757Teamz girls basketball Top 15: Princess Anne overtakes Menchville for No. 1 in rankings

Princess Anne makes the unusual move of losing two of three games and jumping up to the No. 1 spot in the girls basketball 757Teamz Top 15 rather than sliding down. The big reason for the move was an emphatic 68 52 triumph for the then No 2 Cavaliers over then No. 1 Menchville in the Gold Division quarterfinals of the Boo Williams Holiday Classic.

Cavaliers coach Darnell Dozier, whose team began this season at No. 3, said, “We’ve been No. 1 all along.” He predicted his mostly young team, 10 0 at the time, would have “two hard games” to finish the tournament. Close losses to Archbishop Carroll of Washington, D.C., and Manchester bore that out, but the performance against Menchville cemented the Cavaliers’ place atop the rankings.

With Menchville expected to be perhaps their biggest obstacle to a return trip to the Class 5 state final — in a possible rematch in the state semifinals — the Cavaliers have moved into the pole position for a a repeat state championship. Menchville, the 2022 Class 5 state champion, rebounded from two losses to begin the loaded Gold Division with a 76 67 win over Riverdale Baptist of Maryland.

The Monarchs surrendered an eight point lead in the final moments of regulation but bounced back in overtime to win going away. Catholic, which began the season ranked No. 1 before losing five of its first seven games against one of the toughest schedules in the nation, showed its pedigree by sweeping three victories at a holiday tournament in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

The Crusaders rose two places to No. 3 while Kempsville, the Black Division champion at Boo Williams, and Western Branch jumped into the Top 15. NOTE: These rankings are based on results reported to The Virginian Pilot and Daily Press before Monday’s games. To report your score, email sports@pilotonline.com.

___ School, record, previous ranking 1. Princess Anne, 10 2, 2 2. Menchville, 7 2, 1 3. Catholic, 5 6, 5 4. Deep Creek, 7 1, 4 5. Hampton, 8 1, 8 6. Norview, 5 4, 6 7. Kellam, 7 2, 11 8. Jamestown, 8 0, 9 9. Norfolk Christian, 6 6, 7 10. Manor, 6 2, 3 11. Green Run, 6 5, 12 12. Salem, 5 2, 10 13. Nansemond River, 6 1, 14 14 Kempsville, 7 4, NR 15.

Western Branch, 6 3, NR Dropped out: No. 13 Grafton, No. 15 Indian River The next five: Norcom, Lake Taylor, King’s Fork, Grassfield, Warwick..