Bishop Kearney continues climb: Section V teams in latest NYS girls basketball rankings
Despite its modest record thus far, Bishop Kearney remains one of the most respected girls basketball programs in New York state.
The Lady Kings continued their steady climb in this week's New York Sportswriters Association state rankings, landing in the No. 3 position in Class AA. Bishop Kearney has not ranked lower than sixth since the first set of rankings were released on Dec. 20.
Through six games, the Lady Kings sit at 4-2 following a decisive win over Private Parochial league rival Aquinas on Jan. 4.
That game was Bishop Kearney's first against a Section V team this season. The rest of the Lady Kings' early schedule included matchups with Cardinal O'Hara (one of the top Class AAA teams in the state), Nichols School (currently eighth in the Class AA state rankings) and Lancaster St. Marys (10th in Class AA).
Against Aquinas, the Lady Kings boasted their skilled backcourt of Asia Wilson and Klarissa Goode, supplemented by the strong inside game of Allie Hall.
"This was a big game for us," Hall said in a postgame interview. "I know AQ kinda had a target on our back this year, so we had to come out hard. We knew it was a big game and we lived up to the performance."
While Goode, Hall and Wilson are all returners, the supporting cast features plenty of fresh faces. According to longtime coach Kevan Sheppard, the Lady Kings' roster features six players who've never played above the modified level.
"We have a lot of new pieces on this team. Starting off it was a little rocky and we didn't have as many games as other teams have had," Hall said. "Now it's really coming together. We have some role players who do their job every single game."
The win over Aquinas was Sheppard's 300th of his career, adding to a resume that includes two state championships and eight Section V titles.
List of unbeaten Section V teams continues to shrink
Entering Christmas break, Section V boasted six teams that maintained perfect records.
That list is down to one. Only Class AA's Victor (9-0) and Class C's Dundee/Bradford (9-0) remained unbeaten in games through Jan. 7. However, the Blue Devils suffered their first loss of the season on Wednesday to Monroe County rival Hilton.
The Blue Devils played one game last week, a solid 74-31 win over Class AAA Edison/WOIS/SWW. Of the 10 games remaining on Victor's schedule, four are against state-ranked teams.
Bookmark this: Section V girls basketball scores for the 2023-24 season
Despite its record No. 20 Dundee/Bradford slots below six other Section V teams in the Class C rankings, behind Gananda (7-1), Keshequa (9-1), East Rochester (9-1), Oakfield-Alabama (8-1), Alexander (7-2) and Caledonia-Mumford (8-2).
The BraveScots are not scheduled to play any of the teams listed above them in the rankings.
Their recent action includes an impressive 68-39 victory over Mynderse Academy (ranked 22nd in Class B) on Jan. 5, led by 23 points from senior guard Charlotte Schuerholz.
Section V girls basketball teams in NYS top 25 rankings
Class AAA
N/A
Class AA
No. 3: Bishop Kearney (5-2)
No. 5: Victor (9-0)
No. 9: Hilton (6-2)
No. 13: Webster Schroeder (6-3)
No. 15: Canandaigua (5-2)
Class A
No. 4: Aquinas (6-2)
No. 8: Pittsford Sutherland (7-1)
No. 10: Palmyra-Macedon (6-1)
No. 25: Eastridge
Class B
No. 1: Hornell (6-1)
No. 7: Dansville (10-2)
No. 21: Livonia (5-4)
No. 22: Mynderse (6-2)
Class C
No. 4: Gananda (7-1)
No. 5: Keshequa (9-1)
No. 7: East Rochester (9-1)
No. 13: Oakfield-Alabama (8-1)
No. 17: Alexander (7-2)
No. 18: Calendonia-Mumford (8-2)
No. 20: Dundee/Bradford (9-0)
Class D
No. 8: Elba (7-2)
This article originally appeared on MPNnow: Section V girls basketball teams in NYS rankings: The list for Jan. 9
