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Nease (Ponte Vedra) a unanimous No. 1 in all-classification regional rankings
GAINESVILLE — The top-ranked team in The Prep Zone Power Poll for girls’ basketball continues to stay the same.
For the third consecutive week, Nease (Ponte Vedra) remained No. 1 in the all-classification regional rankings.
Fresh off the St. Johns County Athletic Conference championship, capping a 3-0 week, the Class 7A Lady Panthers (20-3) were a unanimous selection for No. 1. They received all seven first-place votes.
Nease defeated #3 Fleming Island (Orange Park), 56-52, in the championship game to hold on to the top spot. The Class 8A Golden Eagles (22-4) were able to stay at No. 3 thanks to the close loss to the Panthers and a 61-50 win against previous No. 20 Middleburg.
Spruce Creek (Port Orange) remained second. The Class 9A Hawks (18-4) also went 3-0, including a 51-35 win against current No. 19 Mainland (Daytona Beach).
Moving up two spots to fourth is Ponte Vedra. The Class 6A Sharks (18-3) had wins against St. Joseph Academy (St. Augustine), Fletcher (Neptune Beach), and Terry Parker (Jacksonville).
Fernandina Beach also moved up two spots to fifth thanks to a 70-60 win against Sandalwood (Jacksonville), which was tied for third and drops three spots to sixth. The Pirates (20-4) are up to fifth in the Class 5A state rankings, according to MaxPreps.
Rounding out the top 10 are Sandalwood, P.K. Yonge (Gainesville), Wildwood, Gainesville and Oakleaf (Orange Park).
Lafayette (Mayo) is back in the rankings following a 53-49 win at previous No. 5 P.K. Yonge (Gainesville) and a hard-fought 50-42 loss to previous #9 Wildwood, 50-42, at the Pack Challenge at West Port (Ocala).
Class 7A Mainland (Daytona Beach) moves into the top 20 at No. 19 following a 64-58 win at current #15 Atlantic (Port Orange).
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 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 and it is powered by Strive Fitness.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2017-2018 GIRLS BASKETBALL POLL #5
(School, followed by classification, first place votes, record through 1/27, and total voting points)
1. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (7A) (7) (20-3) – 140
2. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (9A) (18-4) – 133
3. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (8A) (22-4) – 123
4. Ponte Vedra (6A) (18-3) – 117
5. Fernandina Beach (5A) (20-4) – 114
6. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (9A) (17-2) – 99
7. P.K. Yonge (Gainesville) (4A) (16-5) – 92
8. Wildwood (1A) (18-6) – 91
9. Gainesville (7A) (18-7) – 90
10. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (8A) (19-4) – 71
11. Trenton (1A) (19-2) – 68
12. Father Lopez (Daytona Beach) (7A) (19-3) – 60
13. Newberry (5A) (16-4) – 59
14. Flagler Palm Coast (9A) (13-5) – 44
15T. Weeki Wachee (6A) (20-2) – 36
15T. Atlantic (Port Orange) (7A) (17-5) – 36
17. Raines (Jacksonville) (5A) (14-5) – 28
18. Lafayette (Mayo) (1A) (15-6) – 19
19. Mainland (Daytona Beach) (7A) (15-6) – 16
20. First Coast (Jacksonville) (8A) (14-6) – 12
Also receiving votes: Middleburg (7A) (16-7) – 11; Vanguard (Ocala) (7A) (14-8) – 6; Forest (Ocala) (7A) (15-5) – 3; Ribault (Jacksonville) (6A) (12-13) – 1; East Ridge (Clermont) (8A) (15-6) – 1.
