The Sporting News national high school girls basketball top 25 rankings: LuHi is No. 1; St. Mary's (Stockton) debuts

The Sporting News national high school girls basketball top 25 rankings: LuHi is No. 1; St. Mary's (Stockton) debuts originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Here are The Sporting News national high school girls basketball rankings for the week of Dec. 22.

Long Island Lutheran is the new No. 1 team, St. Mary's (Stockton) makes its 2025-26 debut to the top 25, and two previously ranked teams have returned from the bubble.

PREVIOUS RANKINGS: Preseason | Dec. 1 | Dec. 8 | Dec. 15

Top 25 High School Girls Basketball Rankings

1. Long Island Lutheran (NY) (7-0 – 3rd)

No stranger to being ranked No. 1 in the nation, LuHi has quickly piled up some eyebrow-raising wins without any losses. The Crusaders have beaten the likes of Bishop McNamara, St. John's, Bullis, and Fairmont Prep with all but Bishop McNamara getting blown out. On Monday they look to beat Bishop McNamara for the second time with a Nike TOC crown on the line.

2. Ontario Christian (CA) (14-0 – 2nd)

Just as worthy a choice for No. 1 with Archbishop Mitty going down, Ontario Christian hasn't beaten any teams currently ranked in the top 25 but has put an absolute hurting on some elite teams. Over the weekend at HoopFest in Paradise, it beat Riverdale Ridge 77-47 and Incarnate Word Academy 81-43.

3. DME Academy (FL) (11-0 – 5th)

While DME doesn't have nearly the resume of LuHi and Ontario Christian yet, it's the only other team that's been good enough every time on the floor to be in their tier entering the final week of December. Last week it blew out another elite team, previously unbeaten Virginia Academy, by a score of 72-42.

4. Legion Prep (TX) (7-1 – 6th)

LPA will need more big-name wins to hang around in the national contenders tier even though its 20-point loss to DME Academy was nearly a month ago. But the Bulldogs have been steady since then. They held off Grind Prep 76-70 last time out.

5. Bishop McNamara (MD) (6-2 – 18th)

Bishop McNamara was bound to bounce back after losing to St. Frances Academy in a stunner, and now that St. Frances Academy has started losing, that means the rankings simply must get weird. The Mustangs' other loss was competitively to Long Island Lutheran, and they're currently on a run of beating Bishop Gorman, Albertus Magnus, Newcastle, San Ramon Valley, and Archbishop Mitty, with the last three games occurring at the Nike TOC. One could validly argue that the Mustangs should be penalized more for the St. Frances loss from not even two weeks ago, but that'd messy up the rankings even more – and the Mustangs seem to have turned a corner.

6. Archbishop Mitty (CA) (8-1 – 1st last week)

Admittedly, Mitty wasn't expected to be the No. 1 team in the country with McKenna Woliczko not yet back from injury. The Monarchs nearly took down Bishop McNamara in the Nike TOC semifinals even without her, which goes to show just how scary they'll be at full strength. Before that 53-50 loss, Archbishop Mitty blew out Homewood-Flossmoor 55-17 and crushed previously unbeaten DPAC, which was fresh off an upset of Etiwanda, 76-44.

7. Sierra Canyon (CA) (9-1 – 8th)

Like Ontario Christian, Sierra Canyon dispatched Incarnate Word Academy (59-48) and Riverdale Ridge (70-51) by double digits at HoopFest in Paradise. Neither win was as much of a statement, but they are still par for the course for a team with national championship ambitions and Jerzy Robinson back from injury.

8. SPIRE Academy (OH) (3-0 – 7th)

Dormant until the new calendar. Jan. 19 will bring a showdown with in-state power Winton Woods, which has won 35 games in a row.

9. Princess Anne (VA) (7-0 – 10th)

Business as usual. Princess Anne blew out Ocean Lakes and First Colonial by a combined score of 183-45 last week.

10. Johnston (IA) (9-0 – 11th)

Tell us if you've heard this one a few times in recent years: Johnston nearly fell to Dowling Catholic but narrowly survived a grueling defensive battle to stay undefeated. After edging out Northwest 47-41 and Dowling Catholic 46-43, the Dragons got going offensively to beat Urbandale 78-38 and Minnesota heavyweight Wayzata 73-58.

11. Tualatin (OR) (4-0 – 16th)

With some of Oregon's top programs experiencing rebuilding years, it might be even harder than last year to get an exact read on Tualatin in 2025-26 via in-state competition. But on Friday and Saturday they have a chance to make a statement against Washington stalwarts Davis and Union.

12. Corona Centennial (CA) (0-0 – 15th)

With the CIF-SS transfer sit-out period about to end, this week is the week for the revamped Huskies to make their debut. After what should be a few blowout wins, they take on none other than Sierra Canyon next Tuesday at Rancho Mirage's Desert Holiday Classic.

13. Montverde Academy (FL) (8-1 – 23rd)

The three-point Faith Family Academy loss is now almost a month old. It's both depreciating in impact and still weighing MVA down nine spots in the rankings for now. In addition to beating St. John's, the Eagles have also taken down Cresset Christian Academy and Canadian powerhouse Fort Erie International since then.

