2023-24 Girls Week 7: Last Poll Before Playoffs

John Maffei’s Girls Week 7 Union-Tribune Poll

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Rank/Prev Team (Record) Points* MaxPreps
Rank/Rating		 Cal-Hi
Sports 35
1/1 Mission Hills (20-8) 60 (6) 16/31.68 15/15
2/2 La Jolla Country Day (22-6) 54 20/30.11 22/22
3/4 Westview (18-10) 41 76/23.19 NR
4/3 Poway (19-8) 39 81/22.51 NR
5/8 Francis Parker (16-9) 35 101/21.15 NR
6T/5T Bonita Vista (14-12) 34 148/18.08 NR
6T/7 Del Norte (18-9) 39 119/19.81 NR
8/5T Rancho Bernardo (19-9) 34 126/17.91 NR
10T/9 Bishop’s (20-7) 6 208/15.13 NR
10T/NR Grossmont (20-8) 6 211/15.93 NR

Others receiving votes:
Cathedral (6).

*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 12.

Notes: Mission Hills +2 (Mx-1), LJCD +1 (Mx+2), Poway +3 (Mx+13),
Westview +3 (Mx+11), BV 2-1,  RB -2, DN 1-3, FP 1-1, SR +1, …



2023-24 Week 7 Girls: Newly Crowned Await Playoffs

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)



2023-24 Boys Week 7: Hats Off! Champions and Co-Champs of 22 Leagues

What’s in a league championship?

Especially in this era of power ratings and strengths of schedules and what they mean in playoff pairings and postseason division assignments, which were to be announced today.

A league title represents essentially just bragging rights, but ask the players and coaches who achieved it and what they think when banners are hoisted in gymnasium rafters.

All will agree the accomplishment still carries weight and memories that will last.

Twenty-two league champions and four co-champions were officially crowned last night and began preparing for the second season and playoffs that start Tuesday.

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LEAGUE TEAM W-L OVERALL AVERAGE SCORE*
Avocado Vista 7-1 19-9 65.1-56.1
Central Canyon Hills 5-3 18-9 58.0-48.5
La Jolla 5-3 18-10 61.6-54.8
City Christian 8-2 18.7 55.9-48.5
Mira Mesa 8-2 18-9 68.3-57.6
Coastal La Jolla Country Day 11-1 22-5 60.3-48.8
Santa Fe Christian 11-1 20-8 59.3-51.4
Coastal North Carlsbad 10-0 26-2 74.3-59.0
Desert Calipatria 9-0 19-3 56.3-40.2
Eastern University City 7-1 20-8 62.6-56.7
Grossmont Hills Monte Vista 9-1 20-8 65.3-50.2
Grossmont Valley Steele Canyon 8-0 15-13 58.3-57.7
Imperial Valley Calexico Vincent Memorial 6-2 17-7 61.3-53.6
Imperial 6-2 13-15 56.0-59.0
Manzanita Warner 8-2 16-12 43.9-37.5
Julian 8-2 14-9 43.7-42.8
Metropolitan Mesa Montgomery 8-0 26-2 70.1-41.2
Metropolitan South Bay Victory Christian 6-0 18-9 70.8-60.4
Ocean Tri-City 12-0 18-10 64.1-46.5
Pacific St. Joseph 9-1 18-9 61.6-55.1
Palomar Mission Hills 9-12 21-7 61.4-51.2
Patriot High Tech Mesa 7-1 9-17 39.0-54.2
Pioneer Monarch 8-2 16-8 48.9-39.5
Sierra The Cambridge 8-0 18-2 53.6-36.6
Summit High Tech Chula Vista 8-0 21-4 74.3-47.7
Valley Mt. Carmel 9-1 16-12 62.8-59.5
Western St. Augustine 8-0 24-4 73.0-56.0

*All Games.



2023-24 Girls Week 6: Mission Hills, LJCD March On, Westview Moves Up

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.



2023-24 Boys Week 6: The Playoffs Are Coming! The Playoffs Are Coming!

It’s wrap-up  week in the San Diego Section, as the regular season ends Friday, Southern California postseason pairings are posted Saturday, and the second season starts with regional playoffs next week.

Carlsbad, Montgomery, St. Augustine, and Torrey Pines remained 1 through 4 in the weekly Union-Tribune poll, and there was no change from last week’s 5 through 9.

Carlsbad and Montgomery each could finish with 26-2 records,  although The Aztecs likely will be the No. 1 seed in the Open Division off their 63-55 win over  Carlsbad early in the season

Carlsbad, averaging 74.3 points game and 11-1 all-time against Sage Creek (14-12), will attempt to repeat its earlier, 84-55 victory over the Bobcats tonight and will finish against 14-12 El Camino, which earlier gave the Lancers an argument before bowing, 58-54.

Montgomery has Mater Dei (15-11) and San Ysidro (6-20) on its plate after shocking Torrey Pines in a head scratcher, 44-19. The Aztecs alternately used  2-3 and 3-2 zone defenses against the Falcons, who trailed, 9-2, after one quarter and 25-5 at the half. Falcons coach John Olive reportedly was seen talking to himself as the Falcons boarded their bus for the ride to Del Mar from Mission Bay and the Battle of the Bay event.

