Nease (Ponte Vedra) remains the unanimous top-ranked team in regional rankings after dominating week
GAINESVILLE — There were some changes in the top 10 of The Prep Zone Power Poll for girls basketball as we head into the final week of the regular season.
But the top-ranked team once again this week is the Nease (Ponte Vedra) Panthers, who had another dominating week to stay on top for the fifth consecutive poll.
Nease captured the St. Johns River Athletic Conference tournament last week, trouncing then-#10 Orange Park, 56-14, in the semifinals and romping past #6 Middleburg, 55-19, in the championship game. The Panthers (23-1) once again are a unanimous #1 pick this week, receiving all eight first-place votes.
Remaining #2 is P.K. Yonge (Gainesville).
The Blue Wave (23-1) had another perfect week as well with wins at Gainesville, at #18 Columbia (Lake City), and at home against Hawthorne. The three wins for P.K. Yonge came by a combined 68 points, and the 4A Blue Wave have not lost to a team in Florida this season.
Father Lopez (Daytona Beach) remains 3rd after another 3-0 week and is now 21-2 on the season.
Following closely behind in 4th remains Spruce Creek (Port Orange). The Hawks (18-4) picked up wins at Mainland (Daytona Beach) and then-#17 Vanguard (Ocala) by a combined 65 points.
Rounding out the top five is Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville). The Crusaders (21-2) moved up a spot, from a tie for sixth with Sandalwood (Jacksonville), after wins at Bishop Moore (Orlando) and at home over #10 Flagler Palm Coast.
Middleburg leads off the second five after their runner-up finish to Nease in the SJRAC tourney.
Raines (Jacksonville) and Fernandina Beach both moved up a spot from a week ago, to seventh and eighth, respectively, while another Jacksonville school, Sandalwood, dropped three spots to 9th after a loss at then-#13 Bolles (Jacksonville).
The only team new to the poll this week is #19 Terry Parker (Jacksonville), which trounced RV Fleming Island (Orange Park), 73-38, last week. The Class 6A Braves replace Vanguard (Ocala), which was 17th in the previous poll but dropped three games last week.
This is the final week of the regular season for girls high school basketball in Florida with district tournaments around the state getting underway next Monday, February 4th.
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, basketball, baseball & softball 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 weekly by sportswriters and sportscasters.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2018-19 GIRLS BASKETBALL POLL #5
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, record through 1/28, and total voting points)
1. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (7A) (8) (23-1) – 160
2. P.K. Yonge (Gainesville) (4A) (23-1) – 148
3. Father Lopez (Daytona Beach) (7A) (21-2) – 141
4. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (9A) (18-4) – 140
5. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (6A) (21-2) – 124
6. Middleburg (7A) (18-5) – 122
7. Raines (Jacksonville) (5A) (20-4) – 113
8. Fernandina Beach (5A) (20-3) – 99
9. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (9A) (16-5) – 98
10. Flagler Palm Coast (9A) (18-3) – 85
11. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (8A) (17-6) – 84
12. Lafayette (Mayo) (1A) (16-2) – 64
13. Ribault (Jacksonville) (6A) (14-6) – 62
14. Orange Park (6A) (18-4) – 55
15. Bolles (Jacksonville) (5A) (12-7) – 36
16. Trenton (1A) (18-3) – 35
17. University Christian (Jacksonville) (4A) (12-4) – 32
18. Columbia (Lake City) (7A) (17-6) – 19
19. Terry Parker (Jacksonville) (6A) (12-6) – 14
20. Weeki Wachee (6A) (20-3) – 9
Also receiving votes: Crystal River (6A) (15-3) – 7; Vanguard (Ocala) (7A) (15-8) – 7; East Ridge (Clermont) (8A) (14-6) – 6; Fleming Island (Orange Park) (8A) (14-7) – 6; Branford (1A) (18-4) -2.
