Girls Basketball Rankings, Preseason

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BY RON POWELL / Lincoln Journal Star

Class A (last year’s record)  Pvs

  1. Lincoln Southeast (18-8)  5

  2. Millard West (17-7)  4

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  3. Bellevue East (20-7)   6

  4. Lincoln East (15-8)   8

  5. Omaha Westside (25-4)   3

  6. Omaha Marian (17-7)   7

  7. Papillion-La Vista (9-13)   -

  8. Omaha Burke (11-11)   -

  9. Millard South (10-10)   -

10. Grand Island (16-7)   10

Class B Pvs

  1. Holdrege (19-6)   4

  2. South Sioux City (14-10)   6

  3. Seward (12-8)   -

  4. Crete (25-1)   3

  5. Lincoln Pius X (12-8)   5

  6. Alliance (23-1)   1

  7. Beatrice (13-8)   7

  8. Elkhorn (11-10)   -

  9. Omaha Skutt (10-12)   -

10. Omaha Roncalli (13-10)   10

Class C-1 Pvs

  1. Norfolk Catholic (24-2)   2

  2. Crofton (25-3)   1

  3. Fairbury (20-5)   3

  4. Minden (16-4)   -

  5. St. Paul (16-6)   -

  6. Bishop Neumann (13-7)   -

  7. Lincoln Lutheran (18-4)   7

  8. Kearney Catholic (26-0)   *1

  9. Wahoo (16-7)   -

10. Columbus Lakeview (12-8)   10

*in Class C-2

Class C-2 Pvs

  1. Perkins County (22-1)   2

  2. Ravenna (17-7)   10

  3. West Point CC (20-5)   6

  4. Cambridge (16-6)   *7

  5. Oakland-Craig (14-8)   -

  6. Sutton (18-5)   7

  7. Blue Hill (21-4)   4

  8. Elkhorn Valley (20-6)   3

  9. Homer (22-5)   5

10. Laurel-Concord (11-11)   -

*in Class D-1

Class D-1 Pvs

  1. Bancroft-Rosalie (22-4)   3

  2. Humphrey St. Francis (26-0)   1

  3. Freeman (25-3)   2

  4. Eustis-Farnam (17-2)   6

  5. Overton (15-4)   -

  6. Stuart (16-7)   -

  7. Arapahoe (18-9)   4

  8. Humphrey (13-9)   -

  9. Lawrence-Nelson (13-8)   -

10. Pope John (13-7)   -

Class D-2  Pvs

  1. Ewing (23-4)   1

  2. Falls City Sacred Heart (23-6)   4

  3. Chambers (22-3)   2

  4. North Loup-Scotia (20-4)   -

  5. Pleasanton (12-6)   *10

  6. Sioux County (20-3)   -

  7. Clearwater (16-5)   6

  8. Coleridge (11-10)   -

  9. Newcastle (23-3)   5

10. Prague (23-1)   3

*in Class D-1  

Class A

Contenders — Bellevue West, Millard North, Papillion-La Vista South.

The case for No. 1 — Southeast is the deepest and most experienced team in the state, and that was the assessment before Crete junior all-stater and North Carolina State recruit Marissa Kastanek transferred to LSE in late October. The Knights have a Division I college-type backcourt with Katie Birkel (North Dakota State recruit) and junior all-stater KK Houser and lots of depth around them. Southeast’s top five returning players have three or four years of extensive varsity experience. Combine that talent with John Larsen’s coaching ability (eight state titles, four runner-up finishes and 21 state tournament appearances) and it’s a lethal combination.

Pohl leads Millard West — 6-foot senior Nebraska-Omaha recruit Heather Pohl (14.1 ppg. 7.3 rpg.) tops an impressive Wildcat lineup, especially with quick junior guard Jasmin Corbin and the 6-1 sister combination of senior Courtney Janecek and sophomore Alison Janecek.

Right off the bat — No. 4 Lincoln East and No. 5 Omaha Westside square off in the first round of the Great Nebraska Shootout on Friday at Bellevue West. The other first-round game pits No. 1 Southeast against defending state champion Bellevue West. Three rated teams are in the Lin-Oma pod this weekend at Southwest — No. 6 Omaha Marian, No. 7 Papillion-La Vista and No. 8 Omaha Burke.

Morgan out until early January — Bellevue East will be without 5-11 junior all-stater Mercedees Morgan until Jan. 1 as she’s still recovering from knee surgery.

Other transfers — Kastanek’s move to Southeast wasn’t the only significant transfer of the offseason. Maggie Maher, a second-team Class C-1 all-stater at Centennial last season, is now at Kearney. High-scoring guard Brittney Bonney has moved from Millard North to Fremont.

Class B

Contenders — Waverly, Norris, Lexington, Gretna, Northwest, Ogallala.

The case for No. 1 — The Dusters return everyone from last season, including 6-foot senior all-stater Jena Isaacson, who averaged 15.6 points and 5.4 rebounds last season. They add Southern Valley transfer Mallory Murdoch, a 5-9 junior guard who averaged 17 points last year.

