A little bit of everything was seen during the first week and a half of tournament and regular season play --- from upsets, to darkhorses making a strong statement, to perennial powerhouses playing to their potential (say that five times fast!).
Add in some additional factors, such as injuries, and I've got my initial "CWOSSA Power Ranking" for the 2012 Senior Girls' season.
A few ground rules:
1. Injuries and/or players absent during a particular result are factored into play "to an extent". That being said, teams that have had players go down to "season ending injuries" would obviously be ranked based upon their current roster.
2. Tournament results are certainly important, but I'll put more weight on a league outing, as different coaches will approach tournaments differently --- especially early in the season. Some coaches might be trying different lineups and/or getting players more playing time at this juncture; the results are still factored in but may be adjusted depending upon circumstances that come to my attention.
3. These will be updated every Friday based upon the previous weeks' games, so expect some significant shifts, especially earlier on in the season. Of course, this is just my opinion and (I think) a fun way of trying to compare teams from across the CWOSSA region.
I've included the "preseason rank" if applicable. Here goes....
CWOSSA Senior Girls Power Ranking: Week 1
1. Waterloo Collegiate Vikings / Waterloo
Preseason Rank: 1
Based upon the previous week's results, the Vikes look like a strong favourite to repeat as WCSSAA champions. Sure, they lost Lindsay Lessard to graduation but grade 10 rookie Kaylee Anagnostopoulos has been better than advertised --- including a 25-point outing last night. Their loss at the UWO tournament came without F Alex Klein, who was on a recruiting visit to D-1 Stetson U in Florida.
2. Assumption College Lions / Brantford
Preseason Rank: 6
The Lions leap up in the rankings with a hard-fought OT win over St. John's yesterday; expect an absolute fight between those two clubs for the D5 AAAA CWOSSA berth (and, potentially, the BCSSAA title too). Grade 9 PG Rikayla Baldin was calm under pressure last night while veterans Abby Heron and Emily Gill (2 players among those that were on ACS' junior CWOSSA "AAAA" championship team a few years' back) provide leadership and scoring punch.
3. St. John's Green Eagles / Brantford
Preseason Rank: 2
It shows just how competitive the CWOSSA region is in girls' basketball when a team that finishes 2nd at a "provincially competitive" tournament is in the #3 spot in the weekly rankings. That said, there's not much separating the Green Eagles from the teams above them --- as we saw last night. Great contributions have been seen from SJC's rookies early on, including grade 11 Megan Thompson (buzzer-beater winner in the UWO tournament) and grade 9 guard Kendra VanLeeuwen (leading scorer against ACS last night with 16 points).
4. Jacob Hespeler Hawks / Cambridge (AAA)
Preseason Rank: 3
The Hawks have found the sledding tough in the early stages of league play; however, with all-star PG Taylor Dennis set to return next week, that should provide a huge boost. JHSS boasts a front-line that can compete with any team CWOSSA-wide.
5. Bluevale Knights / Waterloo
Preseason Rank: 4
The scary thing is that the Knights would be even better if it weren't for some untimely injuries (e.g. - Hannah Fishbein & Tessa Dent/out for season). Thankfully, a couple of grade 10s have been moved up (Julia Curran & Kailee Sawyer) to help fill the void. BCI boasts a strong backcourt keyed by Natalie Bishop and will be among a couple of teams fighting for one of WCSSAA's CWOSSA "AAAA" berths.
6. North Park Trojans / Brantford (AAA)
Preseason Rank: 5
Allyson DeLorenzi, Abbey Johnston and company looked strong in their league opener yesterday against Brantford CI. The true tests for them in D5, obviously, will come against SJC and ACS but a third consecutive "AAA" OFSAA appearance isn't out of the question.
7. Bishop Mac Celtics / Guelph (AA)
Preseason Rank: N/A
Strong opening-week league results, including a 58-39 win over a strong St. James team, have the Celtics again looking like a strong contender to claim their 9th consecutive "AA" CWOSSA title - but we'll see what the Lourdes Crusaders have to say about that. Rebecca Morris, Katie Labron and Andrea Priamo are the "big three" for the Celts from a scoring perspective.
8. Waterloo-Oxford Crusaders / Baden
Preseason Rank: N/A
Despite not fielding a senior team last season, a strong core of junior talent (from last year's AAA championship team) has the Crusaders making an entrance into the top 10 --- and I have a feeling they may climb higher as the season progresses.
Guard Madison Horst (19.0 PPG in WCSSAA play) has made a seamless transition to the senior ranks, while other starters from last year's junior squad (Alisha Glendinning, Rebecca Payne, Tess Pettigrew, Kyla Burrough) are off to great starts as well.
The Crusaders beat two teams that should be in the "middle of the pack" at year's end --- Preston & Elmira --- by 30+ points each, and knocked off Cameron Heights in their home tournament.
9. Cameron Heights Golden Gaels / Kitchener
Preseason Rank: N/A
Cameron announced their abilities loudly on Tuesday with a come-from-behind victory at Jacob Hespeler. With Liz McLellan leading the way, and several others (including grade 10 F Hunter Johns) providing a solid secondary scoring option, the Gaels are looking like a top-4 squad on paper. The schedule looks pretty favourable the rest of the way, so record between 9-3 and 11-1 is expected.
10. Our Lady of Lourdes Crusaders / Guelph (AA)
Preseason Rank: N/A
Lourdes mixes a solid bunch of returning veterans (Hannah Pearsall) with some up-and-coming junior talent (Charlotte Case, Monica Trimble) from last year's D10 & CWOSSA "AA" championship team. A big win against a talent-laden JF Ross squad in their D10 opener has the Crusaders cracking the top-10 this week.
Honourable Mentions:
St. James / Guelph (AAA)
Southwood / Cambridge (AAA)
JF Ross / Guelph
Resurrection / Kitchener
Grand River / Kitchener
