Hornell is No. 1 for seventh straight week: Section V teams in girls basketball state rankings
Hornell girls basketball danced to Section V's Class B2 title last season, and the Red Raiders appear ready to climb to the mountaintop once again.
With two more wins last week plus a win Monday evening, Hornell is 15-1 with less than two weeks remaining in the regular season. That warrants another week atop the Class B state rankings.
For the seventh straight week the Red Raiders own the No. 1 spot in their classification, per the latest New York State Sportswriters Association rankings released on Tuesday.
Hornell's status was further cemented last Tuesday following the Red Raiders' 60-45 victory over Dansville. The Mustangs, currently ninth in the Class B rankings, took an early 7-0 lead but were unable to hold off a dangerous Hornell and leading scorer Raegan Evingham (20 points).
"They didn't get frustrated or lose confidence, they just locked in defensively and trusted each other on the offensive end," Hornell coach Jim Dagon said in an email. "We have been in plenty of tough environments and close games to know that even when we are down we can still have confidence in ourselves. I think that the experience in all of the girls really showed."
That was the second meeting of the season between the two Livingston County division rivals, and a rematch of last season's Class B2 section title game.
Each of the last three games have been won by Hornell.
What's concerning for the LCAA and Section V is Hornell's youth. The Red Raiders' listed starting lineup includes three sophomores (Jordyn Dyring, Payton Bentley, Selena Maldonado), while the other two positions are comprised of junior Lillian Hoyt and Evingham, a freshman.
Hornell's winning streak will be tested in the final week's of the regular season. After a trip to Haverling on Wednesday, the Red Raiders face Aquinas (ranked 10th in Class A), Palmyra-Macedon (fourth in Class A) and Bishop Kearney (fourth in Class AA).
Section V's last undefeated team drops first game
Through last week, Class C's Dundee/Bradford was one of seven teams in New York state -- and the only team in Section V -- with an unbeaten record.
The BraveScots' perfect season is no more, following a 55-47 loss to Bloomfield on Thursday.
The loss dropped Dundee/Bradford from 12th in last week's rankings to 23rd this week.
With three regular season games remaining, the BraveScots currently project as the No. 1 seed in a loaded C2 bracket.
If standings hold, this would be Dundee/Bradford's second top seed in three years. The BraveScots earned the No. 1 spot in the 2022 Class C3 tournament, but fell to York in the section championship.
Section V girls basketball teams in NYS top 25 rankings for Feb. 6
Class AAA
N/A
Class AA
No. 4: Bishop Kearney (12-4)
No. 7: Hilton (14-3)
No. 8: Victor (16-1)
No. 12: Webster Schroeder (12-5)
No. 15: Canandaigua (11-4)
Class A
No. 4: Palmyra-Macedon (14-1)
No. 10: Aquinas (11-5)
No. 12: Pittsford Sutherland (13-3)
No. 20: Newark (13-4)
Class B
No. 1: Hornell (14-1)
No. 9: Dansville (15-3)
No. 15: Mynderse (13-4)
No. 22: Waterloo (11-7)
No. 24: Livonia (10-7)
Class C
No. 9: Keshequa (14-2)
No. 12: Gananda (14-3)
No. 13: Bloomfield (16-2)
No. 17: Oakfield-Alabama (15-2)
No. 18: Lyons (11-6)
No. 20: East Rochester (13-5)
No. 21: Caledonia-Mumford (12-5)
No. 23: Dundee/Bradford (15-1)
No. 24: York (12-5)
Class D
No. 9: Elba (15-3)
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Section V girls basketball teams in NYS rankings: The list for Feb. 6
