GAINESVILLE — There’s a new No. 1 in The Prep Zone Power Poll for girls’ basketball.
Nease (Ponte Vedra), which advanced to the Class 7A regional finals last season and is currently the top-ranked team in Class 7A according to MaxPreps, is ranked No. 1 in the all-classification regional rankings.
The Lady Panthers (16-3) went 3-0 last week, including a 66-53 win against No. 18 Middleburg, which dropped one spot following losses to Nease and current No. 8 Fernandina Beach. They received five of the eight-first place votes and moved up one spot from second to the top of the rankings.
Previous No. 1 Sandalwood (Jacksonville) lost for the first time this season. The Class 9A Lady Saints (12-1) fell at home to current No. 2 Spruce Creek (Port Orange), 61-51, and dropped three spots to fourth.
The win by the Class 9A Hawks (12-4), coupled with a 48-46 win against 3A #1 Orlando Christian Prep at the Think Pink Classic, vaulted them six spots up in the rankings. They also received one first-place vote.
Fleming Island (Orange Park) remained third. The Class 8A Golden Eagles (17-3), who received one first-place vote, went 2-0 with victories against RV Ribault (Jacksonville) and previous No. 11 Oakleaf (Orange Park), which dropped two spots to 13th.
Rounding out the top five is P.K. Yonge (Gainesville), which remained fifth.
The Class 4A Lady Blue Wave (12-4) finished off a 2-1 week with a 53-38 win against 8A West Port (Ocala) at the Blue Wave Classic on Saturday.
Class 6A Ponte Vedra (12-3) remained sixth, and they are followed by defending 1A state champion Wildwood (14-4), Class 5A Fernandina Beach (16-4), 7A Father Lopez (Daytona Beach) (15-2), and Class 1A Trenton in the top 10.
Flagler Palm Coast (9A) (11-5), which went 2-0 with wins at Paxon (Jacksonville) and against Mandarin (Jacksonville), moves into the rankings for the first time this season at No. 20.
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 #3
(School, followed by classification, first place votes, current record through 1/13, and total voting points)
1. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (7A) (5) (16-3) – 154
2. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (9A) (1) (12-4) – 148
3. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (8A) (1) (17-3) – 144
4. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (9A) (1) (12-1) – 141
5. P.K. Yonge (Gainesville) (4A) (12-4) – 125
6. Ponte Vedra (6A) (12-3) – 123
7. Wildwood (1A) (14-4) – 113
8. Fernandina Beach (5A) (16-4) – 97
9. Father Lopez (Daytona Beach) (7A) (15-2) – 85
10. Trenton (1A) (14-2) – 79
11. Gainesville (7A) (13-7) – 75
12. Forest (Ocala) (7A) (13-2) – 68
13. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (8A) (14-4) – 65
14. Newberry (5A) (13-3) – 60
15. Weeki Wachee (6A) (14-2) – 49
16. First Coast (Jacksonville) (8A) (12-5) – 47
17. Raines (Jacksonville) (5A) (12-4) – 30
18. Middleburg (7A) (12-5) – 18
19. Lafayette (Mayo) (1A) (12-4) – 16
20. Flagler Palm Coast (9A) (11-5) – 10
Also receiving votes: Mainland (Daytona Beach) (7A) (11-3) – 9; Ribault (Jacksonville) (6A) (10-11) – 9; East Ridge (Clermont) (8A) (12-5) – 7; Aucilla Christian (Monticello) (2A) (14-2) – 4; Williston (1A) (11-3) – 2; Menendez (St. Augustine) (6A) (11-3) – 2.
