The Girls Basketball season started roughly two weeks ago and now it is time for our first edition of the weekly Power 5 Rankings.
As a disclaimer, let us first note that NEO Sports Insiders coverage only includes schools from the following conferences:
Great Lakes Conference
Greater Cleveland Conference
Patriot Athletic Conference
Southwest Conference
We understand there are great schools all across Northeast Ohio and these rankings do not mean that those schools are any worse or better than the ones in our coverage area.
With that being said, here are our latest rankings as of Dec. 5.
1) Elyria Catholic Panthers (4-0)
The Panthers have gotten off to an impressive start, not only going 4-0, but beating some of the toughest schools in the region, including Keystone (3-1), Normandy (2-1), and Holy Name (2-1).
Sophomore point guard Faith Williams is right up there with the best players in the area, averaging 15.8 points per game.
EC went 24-4 last year and was eliminated in a regional final by Hathaway Brown. If the Panthers continue to play like this, they could go even further in 2017.
2) Solon Comets (1-1)
The Comets opened up their season with a tough game in Indiana against Lawrence North and fell 58-52. They followed that up with an impressive 81-33 blowout win over Elyria. Solon is coming off of reaching the Division I Final Four and looks to be in the mix for another trip to Columbus. Solon has an intriguing matchup against Euclid this week, which features two of the top teams in the Greater Cleveland Conference.
3) Keystone Wildcats (3-1)
The Wildcats would be 4-0 were it not for a one-point loss to Elyria Catholic. Keystone has four senior starters and is looking to dominate the Patriot Athletic Conference for a third-straight year, led by McKenah Peters, who has scored 20 or more points in all four games – averaging 25 per game so far.
4) Berea-Midpark Titans (2-0)
It doesn’t get much more dominant than what the Titans did in their first two games, beating North Olmsted 82-44 and Avon 65-33. Jada Marone led the way in both games, scoring 19 in each of the two opening contests. The junior guard is certainly a player to watch and the Titans look like one of the early favorites to contend for the Southwestern Conference crown.
5) Euclid Panthers (2-0)
Euclid started off the season as great as one could hope, defeating Barberton 50-32 and Strongsville 54-52. The Panthers were eliminated by Solon in a regional semi-final in 2016 and this year will be a chance for revenge, as Euclid looks to challenge Solon for the conference title. That match on Dec. 7 should give a good idea of how realistic a threat the Panthers pose to the Comets.
In the Mix
Mentor (2-0), Amherst Steele (2-1), Olmsted Falls (2-1), Holy Name (2-1), Westlake (2-1), Lakewood (2-1), Parma (2-1), Normandy (2-1), Avon (1-2)
Our next rankings will be published next Monday, as this week’s slate of games features some intriguing matchups.
To view the latest scores and standings, click here and be sure to follow @NEOSportsInside on Twitter for updates all season long.
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