Girls basketball rankings: See who has made the top 10 and who's No. 1

The 2023-24 girls basketball season is finally in full swing after holiday interruptions. Many familiar names fill the New Year's top-10 Journal News/lohud rankings.

Sitting No. 1 is a team whose 2022-23 season ended in disappointment despite 20 wins.

That's Albertus Magnus. But with sophomore sensation Julia Scott dominating inside and strong guard play, the Falcon faithful may be justified in thinking Magnus's current season will extend well beyond the 24 games it played last year.

See who else is off to a strong enough start to make the list.

Note: Records are through Jan. 1.

10. White Plains (5-3) — With a 17-point loss to Harrison and, gulp, a 30-point loss to Ketcham, the Tigers, last year's Section 1 Class AA champs and state runner-up, now moved up to newly-created AAA, are getting a healthy dose of the benefit of the doubt here. It's hard to imagine this year's Tiger team beating Ketcham for the AAA crown. But, it has returned a good deal of talent from last year and is likely better than that 30-point loss would indicate. In fact, it may prove to be the second best team in AAA, although John Jay-East Fishkill may have something to say about that.

9. Ardsley (5-1) — More will soon be known about the Panthers with their schedule toughening. But Ardsley is off to a solid start, beating three teams with winning records. Its lone loss was by 15 points but, considering that was to defending state Class A champion Panas, which remains extremely talented, that isn't a major reason for concern.

8. Tappan Zee (4-3) — Here's the reason TZ has what some could view as a so-so record: Its three losses came to teams ranked in the top four this week. To its credit, TZ never ducks good teams to build inflated records. Last year, its 14-9 mark included four losses to powerful out-of-area teams. This kind of scheduling can only help it come playoff time.

7. Pearl River (4-1) — The Pirates ran into a steamroller in Panas in last season’s Class A playoffs but not before they recorded 18 wins. Pearl River has returned most of that team’s very solid core and is off to a nice start. Its one loss was to a strong out-of-state squad and it recorded a decisive victory over five-win Hen Hud.

6. John Jay-East Fishkill (6-1) — The Patriots haven't had an ultra-tough schedule yet but four of their victories have come against teams with winning records. A win Wednesday against Ketcham might be unlikely but if JJ-EF can keep the game close, it will show it belongs in the top-teams conversation.

5. Harrison (3-3) — Before anyone yawns at the Huskies' record, keep in mind that their only local loss was by six points to AAA Ketcham. More will be known about the 2023-24 Huskies after next Thursday's game vs. Ursuline, but there's good reason to believe this squad may be as good as last year's 19-win Huskies contingent, which fell in last year's Section 1 Class A playoffs by just three points to Panas, the eventual state public school champion. Harrison's problem this year is it's in AA with Ursuline and, moreover, Albertus Magnus. But , no matter what the playoffs hold, this is a very good team.

4. Ursuline (4-1) — The Koalas haven't scored fewer points this season than the 61 points they threw in in their only loss, a 73-61 setback to defending Class A state public school champion Panas. At this point, they seem like the second best team in Class AA behind Albertus Magnus, which they won't face during the regular season.

3. Ketcham (6-1) — Ketcham had two hiccups in an otherwise dominant 2022-23 season if losing to Section 1 Class AA champion White Plains and runner-up Albertus Magnus can be considered that. With multiple stars back, including talented bigs and with Magnus still in Class AA, Ketcham has to be considered the early favorite for winning the crown in newly-created Class AAA.

2. Panas (7-1) — Panas was the surprise team of 2022-23, winning the state Class A public school championship after entering the Section 1 tournament as a sixth seed. This year's squad , whose only loss to date was to Class AA Albertus Magnus, seems just as fast and just as offensively explosive as last year's team.

1. Albertus Magnus (7-0) — Many Falcon fans will look back on the 2022-23 season with mixed feelings. The season ended at 20 wins when eventual state Class AA runner-up White Plains upset Magnus in the Section 1 AA final. But seven games into this season and, even with Rockland Player of the Year Karly Fischer now at D-I Fairfield University, it's not farfetched to foresee the Falcons surpassing last year's win total. A 10-point win over previously undefeated defending Class A state champion Panas speaks volumes.

Final 2022-23 rankings: Panas vaults to top with state public school title

On the bubble: Blind Brook (5-0), Brewster (6-1), Irvington (5-1), Lakeland (4-1), Mamaroneck (5-2), Pelham (5-2), Scarsdale (6-2), Suffern (5-3)

Nancy Haggerty covers cross-country, track & field, field hockey, skiing, ice hockey, basketball, girls lacrosse and other sporting events for The Journal News/lohud. Follow her on Twitter at @HaggertyNancy.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: lohud girls basketball rankings: See who's in the top 10, who's first