Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) still No. 1 as postseason begins
GAINESVILLE – The girls high school basketball regular season has once again flown by, and now it’s time for the postseason, or the second season, sometimes called the real season.
The beat goes on for Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) as the Crusaders are once again on top of the The Prep Zone Power Poll.
The Class 4A Crusaders (20-4), who won six out of seven games since the last poll, a 3-point loss at 3A No. 3 Seffner Christian, received nine out of 10 first-place votes to easily stay on top of the all-classification regional rankings.
They picked up wins over No. 20 San Jose Prep (Jacksonville), No. 3 Bolles (Jacksonville), and RV Mandarin (Jacksonville).
Providence (Jacksonville) remained second and picked up the other first-place vote. The Stallions (21-2) were 4-0 the last few weeks with wins over San Jose Prep and RV Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine).
Bolles (Jacksonville) remained third as well. The Bulldogs (17-7) lost to No. 1 Bishop Kenny and No. 4 Ribault (Jacksonville), but also defeated then-No. 8 University Christian (Jacksonville) and Creekside (St. Johns).
Speaking of Ribault, the Trojans (13-5) remained in the No. 4 spot. They defeated Bolles and Fletcher (Neptune Beach), while losing by one point at No. 11 Paxon (Jacksonville), and they lost to the No. 20 team overall in Florida according to Max Preps, Rutherford (Panama City).
Rounding out the top five is Wildwood, the top-ranked team in Class 1A.
The Wildcats (15-3) were 5-0 since the last ranking with wins over RV Trinity Catholic (Ocala) and RV P.K. Yonge (Gainesville), as well as Mount Dora Christian Academy and Eastside (Gainesville) on the road.
Beachside (St. Johns) moved up a spot into the No. 6 position. The Barracudas (18-4) switched places with Spruce Creek (Port Orange), which drops into a tie for 7th with St. Augustine (18-2).
Leesburg (20-1) and Ridgeview (Orange Park) (12-5) round out the top 10 as the two teams are tied for 9th this week.
New to the poll this week are North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville) and Springstead (Spring Hill), who are tied for No. 18 and San Jose Prep, who moves in at No. 20.
Dropping out from the previous poll is Orange Park, which fell from 11th previously all the way out of the rankings, along with Trinity Catholic (Ocala) and P.K. Yonge (Gainesville).
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, girls basketball, boys basketball, softball & baseball teams (regardless of FHSAA classification) across 26 counties in North Florida (Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Madison, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, Sumter, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union & Volusia counties). It is voted on by sportswriters and sportscasters and it is powered by Anytime Fitness of Gainesville.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2023-24 GIRLS BASKETBALL POLL #4
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, record through 2/2, and total voting points)
1. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (4A) (9) (20-4) – 199
2. Providence (Jacksonville) (3A) (1) (21-2) – 189
3. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (17-7) – 161
4. Ribault (Jacksonville) (4A) (13-5) – 160
5. Wildwood (1A) (15-3) – 159
6. Beachside (St. Johns) (6A) (18-4) – 131
7T. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (16-8) – 118
7T. St. Augustine (5A) (18-2) – 118
9T. Leesburg (5A) (20-1) – 95
9T. Ridgeview (Orange Park) (5A) (12-5) – 95
11. Paxon (Jacksonville) (4A) (15-7) – 91
12. Ponte Vedra (6A) (16-8) – 65
13. Hawthorne (1A) (16-3) – 64
14. Mainland (Jacksonville) (5A) (12-12) – 57
15. University Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (16-8) – 52
16T. Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville) (7A) (19-3) – 50
16T. St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park) (2A) (18-6) – 50
18T. North Florida Educational Institute (Jacksonville) (2A) (11-5) – 48
18T. Springstead (Spring Hill) (6A) (20-3) – 48
20. San Jose Prep (Jacksonville) (3A) (13-8) – 46
Also receiving votes: Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (3A) (15-9) – 30; Madison County (1A) (18-4) – 23; Dunnellon (4A) (20-3) – 22; P.K. Yonge (Gainesville) (3A) (12-7) – 12; Lake Minneola (6A) (15-7) – 5; Orange Park (6A) (11-11) – 5; Mandarin (Jacksonville) (7A) (10-6) – 4; Trenton (1A) (20-3) – 2; Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine) (7A) (18-6) – 1.
