Twenty-nine champs and co-champs of 22 leagues prepare for the post-season that begins Tuesday.
Now when ratings based on strength of schedule determine playoff seeds, are league banners just gym rafter eye candy for fans and newbies? Maybe, but players and coaches agree they’re a reminder of the camaraderie and journey to the top that lasts forever.

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LEAGUE	TEAM(S)	W-L	OVERALL	AVERAGE/TOTAL PF-PA*
Avocado	Rancho Buena Vista	8-0	17-11	50.4 – 43.0 (1411-1204)
Central	Madison	8-0	18-8	40.9 – 36.5 (1064-950)
City	Hoover	7-1	16-12	50.2 – 49.5 (1405-1386)
Coastal	Torrey Pines La Costa Canyon	8-2	15-13 15-13	51.4 – 46.5 (1439-1302) 54.4 – 47.2 (1522-1322)
Desert	Calexico Vincent Memorial	9-0	13-5	53.3 – 36.8 (959-663)
Eastern	Mira Mesa	10-0	17-9	47.0 – 40.4 (1221-1051)
Freelance	Hilltop	8-0	19-9	47.0 – 34.5 (1317-966)
Grossmont Hills	Grossmont Helix	8-2	20-7 18-7	58.7 – 39.7 (1585-1073) 51.4 – 37.6 (1285-941)
Grossmont Valley	Steele Canyon West Hills	7-1	20-8 19-7	55.0 – 35.4 (1540-991) 44.6 – 32.6 (1160-848)
Imperial Valley	Imperial Palo Verde Valley	6-2	16-12 15-10	42.0 – 34.3 (1176-959) 42.4 – 39.5 (1061-987)
Manzanita	Warner	8-0	18-4	39.6 – 23.3 (871-512)
Metro	Bonita Vista	6-0	14-12	56.7 – 49.1 (1475-1276)
Ocean	Escondido Adventist	8-0	15-5	37.7 – 27.3 (754-546)
Pacific	Escondido Charter	10-0	17-11	50.5 – 43.9 (1414-1229)
Palomar	Mission Hills	10-0	20-8	65.1 – 44.7 (1822-1251)
Patriot	O’Farrell Charter	6-0	16-10	31.9 – 29.3 (829-761)
Pioneer	Monarch	6-0	7-12	20.1 – 28.6 (381-543)
Sierra	High Tech NC	8-0	14-2	37.7 – 23.0 (603-369)
South Bay	Victory Christian Montgomery	7-1	19-6 17-11	51.3 – 39.4 (1282-984) 54.7 – 45.6 (1531-1276)
Summit	Horizon Prep Bayfront Charter	6-2	13-6 14-11	35.6 – 25.5 (676-484) 34.6 – 32.5 (866-812)
Valley	Fallbrook	10-0	21-7	57.9 – 38.1 (1622-1067)
Western	Scripps Ranch Cathedral	7-1	17-8 17-11	60.0 – 46.0 (1500-1150) 55.7 – 51.5 (1559-1442)

* Overall Points For – Points Against (Total PF-PA)

No. 1 Mission Hills rolled past Rancho Bernardo, 69-17, and Poway, 86-32, and La Jolla Country Day outscored Francis Parker, 61-54, and Grossmont , 60-42, to stay No. 2 in the poll.

It was not a good week for Poway, which also lost to Westview, 72-54.  The Wolverines also beat San Marcos, 58-45, and their 2-0 week moved them from fifth into a third-place tie with the Titans.

This weekend’s playoff Open Division seedings reveal are expected to match the poll, headed  by Mission Hills and La Jolla Country Day.   Rancho Bernardo, despite the 50-point loss to the Lady Grizzlies, could contend for the D-I top seed, and Francis Parker and The Bishop’s look to be favored in D-II.

