CLEVELAND, Ohio — Wadsworth is the new No. 1 team in the cleveland.com girls basketball Top 25 rankings.
After a slow start, the Grizzlies featured a smothering defense and balanced scoring to take a 53-43 victory over previously top-ranked Stow. As a result, the teams flip-flopped their spots in the rankings.
Most of the changes in the Top 25 came at the top of the rankings. In addition to Wadsworth and Stow flipping spots, St. Vincent-St. Mary moved down a spot from No. 4 after blowing a big halftime lead in a 63-55 loss to Youngstown Ursuline. Solon, with two convincing victories on the week, moved up to No. 4.
Here is how this week’s area Top 25 stacks up entering the third week of the season.
1. Wadsworth (4-0)
Last week: Ranked No. 3, beat then-No. 1 Stow, 53-43; beat Cuyahoga Falls, 64-39.
This week: Wednesday vs. North Royalton; Saturday vs. No. 22 Twinsburg.
2. Elyria Catholic (3-0)
Last week: Ranked No. 2, beat Normandy, 55-26.
This week: Wednesday at Parma; Saturday vs. Valley Forge.
3. Stow (2-1)
Last week: Ranked No. 1, lost to then-No. 3 Wadsworth, 53-43; beat Nordonia, 47-29.
This week: Wednesday vs. No. 22 Twinsburg; Saturday vs. Hudson.
4. Solon (4-1)
Last week: Ranked No. 5; beat Brunswick, 66-50; beat Elyria, 87-20.
This week: Wednesday at No. 17 Euclid; Monday vs. No. 22 Twinsburg.
5. St. Vincent-St. Mary (2-3)
Last week: Ranked No. 4, beat then-No. 23 St. Joseph Academy, 64-27; lost to Youngstown Ursuline, 63-55.
This week: Wednesday at Canton McKinley; Saturday vs. No. 13 Cornerstone Christian.
6. Medina (5-0)
Last week: Ranked No. 6, beat Mentor, 60-30; beat No. 17 Euclid, 76-64.
This week: Wednesday at Elyria; Saturday at Shaker Heights.
7. Archbishop Hoban (5-0)
Last week: Ranked No. 7, beat Hathaway Brown, 77-35; beat then-No. 22 Magnificat, 63-26.
This week: Wednesday at No. 14 Gilmour; Saturday vs. Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin.
8. Aurora (4-0)
Last week: Ranked No. 8, beat Kent Roosevelt, 50-24; beat Barberton, 47-31.
This week: Wednesday at Highland; Saturday vs. Revere.
9. Laurel (5-1)
Last week: Ranked No. 9, beat John Hay, 62-47; beat Rocky River, 75-30.
This week: Monday at Bay.
10. Olmsted Falls (4-1)
Last week: Ranked No. 10, beat North Olmsted, 76-26; beat Avon, 63-41.
This week: Wednesday at Westlake; Saturday vs. Lakewood.
11. Cleveland Heights (4-0)
Last week: Ranked No. 11, beat Lutheran East, 57-52; beat Shaw, 71-40.
This week: Wednesday at Lorain; Saturday at Maple Heights.
12. Eastlake North (6-0)
Last week: Ranked No. 12, beat Mayfield, 68-47; beat Brush, 64-53; beat Maple Heights, 65-42.
This week: Wednesday vs. Madison; Saturday at No. 17 Euclid.
13. Cornerstone Christian (6-0)
Last week: Ranked No. 13, beat Canton Central Catholic, 64-11; beat Youngstown Cardinal Mooney, 59-47.
This week: Tuesday vs. Perry; Saturday at No. 5 St. Vincent-St. Mary.
14. Gilmour (3-1)
Last week: Ranked No. 14, beat Padua, 51-44; beat Villa Angela-St. Joseph, 75-57.
This week: Wednesday vs. No. 7 Hoban; Saturday vs. Magnificat.
15. Strongsville (3-2)
Last week: Ranked No. 16, beat Shaker Heights, 65-29; beat Mentor, 45-42.
This week: Wednesday at Brunswick; Monday at St. Joseph Academy.
16. Norton (3-1)
Last week: Ranked No. 15, beat Cloverleaf, 63-37; beat Akron Springfield, 76-26; lost to Massillon Jackson, 49-37.
This week: Wednesday at Ravenna.
