Oklahoma Girls High School Basketball: Week Eight Rankings and Predictions

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

There were a lot of tournaments scheduled for this past weekend, and there were a lot of games cancelled due to the blanket of ice and snow that covered the state. For the first time this season there is a new number one team, but not due to head to head matchup.

No. 1 Edmond Santa Fe (Previously No. 2)

Edmond Santa Fe (10-0) picked up sixteen first-place votes to claim the top spot, despite not playing a game since the new year. The Lady Wolves hold the No. 6 offense, No. 3 defense, and No. 5 margin of victory in 6A and will return to action Friday when they host their toughest opponent yet, No. 5 Deer Creek (9-1), who is also undefeated within the conference.

The pick: Deer Creek 48 ESF 47.

No. 2 Choctaw (1)

Choctaw (10-1) brought in eleven first-place votes and slipped from the number-one spot for the first time this season, despite a dominating 85-17 performance over Northwest Classen (3-4) in the first round of the Ada Tournament. Their only loss this season was 52-45 to 4A No. 1 Ft. Gibson (9-0) at the Tournament of Champions.

The Yellowjackets hold the No. 2 offense, No. 1 defense, and No. 1 margin of victory in 6A and will return to action Tuesday at 5A No. 13 Del City (4-6). They will also take on unranked Putnam City North (1-9) Friday. 

The picks:
Choctaw 70 Del 41
Choctaw 75 PCN 34

No. 3 Sand Springs (3)

Sand Springs (7-0) didn't get to play the whole Muskogee tournament, but they got in a 60-46 victory over Providence Academy before the ice storm hit and received two first-place votes. As always, the scoring was spread out with seven Lady Sandites on the scoreboard and three in double digits, led by sophomore Holly Kersgieter with a career-best 16. 

The Lady Sandites hold the No. 5 offense, No. 2 defense, and No. 3 margin of victory in 6A. They will return to action Tuesday at unranked Muskogee (3-4), then will host unranked Bixby (3-7) on Friday. 

The picks:
CPHS 55 Muskogee 42
CPHS 55 Bixby 43

No. 4 Putnam City West (4)

Putnam West (10-1) handily swept the Putnam City Invitational last week with two blowouts and received one first-place vote. They dominated the OKC Storm (11-2) 70-49, topped in-town rival Putnam City (4-5) 81-72, then stomped No. 15 Union (6-3) 67-41. The Patriots hold the No. 1 offense, No. 14 defense, and No. 2 margin of victory in 6A. They will return to action Tuesday when they host unranked Lawton (3-4). 

The pick: PCW 60 Lawton 43

No. 5 Deer Creek (5) 

Deer Creek (9-1) is still undefeated in 6A with their only loss coming to 5A No. 1 Collinsville (9-1). Last week they topped Class A No. 12 Ft. Cobb-Broxton (11-5) 71-36, 4A No. 10 Blanchard (8-3) 59-40, and 4A No. 8 Anadarko (7-3) 46-40 in the Anadarko Tourrnament. 

The Antlers hold the No. 7 offense, No. 9 defense, and No. 7 margin of victory in 6A. They will return to action Friday at No. 1 Edmond Santa Fe (10-0). 

No. 6 Westmoore (6)

Westmoore (8-3) dropped a 51-48 upset to No. 9 Norman North (7-2) last week, then came in second at their home tournament, defeating the OKC Knights (3-8) 78-26 and No. 18 Sapulpa (5-4) 72-38 before falling 68-52 in the finals to 4A No. 2 Harrah (10-1). Junior Jessi Murcer led the team with 24.3 points per game, followed by freshman sister Kristen with 13.6. 

The Jaguars hold the No. 3 offense, No. 10 defense, and No. 6 margin of victory in 6A and will return to action Friday when they host No. 13 Edmond Memorial (5-4).

The pick: Westmoore 54 EDM 41.

No. 7 Booker T. Washington (7)

Booker T. Washington (9-3) had a rough time at the Westmoore Tournament last week, dropping two games by a single point. They dominated unranked Enid (4-9) 69-38 in the first round before falling 44-43 to 4A No. 2 Harrah (10-1) and 53-52 to No. 18 Sapulpa (5-4). 

The Lady Hornets hold the No. 4 offense, No. 4 defense, and No. 4 margin of victory in 6A and will return to action Tuesday when they host unranked 4A Will Rogers (8-4). On Friday they will travel to another unranked 4A opponent in Tulsa Central (2-6). 

The picks:
BTW 61 Rogers 46
BTW 61 Central 32

No. 8 Norman North (9)

Norman North (7-2) bumped up a spot in the rankings after topping No. 6 Westmoore (8-3) at home last week. The Timberwolves hold the No. 8 offense, No. 12 defense, and No. 9 margin of victory in 6A and will return to action Friday when they travel to No. 18 Yukon (7-4). 

The pick: NN 50 Yukon 45.

No. 9 Norman (8)

Norman (7-2) slipped a spot in the rankings after a bye week, but will get the chance to make up for it Tuesday when they travel to No. 14 Mustang (4-4) and Thursday when they host No. 17 Edmond North (5-4). The Tigers hold the No. 9 offense, No. 8 defense, and No. 8 margin of victory in 6A.

The picks:
Norman 50 Mustang 43
Norman 49 EDN 46. 

No. 10 Owasso (10)

Owasso (7-5) won two of three games last week at the Skiatook Tournament, defeating the 5A No. 11 host team (6-3) 53-42 before falling 52-47 to 5A No. 12 Pryor (6-4). In the consolations they topped No. 16 Mustang (4-4) 46-42. Terryn Milton led the team with 14 points per game, closely followed by Mya Bhinhar with 13.6.

