It's tournament time: South Shore high school girls basketball top 10 rankings
The MIAA state tournament pairings for basketball and hockey will be announced Saturday.
The South Shore looks to have plenty of girls basketball teams capable of making deep tournament runs. In Tuesday's MIAA power ratings, six area teams were ranked inside the top 10. Norwell and Hanover are Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, in Division 3. Notre Dame Academy and Oliver Ames are Nos. 4 and 5, respectively, in Division 2. Weymouth (No. 7) and Quincy (No. 8) are in the top 10 in Division 1 while Cohasset is No. 6 in Division 4.
This list features all those teams, plus a few more.
WHERE WE LEFT OFF: League title races are heating up: South Shore high school girls basketball rankings
WHERE WE STARTED: Tons of parity: South Shore high school girls basketball rankings
On the bubble: Blue Hills (13-5), Fontbonne Academy (12-8), Pembroke (13-7), Carver (13-7), Cohasset (14-7)
10. Braintree (9-10, NR)
The Wamps flipped a switched in February. Braintree had close losses to Walpole (No. 2 in Division 2) and Weymouth (No. 7 in Division 1) to go with marquee wins over Notre Dame Academy (No. 4 in Division 2) and Needham (No. 10 in Division 1). Braintree is in line to host a tournament game.
9. Duxbury (13-6, 8)
The Dragons also are in line for a home game in the opening round of the state tournament. Duxbury has marquee wins over Whitman-Hanson, Falmouth and Pembroke. The Dragons have a young roster, so this is a team to keep an eye on in the years to come.
8. Bridgewater-Raynham (14-6, 5)
The Trojans ended the season with some tough losses to Foxboro (No. 1 in Division 3) and Bishop Feehan (No. 1 in Division 1). B-R's other losses have come against Dartmouth (No. 3 in Division 3) and St. Mary's of Lynn (No. 5 in Division 3). In other words, the Trojans play one of the toughest schedules in the state. B-R is among the area's most consistent teams, and you can seemingly pencil the Trojans into the Sweet 16 every year.
7. Hanover (14-4, 7)
The Hawks quietly have risen all the way up to No. 3 in Division 3. Wednesday's game against Norwell could be a preview of a playoff game to come in a few weeks. Hanover is coming off a 49-28 win over Wellesley (No. 4 in Division 1). That might be the best win for any team on the South Shore this winter. Mary Kate Flynn is one of the top players in the area.
6. Oliver Ames (14-6, 2)
The Tigers have seen the best teams the state has to offer this winter, so they'll be prepared for the competition level come tournament time. Medfield will be the favorite in Division 2, but OA is certainly in that contender mix.
5. Weymouth (17-4, 4)
The Wildcats are looking to wrap up an undefeated February with a win against Marshfield on Wednesday. Megan Doyle recently became just the second player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. Callie Flynn has been putting up some insane shot-blocking numbers recently (10 against Hingham, 15 against Brockton).
4. Quincy (17-3, 9)
The Presidents had a scorching end to the season (5-0 in February with an average margin of victory of 26.6 points). Alyssa Hopps gets a lot of the headlines, but this team has a ton of depth and plays really well together. Quincy has risen all the way to No. 8 in the latest Division 1 power ratings.
3. Whitman-Hanson (16-4, 6)
Without a senior on the roster, this looked like it would be a rebuilding year for the Panthers. Instead, W-H cruised to its third consecutive Patriot League Keenan Division title and will host a game in the state tournament. Coach Michael Costa has helped this program become one of the best (and toughest to play against) in the area.
2. Norwell (18-1, 3)
The Clippers dropped the season opener to Sandwich (a loss they later avenged) and then went on an 18-game winning streak. Norwell wraps up the year against Hanover on Wednesday. That's No. 2 vs. No. 3 in the current Division 3 power rankings. Maddie Oliver already was one of the top players in the area heading into this season, but she still might be the most improved player around.
1. Notre Dame Academy (19-1, 1)
The Cougars had one blip this season, a 65-43 loss to Braintree on Feb. 7. NDA responded by winning their final six games, all by double digits. Led by sisters Ava and Elle Orlando, the Cougars are one of the highest-scoring teams in the state. They'll be one of the contenders in the Division 2 field.
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: South Shore high school girls basketball top 10 rankings