17. Euclid (5-1)
Last week: Ranked No. 17, beat Elyria, 63-28; lost to No. 6 Medina, 76-64; beat Villa Angela-St. Joseph, 78-58.
This week: Wednesday vs. No. 4 Solon; Saturday vs. No. 12 Eastlake North.
18. Avon Lake (5-1)
Last week: Ranked No. 18, beat Midview, 56-26; beat North Olmsted, 55-12.
This week: Wednesday at Avon; Saturday vs. No. 19 Westlake.
19. Westlake (4-0)
Last week: Unranked, beat No. 24 Amherst, 47-42; beat then-No. 19 Berea-Midpark, 65-56.
This week: Wednesday vs. No. 10 Olmsted Falls; Saturday at No. 18 Avon Lake.
20. Kenston (4-1)
Last week: Ranked No. 20, beat Madison, 56-32; beat Riverside, 68-35.
This week: Wednesday at Chardon; Saturday vs. Warren Howland; Monday at Bedford.
21. Buchtel (5-1)
Last week: Ranked No. 21, beat Akron North, 62-7; beat Kenmore-Garfield, 71-40.
This week: Thursday at Firestone; Saturday vs. Kent Roosevelt; Monday at Green.
22. Twinsburg (3-0)
Last week: Unranked, beat North Royalton, 57-43; beat Brecksville, 59-29.
This week: Wednesday at No. 3 Stow; Saturday at No. 1 Wadsworth; Monday at No. 4 Solon.
23. Berea-Midpark (3-2)
Last week: Ranked No. 19, beat Avon, 38-32; lost to No. 19 Westlake, 65-56.
This week: Wednesday vs. Lakewood; Saturday at North Ridgeville.
24. Amherst (4-2)
Last week: Ranked No. 24, lost to No. 19 Westlake, 47-42; beat Lakewood, 65-37; beat Keystone, 58-29.
This week: Wednesday vs. North Ridgeville; Saturday at Midview.
25. Independence (4-1)
Last week: Ranked No. 25, beat Richmond Heights, 64-40.
This week: Saturday vs. Wickliffe; Monday vs. Fairport Harding.
Dropped out: Magnificat (was No. 22); St. Joseph Academy (was No. 23).
Teams to watch (listed alphabetically): Bay (4-1); Brunswick (3-3); Buckeye (4-1); Chardon (4-1); Green (2-2); Lutheran East (2-2); Magnificat (2-3); Ravenna (4-1); St. Joseph Academy (1-3).
Closing thoughts: Two new teams have appeared in the Top 25, Westlake and Twinsburg. Both have incredibly difficult schedules in the upcoming week.
Westlake remained unbeaten Saturday by coming from behind to defeat Berea-Midpark, 65-56. The Demons found themselves down, 15-0, in the first quarter, but rallied for the victory. There is a three-way tie atop the Southwestern Conference, but that will be broken up this coming week, as Westlake hosts No. 10 Olmsted Falls on Wednesday and plays at No. 18 Avon Lake on Saturday.
While that’s a difficult schedule, it’s nothing compared to what Twinsburg faces this week. The Tigers play at No. 3 Stow on Wednesday, at No. 1 Wadsworth on Saturday and at No. 4 Solon on Monday. It doesn’t get much tougher than that!
Inexplicable: By virtue of being a strong program without a conference to call home, St. Vincent-St. Mary plays a very difficult schedule. In fact, the team's record will probably always be worse than its ranking as a result. While Saturday's loss to Youngstown Ursuline was to a quality opponent, the way it happened had to result in the Irish being dropped in the rankings.
St. Vincent-St. Mary bolted out to a 38-20 halftime lead and appeared to have the game safely in hand. Instead, the Irish were outscored, 25-4, in the third quarter and 43-12 in the second half in taking a 63-55 loss. Things don’t get any easier this week, traveling to Canton McKinley on Wednesday and hosting No. 13 Cornerstone on Saturday.
Concussed: Standout sophomore Shyanne Sellers of Aurora missed Wednesday's 50-24 victory over Kent Roosevelt with a concussion. She returned in Saturday's 47-31 defeat of Barberton, starting slowly with six points in the first half but coming on to finish with 25, including 16 in the third period. In three games she is averaging 26.0 points and 10.0 rebounds for the Greenmen.
Congratulations: Ravenna senior Lauren Calhoun scored the 1,000th point of her career Saturday in a 64-22 victory over Coventry.
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