GIRLS POWER RANKINGS — H-DNL teams riding high in NCS

By barstoolfanatics on December 19, 2024 • ( Leave a comment )

Submitted photo – The Eureka Loggers are ranked No. 7 overall out of 128 teams in the NCS.

By Ray Hamill — Last season all nine H-DNL varsity girls basketball teams qualified for the North Coast Section playoffs, including two that made it all the way to a NorCal championship game and one that won a state championship.

This year, early indications are that the H-DNL girls are every bit as competitive as last winter and perhaps even more so.

Less than a month into the new season, two H-DNL teams are ranked in the top eight out of 128 ranked teams North Coast Section teams, according to MaxPreps, and eight of the nine are ranked in the top 43.

Of course, early-season rankings should be taken with a pinch of salt, as they say, but the league teams are clearly well-respected around the section, as they should be.

The Eureka girls, who have won six straight games and are off to an 8-1 start, are the highest ranked local team in the NCS at No. 7 overall.

The St. Bernard’s girls have been equally impressive through the early season and are ranked just one spot further back at No. 8.

The next highest-ranked local team is McKinleyville (6-2) at No. 22, followed by No. 27 Fortuna (6-3), giving the league four teams in the top 30.

And that’s not all.

The Arcata girls, who are finding their groove with four straight wins after dropping three of their first four games, are No. 32 with a record of 5-3, with Del Norte (5-3) at No. 36, Ferndale (5-2) at No. 37 and Hoopa (4-4) at No. 43.

The South Fork girls do not have a ranking, but all eight H-DNL teams that are included feature in the top 33 percent of schools in the entire NCS.

Humboldt Sports’ first Power Rankings of the season is a little different from the NCS rankings.

Fresh off back-to-back tournament championships, Eureka comes in at No. 1, followed by the defending state champion St. Bernard’s girls, who also have won back-to-back tournament championships.

The Crusaders are the only H-DNL varsity team, boys or girls, to have not lost a game yet this year.

Three Big 5 rivals round out our first top-five of the season, although there appears to be little to separate them right now, which suggests the conference should be extremely competitive again this winter.

Last year’s beaten NorCal finalists Arcata is No. 3, followed by a McKinleyville team that continues to compete at a high level under the guidance of head coach Jacob Cheek.

Del Norte rounds out our top five, with Fortuna just outside for now.

Ferndale and Hoopa also have impressed early in the season and are not too far off the pace either.