The Lady Rams hold the No. 19 offense and No. 19 margin of victory in 6A and will return to action Tuesday when they host unranked Jenks (2-5). They will travel to No. 12 Union (6-3) Friday).

The picks:
Owasso 52 Jenks 46
Union 48 Owasso 44

No. 11 Midwest City (13)

Midwest City (7-4) made a statement last week with a 65-32 blowout over Lawton (3-4). The Bombers hold the No. 15 offense, No. 16 defense, and No. 14 margin of victory in 6A and will return to action Tuesday when they host 5A unranked Lawton Eisenhower (2-7). 

The pick: MWC 50 Ike 42.

No. 12 Union (15)

Union (6-3) received a bump in the rankings after winning two of three games at the Putnam City Invitational. They dominated Putnam City North (1-9) 62-31 and No. 11 Edmond Memorial (6-4) 52-29 before falling 67-41 to No. 4 Putnam City West (10-1). The Redskins hold the No. 16 offense, No. 4 defense, and No. 12 margin of victory in 6A and will return to action Tuesday when they host 5A No. 15 Bishop Kelley (3-4), then will host No. 10 Owasso (7-5) on Friday. 

The pick: Union 49 BK 39.

No. 13 Edmond Memorial (11)

Edmond Memorial (6-4) won two out of three games at last week's Putnam City Invitational, but dropped a 52-29 upset to No. 15 Union (6-3). They defeated Southmoore (2-7) 47-28 and Putnam City (4-6) 51-47. The Bulldogs hold the No. 17 defense in 6A and will return to action Tuesday when they host unranked Stillwater (2-8), then will travel to No. 6 Westmoore (8-3) on Friday. 

The pick: EDM 47 Stillwater 42

No. 14 Mustang (16)

Mustang (4-4) got a nice bump in the rankings after a 46-43 overtime win over No. 12 Bartlesville (4-5) in the first round of the Skiatook Tournament, despite falling 52-45 to 4A No. 1 Ft. Gibson (9-0) and 46-42 to No. 10 Owasso (7-5). Senior Abby Niehues led in two out of three games with an average score of 12. The girls hold the No. 18 defense and No. 17 margin of victory in 6A and will return to action Tuesday when they host No. 9 Norman (7-2) and unranked Southmoore (2-7) on Friday. 

The pick: Mustang 50 Southmoore 41.

No. 15 Bartlesville (12)

Bartlesville (4-5) took a drop in the rankings after winning only one of two games at the Skiatook Tournament. They fell 46-43 to No. 16 Mustang, hammered 4A McLain (2-7) 52-18, then lost 56-50 to 5A No. 11 Skiatook (6-3). The Bruins hold the No. 6 defense and No. 15 margin of victory in 6A and will return to action Tuesday at unranked Bixby (5-7), then will host No. 18 Sapulpa (5-4) on Friday. 

The picks:
Bartlesville 48 Bixby 45
Bartlesville 43 Sapulpa 38.

No. 16 Broken Arrow (14)

Broken Arrow (5-5) fell a few spots in the rankings after winning only one of two games at the Skiatook Tournament. They fell 38-35 to 5A No. 12 Pryor (6-4) and 52-48 to 5A No. 11 Skiatook (6-3) in overtime before getting a 48-40 win over 4A unranked McLain (2-7). Kinsey Callen led the team with an average of 13 points per game, followed by Jalise Smallwood with 9.6. The Tigers hold the No. 11 defense in 6A and will return to action Tuesday at No. 19 Sapulpa (5-4).

The pick: BA 45 Sapulpa 44. 

No. 17 Edmond North (17)

Edmond North (5-4) held on to their position in the rankings after a bye week. The Huskies hold the No. 13 offense, No. 15 defense, and No. 13 margin of victory in 6A and will return to action Tuesday at unranked Southmoore (2-7), then will travel to No. 9 Norman (7-2) on Thursday.

The pick: EDN 52 Southmoore 41.

No. 18 Yukon (19)

Yukon (7-4) moved up a notch after sweeping the Chickasha Tournament with three solid wins. They defeated unranked 3A Douglass (2-7) 66-51, 5A No. 16 MacArthur (5-5) 59-47, and 5A No. 17 Duncan (6-8) 69-39. The Millers hold the No. 18 offense, No. 20 defense, and No. 18 margin of victory in 6A and will return to action Friday when they host No. 8 Norman North (7-2).

No. 19 Sapulpa (18)

Sapulpa (5-4) slipped a spot in the rankings despite a pair of impressive top-ten upsets at the Westmoore Tournament this past weekend. They defeated 5A No. 10 Carl Albert (6-5) 58-48, fell 72-38 to No. 6 Westmoore (8-3), then topped No. 7 Booker T. Washington (9-3) 53-52. Kiarra Brooks led the team with 13 points per game, followed by Taylor Dement with 9.6. The Chieftains hold the No. 20 offense in 6A and will return to action Tuesday when they host No. 16 Broken Arrow (5-5). On Friday they will travel to No. 15 Bartlesville (4-5). 

No. 20 Ponca City (20)

Ponca City (6-2) held on to their spot in the rankings after dominating unranked 5A Guthrie (3-6) 57-31 and unranked Jenks (2-5) 60-44 last week. Julissa Garcia scored 18 against Jenks, followed by Baylee Fincher with 14. The Wildcats hold the No. 12 offense, No. 7 defense, and No. 10 margin of victory in 6A. They will return to action Tuesday when they host 5A No. 9 El Reno (6-4). 

The pick: Ponca 46 El Reno 45.

Conference Strength

  1. Central Oklahoma (55)
  2. Frontier Valley (39.5)
  3. Big Ten (37.8)
  4. Green Country (25.8)
  5. All-City (9.9)