Only slight changes involving area teams were noted on Thursday morning, as the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association (MBCA) released its most recent poll. Of note, the Chillicothe Lady Hornets, in their first year returning to Class 4, are up one spot to the #2 ranking, behind #1 ranked Incarnate Word Academy. Chillicothe’s only loss this season, in late December, came at Class 5, #5 ranked Columbia Hickman. Lady Hornet rivals in the Midland Empire Conference, Benton and Smithville, are ranked #7 and #10 respectively.
In Class 3, the Trenton Lady Bulldogs, heading into a conference road test at Milan tonight at the Hamilton Tournament next week, slipped one spot to #8. Trenton has only two losses this season, both coming against Class 4 state-ranked squads (Chillicothe and Smithville). A potential Trenton road-block in postseason play could be the Boonville Lady Pirates, ranked #5 this week in Class 3, with a season record of 13-1. Monroe City replaces Trenton at #7, with the Lady Panthers sitting at 13-1. Strafford, at 17-0, continues to be #1 ranked in Class 3 girls.
In the state’s biggest class, Jefferson City High School is 13-0 and ranked #1 in Class 5 girls. The Mercer girls hold steady at #2 in Class 1, with a trip to Grundy County tonight (Friday night), the Lady Cardinals homecoming game with Linn County on Saturday night, and the Meadville Tournament next week, where Dan Owens’ team has the #1 seed. Walnut Grove is top-ranked, with Jefferson #4, Mound City #5, Southwest Livingston #8, and Norborne #9.
The Clopton Lady Hawks are top-ranked in Class 2 girls, with Scotland County at #9 and Mid-Buchanan ranked #10.
In the MBCA boy’s poll, the Winston Redbirds remain #1 in Class 1 for the second consecutive week, with Eric Lewis’ team remaining unbeaten on Thursday night with a 50 point win (71-21) at Gilman City. Walnut Grove is second, followed by Glasgow, North Andrew, and Advance. North Andrew faces a stiff road test tonight (Friday night) at #8 ranked Braymer, as the Bobcats look to rebound from a Tuesday night loss to St. Joseph Christian. Jefferson’s boys are ranked #9.
The defending state champion Hartville Eagles remain #1 in Class 2 boys poll, with Stanberry holding steady at #3. Wellington-Napoleon is #5 and Knox County #9, with Salisbury in the 10 spot.
Southern Boone leads the Class 3 boys poll, with Vashon on top of Class 4, and Chaminade leading Class 5.
2016-2017 MBCA Basketball Poll #6 (Release 1/19)
The MBCA Basketball poll is selected by a panel of coaches representing each of the 8 MBCA districts and each of the five Missouri basketball classes.
GIRLS
Class 1
1 Walnut Grove 12-2
2 North Mercer 11-1
3 Leeton 11-0
4 Jefferson 13-1
5 Mound City 10-3
6 Wheatland 12-1
7 Higbee 10-2
8 Southwest (Livingston County) 9-2
9 Norborne 8-2
10 Rock Port 9-3
Class 2
1 Clopton 12-0
2 Skyline 13-2
3 Gainesville 14-0
4 Norwood 13-1
5 Thayer 14-1
6 Purdy 11-1
7 New Franklin 11-3
8 Spokane 14-2
9 Scotland County 9-1
10 Mid Buchanan 13-1
Class 3
1 Strafford 17-0
2 St. James 17-0
3 Father Tolton 13-1
4 Southern Boone 12-2
5 Boonville 13-1
6 Central (Park Hills) 13-2
7 Monroe City 13-1
8 Trenton 12-2
9 Whitfield 10-6
10 California 10-3
Class 4
1 Incarnate Word 13-1
2 Chillicothe 12-1
3 MICDS 13-1
4 Carl Junction 8-1
5 Parkway North 10-2
6 Pacific 12-2
7 Benton (St. Joseph) 7-3
8 Sullivan 10-2
9 Osage 9-2
10 Smithville 10-4
Class 5
1 Jefferson City 13-0
2 Kirkwood 11-2
3 Washington 11-1
4 Rock Bridge 11-2
5 Hickman 11-2
6 Lees Summit North 11-0
7 Blue Springs South 8-2
8 Kickapoo 13-3
9 Jackson 9-2
10 Lebanon 8-4
BOYS
Class 1
1 Winston 15-0
2 Walnut Grove 14-1
3 Glasgow 11-0
4 North Andrew 13-0
5 Advance 10-2
6 Scott County Central 10-4
7 Hermitage 13-2
8 Braymer 12-1
9 Jefferson 10-4
10 Greenfield 10-3
Class 2
1 Hartville 13-2
2 Thayer 14-2
3 Stanberry 11-1
4 Lincoln 13-1
5 Wellington-Napoleon 12-1
6 Newburg 12-2
7 Marionville 12-1
8 Ellington 10-2
9 Knox County 12-3
10 Salisbury 9-3
Class 3
1 Southern Boone 12-0
2 Cardinal Ritter 12-4
3 Charleston 12-2
4 Caruthersville 8-1
5 Licking 12-2
6 Lamar 11-1
7 Mountain Grove 11-2
8 Saxony Lutheran 15-1
9 Summit Christian Academy 11-2
10 Monroe City 12-1
Class 4
1 Vashon 10-2
2 St. Mary’s 14-1
3 Sikeston 10-2
4 Helias 11-2
5 Farmington 11-2
6 Jennings 13-3
7 Parkway West 9-3
8 Hillsboro 13-1
9 Bolivar 13-2
10 Center-Kansas City 9-2
Class 5
1 Chaminade 13-1
2 Lee’s Summit West 11-1
3 SLUH 12-4
4 Webster Groves 10-2
5 Nixa 12-1
6 Kickapoo 11-4
7 Park Hill 11-1
8 Liberty 9-3
9 Park Hill South 9-3
10 Republic 11-5
