HS girls basketball: Northridge dethrones SB Washington at top of area power rankings

Scott Davidson, South Bend Tribune

It finally happened.

As the calendar flips to 2024, there is a new team atop our area high school girls basketball power rankings list.

Northridge's squad has powered its way to the top of the list.

The Raiders, who bump Washington from the top spot this week, went 4-0 Friday and Saturday to win their own Interra Classic.

Northridge head coach Doug Springer looks on during a girls basketball game against Penn Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, at Penn High School in Mishawaka.
Northridge head coach Doug Springer looks on during a girls basketball game against Penn Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, at Penn High School in Mishawaka.

Hough column: Radeker, Springer deserve praise for work with Northridge basketball programs

Northridge put an exclamation point on the title run by blasting Merrillville 74-51 Saturday in the championship contest. Junior Rielyn Goodwin scored 23 points and had six assists and six steals to earn title game MVP honors for the Raiders.

The Raiders, who were No. 11 in the latest ICGSA Class 4A poll, have won 16 straight games. Northridge, which lost its second game of the season at Class 4A No. 7 Homestead 52-44 back on Nov. 8, sits at 17-1 overall after beating Fort Wayne Dwenger, Knox, Andrean and Merrillville to win their own tournament.

Coach Doug Springer's squad, which lost in the regional a year ago, won 51-49 at Penn Dec. 19 prior to hosting its own tournament. The Raiders have now defeated the Kingsmen three straight times, including in sectional play last season at Concord.

Northridge, which hosts Tippecanoe Valley Jan. 3, plays at Warsaw Jan. 6 in a huge Northern Lakes Conference showdown as both teams are 3-0 in league play. The Raiders then host NorthWood on Jan. 13.

The Northridge girls team joins the Raider boys squad as both top our prep power polls. The Northridge boys team, coached by Scott Radeker, has won eight in a row and sits at 10-1.

Among those named to the all-tournament team at Northridge were Sabrina Miller (Northridge), Kayla Woods (Saint Joseph) and Claire Payne (NorthWood).

Washington, which has been No. 1 all season long in our poll, has not played since a 71-61 loss to Western Reserve (Ohio) on Dec. 16.

Northridge was ranked No. 9 in the IBCA poll with Washington at No. 13. The coaches poll ranks teams regardless of class.

Bethany Christian, ranked No. 5 in Class 1A, had three dominating wins Friday and Saturday to win the Lakeland Christian Academy Cougar Classic in Winona Lake. The Bruins improved to 14-1 with wins over Hamilton (51-27), Granger Christian (52-26) and DeMotte Christian (49-29).

Star senior guard Zoe Willems, who had 13 points in the title game win over DeMotte Christian, was named tournament MVP. Willems, who helped Bethany to a state runner-up finish last season, had back-to-back triple doubles in wins over Hamilton and Granger Christian. She had 25 points, 13 rebounds and 10 steals versus Hamilton and 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals against Granger Christian.

The duo of Karlee Crume and Eva Horning of Bethany were also named to the all-tournament team at LCA.

All in the family: Harper family gets another special moment at Al Smith Classic

Area Top 10

  1. Northridge (17-1, 3-0 NLC): The Raiders continue to roll with 16 straight wins. Junior Ella Mohamed had 15 points, sophomore Cam Conley 12 and senior Morgan Cross 10 in the tourney title game win for the Raiders.

  2. Washington (11-3, 8-0 NIC): The Panthers have been idle for the past two weeks. They return to action versus Chicago Butler at Hammond Morton on Jan. 2.

  3. Penn (11-5, 5-1 NIC): The Kingsmen lost to Northridge 51-49 at home Dec. 19 and then picked up a strong win over host Valparaiso 49-48.

  4. New Prairie (13-3, 7-1 NIC): The Cougars, who host NIC foe Penn Jan. 2, lost to DeKalb 48-28 and East Noble 67-55 in tourney action Friday and Saturday.

  5. Bethany Christian (14-1, 3-0 HPC): The Bruins picked up a key league win at Argos 46-44 before their dominating play to win the LCA Cougar Classic.

  6. Fairfield (12-2, 5-0 NECC): The Falcons lost to NorthWood 36-21, but then rebounded to top Bluffton 42-25 to continue to lead the NECC.

  7. Michigan City Marquette (15-2): The Class 1A No. 4 Blazers have won their last four games since a loss to New Prairie 48-36.

  8. NorthWood (15-3, 3-1 NLC): The Panthers posted wins over Fairfield 36-21 and Adams 56-40 before losing to Merrillville 54-44 in their first game in the Interra Classic at Northridge. NorthWood then beat Rushville 45-33, Saint Joseph 47-21 and Fort Wayne Dwenger 48-34 to finish 3-1 in the tournament.

  9. Adams (9-8, 4-5 NIC): The Eagles bounced back from losses to NorthWood and Portage to beat Morgan Township 49-46 and Hobart 64-45 in tourney play at Portage.

  10. Elkhart (8-9, 4-2 NIC): The Lions went 2-3 over the holidays with wins over Goshen 47-27 and West Noble 61-18 and losses to Fort Wayne Northrop 49-35, Eastern Hancock 60-49 and Westfield 50-32.

Northridge junior Rielyn Goodwin looks for a teammate to pass to during a girls basketball game against Penn Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, at Penn High School in Mishawaka.
Northridge junior Rielyn Goodwin looks for a teammate to pass to during a girls basketball game against Penn Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, at Penn High School in Mishawaka.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: The Northridge girls basketball team moves to No. 1 in our rankings

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