John Maffei’s Girls Week 6 Union-Tribune Poll

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Rank/Prev	Team (Record)	Points*	MaxPreps Rank/Rating	Cal-Hi Sports 35
1/1	Mission Hills (18-8)	69 (6)	15/30.86	15/15
2/2	La Jolla Country Day (21-6)	64 (1)	22/29.30	22/22
3T/3	Poway (16-8)	45	94/20.87	NR
3T/5	Westview (15-10)	45	87/21.29	NR
5T/6	Bonita Vista (12-11)	34	151/17.74	NR
5T/7	Rancho Bernardo (19-7)	34	126/18.94	NR
7/4	Del Norte (17-6)	39	102/20.55	NR
8/8	Francis Parker (15-8)	20	84/21.57	NR
9/9	Bishop’s (20-6)	10	208/14.84	NR
10/10	Scripps Ranch (16-8)	9	188/15.69	NR

Others receiving votes:
Cathedral (6), Grossmont (4), Carlsbad (3).

*First-place votes in parentheses. Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
Max Preps and Cal-Hi Sports are state rankings. NR/Not ranked.

The San Diego Union freelance representative Don Norcross and county-wide coaches participate in the poll.

Records as of Monday, Feb 5.

No. 1 Mission Hills and No. 2 La Jolla Country Day maintained their front-runner pace, and Poway moved up to No. 3 with wins over San Marcos , 58-43, and a come-from-behind, 42-40 squeaker over former No. 3 Del Norte.

As proof of the Lady Grizzlies’ dominance, their average wins are by 19 points (62-43), although Westview offered some resistance before bowing, 66-52, after Del Norte was routed, 76-28, last week.

In eight local games,  Mission Hills’ average advantage is 71-36, with two foes held to 20 points or less. The Grizzlies’ MaxPreps‘ state ranking rose to 19 from 23, while the Lady Torreys lifted to 23 from 24 after a 85-20 win against Classical.

Oddly, Francis Parker is  No. 8 in the San Diego Section, although state-ranked 83, right behind Poway’s 81.

John Maffei’s Girls Week 5 Union-Tribune Poll

Rank/Prev	Team (Record)	Points †	MaxPreps Rank/Rating	Cal-Hi Sports 35
1/1	Mission Hills (16-8)	59 (6)	19/29.80	15
2/2	La Jolla Country Day (17-6)	54 (1)	23/28.75	22
3/5	Poway (16-6)	40	81/21.75	NR
4/3	Del Norte (17-6)	39	91/20.83	NR
5/4	Westview (13-10)	34	108/19.99	NR
6/7	Bonita Vista (10-11)	32	157/17.00	NR
7/6	Rancho Bernardo (18-6)	25	133/18.44	NR
8/8	Francis Parker (14-7)	20	83/21.65	NR
9/9	Cathedral (12-10)	9	225/13.94	NR
10/10	Scripps Ranch (15-5)	7	212/14.34	NR

Others receiving votes:
Grossmont (5), Victory Christian (2), Bishop’s (2).

† First-place votes in parentheses. Points  awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
Max Preps and Cal-Hi Sports are state rankings. NR/Not ranked.

The San Diego Union freelance representative Don Norcross and county-wide coaches participate in the poll.

Records as of Monday, Jan. 29.

No. 1 Mission Hills trampled San Marcos, 72-18, but was rocked by state top 10 Santa Ana Mater Dei, 56-37, and was 2-2 in the week.

No. 2 La Jolla Country Day had three local wins and a loss to Sacramento McClatchy, 63-60.

The top eight spots remained intact in the Union-Tribune poll, although only Del Norte, 54-37 over Rancho Bernardo and 49-46 over Westview, and Francis Parker,  72-58 over La Costa Canyon, 61-24 over Pacific Ridge, and 52-46 over Anaheim Canyon in the Public versus Private event at Parker, got through the week unscathed

Del Norte gets a shot at Mission Hills Wednesday night, Jan. 24, when the Nighthawks visit the Grizzlies.

John Maffei’s Girls Week 4 Union-Tribune Poll

Rank	Team (Record)	Points †	MaxPreps Rank/Rating	Cal-Hi Sports 35
1	Mission Hills (14-8)	69 (6)	23/28.41	15
2	La Jolla Country Day (17-6)	64 (1)	24/28.39	24
3	Del Norte (17-4)	49	76/21.82	Bubble
4	Westview (12-9)	40	112/19.16	NR
5	Poway (14-6)	39	94/20.38	NR
6	Rancho Bernardo (17-5)	29	126/18.71	NR
7	Bonita Vista (8-11)	37	180/15.54	NR
8	Francis Parker (12-7)	19	88/20.90	NR
9	Cathedral (11-8)	10	206/14.34	NR
10	Grossmont (15-5)	7	186/15.32	NR

Others receiving votes:
Carlsbad (5), Scripps Ranch (5), Bishop’s (3), Victory Christian (2), Oceanside (2).