14. St. John's (DC) (6-2 – 19th)

St. John's rises as Montverde Academy is punished less over time for a November loss to Faith Family Academy, but it's still been a relatively rough couple weeks for the Cadets. After getting upended by Montverde, they lost 69-44 to Long Island Lutheran and nearly got upset by formidable Elizabeth Seton but survived 55-51 in overtime.

15. Bullis (MD) (7-2 – 20th)

Sandwiched between the November loss to St. John's and Saturday's blowout loss at the hands of LuHi were wins over Bishop Ireton, St. Francis (Alpharetta), IMG Academy, Georgetown Day, Lone Peak, and Millennium. Monday's game against Archbishop Mitty is worth third place at the Nike TOC's Vincent Cannizzaro Division and several spots in the rankings.

16. Westlake (TX) (20-0 – 21st)

Still climbing as other teams nearby in the rankings fall, and that trend might continue even with Westlake's regular season schedule providing few challenges from here on out. The Chaparrals do need to watch out at the Leander Glenn Holiday Classic, however, for a Tivy team that just upset Texas' other 20-0 team that was in the top 25, Wagner.

17. Westtown (PA) (5-1 – 4th)

After a shocking 50-48 to powerful upstart Cresset Christian Academy – which is still on the bubble with three losses – Westtown retains its spot for now in part due to pedigree. The Moose are anchored by a win over St. James, which has already beaten a handful of outstanding teams but technically doesn't have a win against top-25 competition.

18. The St. James Performance Academy (VA) (7-3 – 9th)

When the Strivers lost 61-52 to Westtown on Dec. 6, we didn't expect that to be much of a liability in the rankings. But then Westtown fell to Cresset Christian Academy, which had recently suffered a three-game slide to Montverde Academy, IMG Academy, and Aussie Travelers, and now St. James is in a tough spot with that representing one of its three losses. On the bright side, St. James made the most of HoopFest in Paradise with wins over Fort Erie International, which was fresh off an 18-point win over IMG Academy, and Faith Family Academy.

19. IMG Academy (FL) (10-2 – 22nd)

As good as Fort Erie International is, a 66-48 loss to the Canadian powerhouse is concerning for the Ascenders. They did bounce back to outduel Faith Family Academy, which happened to beat IMG's rival, Montverde Academy, in November.

20. St. Mary's-Stockton (CA) (9-0 – Bubble)

CLIFFORD OTO/THE STOCKTON RECORD / USA TODAY NETWORK

St. Mary's enters the top 25 not for any particular win in the past week or two but its overall body of work and unbeaten record. The Rams possess wins including San Ramon Valley, Kamehameha Kapalama, Carondelet, and slew of other state-ranked California teams. And their roster passes the eye test featuring 4-star G Kori Rogers, 6-foot-4 P Evelini Smith (Oregon State), and 6-foot-1 blue chip freshman Dylan Horton. Their next game happens to be against an Etiwanda team that will have star transfers Tess Oldenburg and Jaylee Moore available starting Dec. 26.

21. San Ramon Valley (CA) (10-2 – Bubble)

Despite its losses to Bishop McNamara and St. Mary's (Stockton), San Ramon Valley ends up with its highest ranking yet after rolling 58-29 on a DPAC team that beat reigning California and disputed national champion Etiwanda.

22. Democracy Prep Agassi Campus (NV) (4-2 – 13th)

Losing by 30 points to Archbishop Mitty and San Ramon Valley is deflating after a win over Etiwanda, but DPAC still has to love its start to the 2025-26 season. It has a prime opportunity for another marquee win to close the Nike TOC on Monday facing Bartlett.

23. Etiwanda (CA) (6-1 – 14th)

After a loss to DPAC, the last thing Etiwanda needed in regard to its ranking stock was for DPAC to get crushed by Northern California powerhouses Archbishop Mitty and San Ramon Valley at Nike TOC. On the bright side, the Eagles are now just a few days away from debuting star transfers Tess Oldenburg from Chino and Jaylee Moore from Caruthers, both of whom stand between 6-2 and 6-3. As usual, the reigning national champion will almost certainly elevate to another ballpark of play after the first month of its season.

24. Arrowhead (WI) (7-0 – 25th)

Arrowhead breezed past Oconomowoc 84-56 in its only game. It'll head into winter break unbeaten if it can avoid upset against Edgewood on Monday.

25. Belleville (MI) (3-0 – Bubble)

The Tigers cracked the top 25 earlier in the month and slid to the bubble for no fault of their own when a few other teams recorded marquee wins. Belleville is still early in its season but will have a good opportunity to make noise on Tuesday facing Indiana juggernaut Lawrence Central.

Sporting News high school girls basketball top 25 bubble

Bishop Gorman (NV)

Bradley Central (TN)

Clovis West (CA)

Cresset Christian Academy (NC)

Faith Family Academy (TX)

Friends' Central (PA)

Hoover (AL)

Incarnate Word Academy (MO)

Lincoln Christian (OK)

Menchville (VA)

Millennium (AZ)

Minnetonka (MN)

Paul VI (NJ)

Putnam City North (OK)

Red Bank Catholic (NJ)

Riverdale Ridge (CO)

St. Frances Academy (MD)

St. John Vianney (NJ)

Valley (IA)

Virginia Academy (VA)