starting the conference
schedule.
26 (32) St. Mary’s
Stockton, CA 11-3 The Rams were busy playing a loaded schedule with games virtually
every day last week. St. Mary’s will do it all again as they are scheduled to play
four more this week.
27 (33) Duncanville
Duncanville, TX 26-1 Kiara Perry’s double-double led the Panthers to a 74-44 victory
over Mansfield Timberview (Arlington, Texas). Perry finished with 18 points and 10
rebounds.
28 (34) Portland Central Catholic
Portland, OR 14-1 The Rams rolled through last week with convincing wins over
Reynolds (Troutdale, Ore.) 75-24 and Gresham (Ore.) 69-23.
29 (35) Lincoln
Dallas, TX 21-0 The Tigers had another offensive explosion this weekend after
scoring 88 points and holding Jefferson (Dallas, Texas) to only 7 points.
30 (NR) Cardinal O’Hara
Springfield, PA 12-1 The Lions leap into the rankings by upsetting fellow
Philly-area power Archbishop Carroll (Radnor, Pa.). O’Hara also notched a W over
Germantown Academy earlier this season and has just one loss.
31 (25) Archbishop Carroll
Radnor, PA 9-2 The Patriots drop six spots this week after losing 41-39 to Cardinal
O’Hara (Springfield, Pa.), their second loss of the season. The team looks to
another tough game with Archbishop Wood (Warminster, Pa.) this weekend.
32 (36) Myrtle Beach
Myrtle Beach, SC 14-2 Khadijah Sessions continues to put up big numbers for the
Seahawks, scoring 34 points against Wilson (S.C.) last week. Sessions is averaging
almost 28 points per game this season.
33 (42) Saint Johns College
Washington, DC 12-4 The Cadets picked up a big win over previously ranked Holy Cross
(Kensington, Md.) to move up nine spots. St. John’s is scheduled to play three home
games this week.
34 (38) Incarnate Word Academy
Saint Louis, MO 11-5 The Red Knights added two more wins last week, knocking off
Hazelwood East (St. Louis, Mo.) 62-23 and Westbury Christian (Houston, Texas) 71-40.

35 (11) Memphis Central
Memphis, TN 9-4 Memphis Central went 3-1 last week, including a win over Potter’s
House Christian (Jacksonville, Fla.) and a loss to unranked Miller Career (St.
Louis, Mo.) on Monday.
36 (41) Hamilton Southeastern
Fishers, IN 15-0 Taya Reimer continues to show her dominance, scoring 28 points in a
78-23 win over Zionsville (Ind.) last week.
37 (43) Bishop O’Dowd
Oakland, CA 13-2 The Dragons had no problem putting points on the board this week as
they averaged almost 76 points in three wins last week. Next up is Arroyo (San
Lorenzo, Calif.) and San Leandro (Calif.).
38 (44) Edgewater
Orlando, FL 19-3 Markeema Crawford and Alexis Prince both hit double figures in a
convincing 65-24 win over Evans (Orlando, Fla.). Crawford finished with 19 points
and Prince added 15 points.
39 (45) Brea Olinda
Brea, CA 13-4 The Wildcats survived a scare on Monday night from Troy (Fullerton,
Calif.) after two blowout wins earlier in the week. The real shot at making big
moves up the FAB 50 will come in the sectional playoffs.
40 (46) Plano West
Plano, TX 25-2 The Wolves overpowered both district opponents this week and will
host Lewisville (Texas) before traveling across town to play Plano East.
41 (47) Dr. Phillips
Orlando, FL 19-3 The Panthers finished 3-0 last week as Hannah Schaible exploded for
28 points off of the bench in an 82-49 victory over Boone (Orlando, Fla.). On Jan.
25 the team faces off against No. 38 Edgewater before district playoffs start Feb.
1.
42 (48) Detroit Country Day School
Beverly Hills, MI 8-1 The Yellowjackets picked up two more wins, including a 62-53
victory over 10-2 Rogers (Toledo, Ohio) this weekend. A big matchup with Toledo
Start (Ohio) looms on Jan. 24.
43 (50) Regis Jesuit
Aurora, CO 9-3 Justine Hall led the Raiders with 17 points in their single win from
last week. Regis Jesuit will host a pair of home games this week against
ThunderRidge (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) and Legend (Parker, Colo.).
44 (NR) Lake
Uniontown, OH 12-0 The undefeated Blue Streaks crack the national rankings by
knocking off last week’s No. 19 team McKinley (Canton, Ohio) on Thursday and
following it up with a 59-38 win over Jackson (Massillon, Ohio).
45 (NR) Edwardsville
Edwardsville, IL 20-0 The Tigers are perfect through 20 games, but Class 4A playoffs
await in February, where the competition will include national powers Bolingbrook
(Ill.) and Whitney Young (Chicago, Ill.).
46 (NR) Science Hill
Johnson City, TN 20-0 The Hilltoppers join the rankings by winning 20 straight this
season. With early-season wins over Bob Jones (Madison, Ala.) and Mount Juliet
(Tenn.), the team is in good shape with AAA playoffs less than a month away.
47 (NR) Fairmont
Kettering, OH 11-3 The Buckeye State was all over the place over the weekend, but
the Firebirds balanced out a seven-point loss to No. 12 Twinsburg (Ohio) with a
52-41 win over last week’s No. 19 team, McKinley.
48 (NR) North Gwinnett
Suwanee, GA 13-1 The Bulldogs have continued their strong play, winning 12 straight
after slipping up for their only loss on the season on Dec. 3. Lexie Brown and
Peyton Whitted have been leading this team through a really tough league.
49 (NR) Carroll
Southlake, TX 23-2 The Dragons have been reinserted into the FAB 50 after falling
out in Week 4. Carroll will face Fossil Ridge (Keller, Texas) and Keller (Texas)
this week.
50 (NR) Thomasville
PrepThomasville, NC 21-1 The Phoenix have a single blemish on their record thus far,
a loss to No. 48 North Gwinnett (Norcross, Ga.), in the Holiday Invitational
championship game. But after beating Providence Day (Charlotte, N.C.), ranked 30th
last week, for the second time, the team gets its deserved debut in the rankings.