JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The News4Jax girls basketball Super 6 poll will be published each Thursday through the end of the regular season. The poll includes only teams in the Florida High School Athletic Association. Records are through Jan. 29 games. This is the final poll.
Rank, Previous, School, Record, Classification
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1. (1) Raines (24-1), Class 4A
Notable wins: Banneker (Washington, DC), Bartram Trail, Colonial, Florida A&M, Lee, Middleburg, P.K. Yonge, Parker, Port Orange Atlantic, Ribault (twice), Sandalwood, Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart (Bethesda, Maryland), St. Laurent (Manitoba).
The Vikings have simply been the best team in the area with no close second to them. Raines wrapped up its regular season on a 21-game winning streak after beating Daytona Beach Mainland 70-60 on Jan. 23. They open the District 3-4A tournament as the top seed. It would be a surprise if the Vikings aren’t facing rival Ribault for the district title on Feb. 7. Win or lose, the Vikings are in the state playoffs and a threat to take it all the way. Interesting thing in Region 1-4A will be seeding. I’d expect a Raines-Ribault or Raines-Bishop Kenny tilt in the regional final.
2. (2) Ribault (19-7), Class 4A
Notable wins: Apopka, Bishop Kenny, Bolles, Creekside, Flagler Palm Coast, Jackson, Middleburg, Orange Park, Parker, Sandalwood (twice), West Oaks.
Nothing going since our last Super 6 for the Trojans, who will likely meet Raines in the District 3-4A final on Feb. 7. The Trojans are already in the state playoffs by virtue of their region points standing. A district title matchup against the Vikings is what’s looming. Can Ribault, which is 0-2 against Raines this season (46-33 and 65-57 losses), come through with an upset?
3. (4) Bishop Kenny (16-8), Class 4A
Notable wins: Bartram Trail, Bishop Moore, Bolles, Creekside, Flagler Palm Coast, Middleburg, Orange Park, Palm Bay, Port Orange Atlantic, St. Cloud, Sandalwood, Southwest DeKalb, University Christian.
Kenny’s six-game winning streak came to an end with a loss to 19-5 Spruce Creek (52-48) on Jan. 28. They wrap the regular season on Thursday night against Parker. The Crusaders have dropped some games this season, but only two against local teams (Bolles and Ribault). It also has a 50-33 win over Bartram Trail on Jan. 13 and the Bears have been red-hot and haven’t lost a game since.
4. (3) Middleburg (12-5), Class 5A
Notable wins: Creekside, Flagler Palm Coast, Lee, Oakleaf, Ocala Vanguard, Sandalwood, Tallahassee Lincoln, University Christian, West Oaks.
Middleburg’s six-game winning streak ended with a surprising loss to Bartram Trail (40-36) in the St. Johns River Athletic Conference tournament, but they bounced back with quality wins over Flagler Palm Coast (64-53) and Oakleaf (69-55). I’d expect Middleburg to play for the District 3-5A title against either Parker or Orange Park on Feb. 7. Middleburg’s Britany Range (20.8 ppg) is third in the area in scoring.
5. (T-6) Bolles (16-8), Class 4A
Notable wins: Bishop Kenny, Christ Church Episcopal (SC), Gulf Coast, Oviedo, Parker, University Christian.
Nice bounceback for the Bulldogs, who topped University Christian (67-58) to end a two-game slide. Those two Ls came to excellent teams in Spruce Creek (49-46) and a 22-2 Father Lopez (58-34). Bolles has just two losses to local teams (it lost to Ribault and has split with Kenny) and has been in the Super 6 all season. Expect a Bolles and Bishop Kenny showdown district title match in 4-4A. Taliah Scott is second in the area in scoring (21.4 ppg) to Interlachen’s Malea Brown (22.0 ppg).
6. (5) University Christian (16-2), Class 2A
Notable wins: Bradford (twice), Hawthorne, Jackson, Lee, North Florida Educational, Oakleaf, Orange Park, Palatka.
A 1-1 mark since our last Super 6, a rout of Bradford (63-21) and a 67-58 loss to Bolles. Barring a major upset, UC will cruise into the District 4-2A title game and face North Florida Educational in the final.
Dropped out: Orange Park (18-6, Class 5A)
On the bubble: Bartram Trail (13-9, Class 7A), Columbia (18-6, Class 6A), Creekside (11-8, Class 6A), Episcopal (14-5, Class 3A), Flagler Palm Coast (16-6, Class 7A), Interlachen (18-4, Class 3A), Jackson (15-9, Class 3A), Mandarin (14-6, Class 7A), Nease (12-10, Class 7A), North Florida Educational (15-2, Class 2A), Oakleaf (14-9, Class 7A), Orange Park (18-6, Class 5A), Parker (11-7, Class 5A), Providence (15-7, Class 3A), St. Augustine (15-5, Class 5A), Sandalwood (13-10, Class 7A).
District tournament schedules
District 5-4A at Keystone Heights
District 3-2A at St. Johns Country Day