St. Augustine (22-4) faces a troublesome Mission Bay (17-10) and closes against San Diego (8-18). The Saints beat Mission Bay, 80-62, and San Diego, 70-42, in January. Torrey Pines (19-7) has a rematch of a 73-44 win over El Camino and ends with No. 7 La Costa Canyon (18-6), which extended the Falcons to overtime before bowing in an earlier Coastal League North game, 67-65.

John Maffei’s weekly Union-Tribune poll.

# TEAM RECORD POINTS PREVIOUS MAX-PREPS CAL-HI SPORTS
1 Carlsbad 24-2 (9) 152 1 8/9 15/15
2 Montgomery 23-2 (8) 150 2 17/20 21/21
3 St. Augustine 22-4 138 3 21/21 20/20
4 Torrey Pines 19-7 108 4 40/37 30/30
5 La Jolla Country Day 21-5 104 5 59/58 NR/NR
6 La Costa Canyon 18-6 81 7 58/65 NR/NR
7 Mission Hills 20-6 71 8 76/80 NR/NR
8 Santa Fe Christian 18-7 57 6 98/88 NR/NR
9 Cathedral 17-8 21 9 106/102 NR/NR
10 Rancho Buena Vista 18-9 12 NR 133/126 NR/NR

Others receiving votes
Mission Bay (17-10, 10 points), San Diego Southwest (24-2, 8), San Marcos (20-6, 3), Victory Christian (16-8, 1).

First-place votes in parenthesis.
Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
Bold entries in columns are up-to-date rankings followed by previous.
Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max Preps’ represent state rankings. NR—Not ranked.

Records as of Monday, Feb. 5

VOTING PANEL

  • John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune
  • Aaron Burgin, Fulltime Hoops
  • Steve Brand, Eric Williams, Freelance writers
  • John Kentera, Freelance Contributor
  • Rick Smith, partletonsports.com
  • Adam Paul, eastcountysports.com
  • Bodie Silva, scorebooklive.com
  • Braden Suprenant 97.3 FM The Fan
  • Steve Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9-FM
  • Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez, CIF San Diego Section.
  • Rex Johnson, CIF Advisory Committee
  • Joe Evangelist, San Diego Coaching Legends Committee.
  • Tom Helmantoler, Advisor Southern Conference
  • Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association
  • Maxpreps


2023-24 Boys Week 5: Lancers’ Week Included 3 Big Wins

Carlsbad cemented its hold on No. 1 in the Union-Tribune poll with victories of 62-54 over No. 4 Torrey Pines, 70-66 over Valencia West Ranch, and 78-57 over No. 7 La Costa Canyon.

Montgomery stayed at No. 2, with no-sweat 60-27 and 88-31 dominations of Otay Ranch and San Ysidro.

No. 3 St. Augustine took care of Steele Canyon, 72-43, and Madison, 64-26, and then lost to San Juan Capistrano JSerra, Cal-Hi Sports’ state No. 10 team, 54-48, in the Nike Classic at Santa Ana Mater Dei.  Sophomore Jaden Bailes scored 17 points for the Saints.

John Maffei’s weekly Union-Tribune poll.

# TEAM RECORD POINTS PREVIOUS MAX-PREPS CAL-HI SPORTS
1 Carlsbad 22-2 (12) 165 1 9/9 15/15
2 Montgomery 21-2 (5) 156 2 20/18 19/21
3 St. Augustine 21-4 138 3 21/16 20/22
4 Torrey Pines 17-6 116 4 37/41 30/30
5 La Jolla Country Day 17-6 99 6 58/57 NR/NR
6 Santa Fe Christian 16-7 76 5 88/77 NR/NR
7 La Costa Canyon 16-5 70 8 65/72 NR/NR
8 Mission Hills 18-6 56 9 80/128 NR/NR
9 Cathedral 16-7 30 7 102/104 NR/NR
10 Mission Bay 15-9 12 9 126/93 NR/NR

Others receiving votes
San Marcos (18-5, 6 points), Rancho Buena Vista (18-6, 6), San Diego Southwest (22-2, 3), University City (17-7,1).

First-place votes in parenthesis.
Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
Bold entries in columns are up-to-date rankings followed by previous.
Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max Preps’ represent state rankings. NR—Not ranked.

Records as of Monday, Jan. 29.

VOTING PANEL

  • John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune
  • Aaron Burgin, Fulltime Hoops
  • Steve Brand, Eric Williams, Freelance writers
  • John Kentera, Freelance Contributor
  • Rick Smith, partletonsports.com
  • Adam Paul, eastcountysports.com
  • Bodie Silva, scorebooklive.com
  • Braden Suprenant 97.3 FM The Fan
  • Steve Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9-FM
  • Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez, CIF San Diego Section.
  • Rex Johnson, CIF Advisory Committee
  • Joe Evangelist, San Diego Coaching Legends Committee.
  • Tom Helmantoler, Advisor Southern Conference
  • Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association
  • Maxpreps