South Sioux City rebound — Look for the Cardinals’ absence from last year’s state tournament to be a short one. They return four starters, including 6-2 junior all-stater McKayla Knudson. Expect better guard play and improved perimeter shooting, which should open things up for Knudson inside.

Seward’s additions — The Bluejays added some much-needed size to an experienced team that returned 11 letterwinners and four starters. Alyssa Kamphaus, a 6-4 sophomore transfer from Malcolm,  averaged 11 points as a freshman. She blossomed into one of the best post players in the state after spending the summer playing for the Cornhusker Shooting Stars. Emily Cady, a 6-2 freshman guard, is already receiving Division I recruiting attention.

Alliance still a factor — After leading the Bulldogs to the title last year as a freshman, versatile Jordan Hooper is back, but with a much younger supporting cast. The only other regular returning is junior Lindsey Briggs.

Class B vs. C-1 — A pair of ratings matchups between classes Saturday — No. 7 Beatrice at C-1 No. 3 Fairbury and C-1 No. 9 Wahoo at No. 3 Seward.

Class C-1

Contenders — Hastings St. Cecilia, Hershey, Syracuse, Twin River, Milford, Fort Calhoun, Columbus Scotus, Johnson County Central.

The case for No. 1 — With all-state guard Nicole Brungardt back, along with two other key players from last season (Blaire Schommer and Jessica Zaruba), this might finally be the year Norfolk Catholic gets over the top. Only a miracle bank-shot three-pointer at the buzzer by Crofton’s Amber Hegge in last year’s final kept the Knights from hoisting the state championship trophy.

Cupboard not bare at Crofton — Hegge, the centerpiece of Crofton’s three straight titles, is now at South Dakota playing basketball and competing in track. But the Warriors have a solid foundation   this season, as three starters (center Morgan Wilken and forwards Nicole Van Heek and Caitlin Jones) and eight letterwinners return.

Kearney Catholic moves up — The Stars were undefeated state champions in Class C-2 and graduated all but one starter from last year, including all-stater Kaitlin Petri. The lone starter returning is 6-2 sophomore Katie Sokolowski, who averaged 8.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Cassie Reicks, a two-year starting guard at Ravenna, will provide senior leadership.

Class C-2

Contenders — Elmwood-Murdock, Malcolm, Axtell, Grand Island Central Catholic, Cross County, Elm Creek, Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer, Johnson-Brock, Heartland.

The case for No. 1 — Perkins County returns four starters and its three leading scorers from a 22-1 team that lost in overtime of the state finals to Kearney Catholic. Junior shooting guard Sara Wilson averaged almost 16 points a game last year, while senior post player Carlie Sis and senior point guard Debi Johnson were at 14.8 and 11.4, respectively. That should be enough to upgrade the post-season hardware in March.

Experienced teams returning — The Plainsmen aren’t the only ones full of familiar faces. Traditional powers Ravenna and West Point Central Catholic returning five and four starters, respectively, while Cambridge also has four regulars back.

Talk about balance — Oakland-Craig has five senior starters back who all averaged between 6.2 and 10.4 points per game. Coach Merritt Nelson began coaching Oakland-Craig’s eight seniors when they were in third grade and have coached them every year since.

Class D-1

Contenders — Shelton, Archbishop Bergan, Mead, Red Cloud, Exeter-Milligan, Wauneta-Palisade.

The case for No. 1 — Bancroft-Rosalie returns three starters from its state semifinal team last year, including high-scoring junior forward Shelby Beaudette and junior 6-foot post Paige Goeken. Obviously, the Panthers can handle the bright lights of the big stage, winning the state volleyball title earlier this month. And most of these players were on the court when they ended West Point Central Catholic’s state-record winning streak two years ago.

Tradition looms large — While second-ranked Humphrey St. Francis does not have a starter returning from its undefeated title team last March, don’t expect the Flyers to drop off the radar screen. They enter the season with a state-best 50-game winning streak and a string of three straight state titles. Last year’s runner-up, Freeman, should also be in the mix. The Falcons have two titles (2002, ’03) and two runner-up finishes (2005, ’07) in the last six years.

Class D-2

Contenders — Giltner, Mullen, McPherson County, Potter-Dix, Paxton, Sterling, Hampton.

The case for No. 1 — Defending state champion Ewing returns the 1-2 all-state combination of 5-11 junior Abbey Schueth (22 ppg.) and 6-2 junior Hayley Thramer (11 ppg., 10 rpg.), among four starters returning. Ewing just missed taking the volleyball state title for the second straight year, so the Tigers should be a determined bunch this winter.

Three right on the Tigers’ tail — With its depth and all-state senior Katelyn Wheeler, Falls City Sacred Heart will be a serious contender again. As will Chambers, which has five players with starting experience returning, led by junior Kyla Walnofer and sophomore Randi Miller. North Loup-Scotia, led by 5-10 senior all-stater Kelli Hermsmeyer, returns intact from a 20-4 season in which the Wildcats qualified for state in Class D-1.