Girls’ basketball: I stay awake nights worrying about the top 25
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Couldn’t sleep last night. Kept thinking about all the poor people in Santa Monica wondering why their team can’t break into The Times’ top 25. Tossed. Turned. Just couldn’t make sense of it. Bad dreams. Vikings beat Ayala. Vikings are good. Vikings have an internet reputation. But just ... can’t ... bring ... myself ... to do it.
On the bright side for Santa Monica, it plays Inglewood on Wednesday. Say, didn’t Inglewood, which has lost to Buena, Pacific Hills and Culver City, beat Santa Monica 18 days ago? Oh yeah, now I know why I couldn’t do it.
Feeling much better now. Drowsy, even, but in a good way.
Who’s in: None.
Who’s out: None.
So what happened?
Long Beach Poly (16-2): The Jackrabbits avenged their only Southland loss with a commanding victory over previous No. 1 Millikan. It’s a no-brainer. Poly is No. 1. Even when they weren’t, they were. It was just a matter of time.
Ventura (20-2): The strength of the schedule is on the back half. The boring Cougars nearly beat Cajon, which was slotted one spot ahead of them, though their coach said they couldn’t throw a pea in the ocean. And, you know, the ocean is right there. Ventura is No. 14, still directly behind Cajon, with No. 23 Marlborough looming on Saturday.
Edison (16-3): The Chargers avenged their 53-51 Sunset League loss to Marina with a 72-48 victory. Now that’s redemption. Edison stands in at No. 16.
Santa Margarita (19-3): Usually for a team to tumble 11 spots, it would need to lose to a someone from the Orange Coast League. So why are the Eagles No. 18 this week? The second loss in three games to No. 17 Mater Dei is a primary reason. Couple that with a two-point victory over Huntington Beach and a four-point victory over No. 25 JSerra. A month ago, SM beat No. 20 San Clemente by five and No. 21 Troy by 10. Makes me wonder if the Eagles have plateaued.
Marlborough (13-8): The most exasperating team in the Southland when it comes to the ranking process. Incomplete squad, losses to seemingly inferior opponents (Vista Murrieta, No. 22 Bishop Montgomery). Get everyone together and show up for one big game (No. 6 Brea) but not another (No. 14 Cajon). Split with Santa Monica, played No. 5 Muir tough but had a scrap with Harvard-Westlake a week later. The Mustangs drop to No. 23 this week because I’m in a mood (the lack of sleep, no doubt) but will probably beat Ventura on Saturday and continue to mess up the rankings.
-- Martin Henderson
-- Image from www.dizpins.com