A hectic and competitive two-week stretch in which most of the area’s girls’ basketball teams participated in holiday tournaments — some as far as California, others right in D.C. — concluded with the same top three that has held all season: Sidwell Friends, St. John’s and Bishop McNamara.
Just about everywhere else, there was chaos.
The new year begins with six teams exiting the rankings and six new teams, headlined by No. 9 Archbishop Carroll, joining the Top 20. Though Bishop McNamara snapped the Lions’ nine-game winning streak Saturday, Carroll has otherwise held its own against local and national competition, with a win over Georgetown Visitation on Dec. 18 officially stamping the Northeast Washington program as a legitimate competitor. It looks to finish with its first winning record in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference since the 2007-08 season — though with five WCAC teams above it, that’s far from a given.
Elsewhere, Briar Woods and Hammond join the Top 20 for the first time this season after spotless starts, while St. Mary’s (Annapolis), Osbourn Park and Robinson also make their returns after brief spells outside the rankings.