† First-place votes in parentheses. Points  awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
Max Preps and Cal-Hi Sports are state rankings. NR/Not ranked.

The San Diego Union freelance representative Don Norcross and county-wide coaches participate in the poll.

Records as of Tuesday , Jan. 23.

The Lady Grizzlies of Mission Hills overpowered  Westview, 71-37,  and Rancho Bernardo, 70-27, and stayed on top of the San Diego Section poll.  The Max Preps state No. 21 and Cal-Hi Sports No. 16 club lost to  State No. 10 Folsom, 58-49, and defeated Portola Valley Priory, 66-50, in the Stockton St. Mary’s Martin Luther King event.

Next up for coach Chris Kroesch’s squad is a Wednesday, Jan. 17 game, against 13-5 Poway.

John Maffei’s Girls Week 3 Union-Tribune Poll

Rank	Team (Record)	Points †	MaxPreps Rank/Rating	Cal-Hi Sports
1	Mission Hills (12-6)	68 (5)	21/28.48	16
2	La Jolla Country Day (14-5)	65 (2)	22/28.24	19
3	Del Norte (15-4)	51	105/19.58	On Bubble
4	Westview (10-8)	38	143/17.76	NR
5	Poway (13-5)	37	104/19.61	NR
6	Rancho Bernardo (17-3)	36	101/28.24	NR
7	Bonita Vista (6-10)	33	186/15.02	NR
8	Francis Parker (9-7)	24	111/19.34	NR
9	Grossmont (13-4)	11	200/14.26	NR
10	Morse (14-4)	8	183/15.28	NR

Others receiving votes:
Scripps Ranch (6), Bishop’s (3), Cathedral Catholic (3), Victory Christian (2).

† First-place votes in parentheses. Points  awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
Max Preps and Cal-Hi Sports are state rankings. NR/Not ranked.

The San Diego Union freelance representative Don Norcross and county-wide coaches participate in the poll.

Records as of Monday, Jan. 15.

The status quo prevailed as Mission Hills added two, and La Jolla Country Day, one win in the new year. Bonita Vista jumped into No. 6 with a win over Francis Parker. Scripps Ranch (9-8) dropped off with a loss to Cathedral Catholic (8-6).

This week tests the Lady Grizzlies vs. No. 3 Westview and No. 4 Rancho Bernardo, while the Lady Torreys face two lesser ranked NorCal teams in Stockton.

The Week 2 poll follows weekly Top 10  polls that were newspaper-published since the season start in November.

John Maffei’s Week 2 Union-Tribune Girls Poll

Rank	Team (Record)	Points †	MaxPreps Rank/Rating	Cal-Hi Sport
1	Mission Hills (9-6)	69 (6)	36 / 25.32	16
2	La Jolla Country Day (13-5)	64 (1)	28 / 26.59	19
3	Westview (10-5)	53	99 / 19.43	NR
4	Rancho Bernardo (15-2)	42	98 / 19.44	NR
5	Del Norte (13-4)	38	131 / 17.06	On Bubble
6	Bonita Vista (6-10)	32	209 / 13.28	NR
7	Poway (12-4)	27	117 / 17.93	NR
8	Francis Parker (7-6)	19	139 / 16.83	NR
9	Grossmont (12-3)	14	130 / 17.14	NR
10	Bishop’s (14-2)	8	118 / 17.91	NR

Others receiving votes:
Scripps Ranch (6), Carlsbad (5), Morse (3), Cathedral Catholic (2), Victory Christian (1).

† First-place votes in parentheses. Points  awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. NR/Not ranked.
Max Preps and Cal-Hi Sports are state rankings

The San Diego Union freelance representative Don Norcross and county-wide coaches participate in the poll.
Records are current as of 1/8/24