| 09 January 2012
1. Granger, South Central (9-1)
Granger saw its perfect record blemished with a 65-51 loss to a solid 2B White Swan team, but the Spartans have kept the top ranking in Class 1A for at least one more week. Their résumé is still the best in 1A with a win over Cashmere and dominating wins over nearly every other opponent.
But everything could change in perhaps the most anticipated 1A match this season on January 10 when Naches Valley hosts Granger in a game that could determine the fate of the South Central league. Granger needs to win this game to hold on to this number one spot, because after this matchup, outside of Zillah, they don’t play anyone near their level.
SEE TEAMS NO. 2 THROUGH NO. 10 AFTER THE JUMP
2. Naches Valley, South Central (9-0)
Naches Valley has yet to lose a game, and with a win against Zillah last week, the Rangers are primed to take over the No. 1 spot if they can beat Granger.
3. Cashmere, Caribou League (7-2)
The Caribou League was Cashmere’s for the taking prior to last Saturday’s matchup against Okanogan. But now, after Okanogan took down Cashmere 59-57 in a game that told everyone Okanogan is for real. The relatively weak Caribou League looks like it will be a two way battle between these two teams.
However, don’t think these Bulldogs are slipping. Okanogan has been streaking through competition lately, so I wouldn’t be putting too much into this loss. In the game I saw them play against Bellevue Christian, they were almost impossible to stop in transition and athletically can compete with any 1A team.
4. Bellevue Christian, Emerald City League (9-2)
After flying down to Arizona and going 1-2 in the Judy Dixon Holiday tournament, I watched on January 3 as the Vikings struggled to scrap out a win 50-48 against an inferior team in Cedar Park Christian.
Even though they revealed some flaws against the Eagles, the Vikings are still a contender for the 1A title. BCS finally has speedy guard Rajan Hansted fully healthy (broke his collarbone during football season) and a stacked frontcourt that could contend with any 2A or 3A team.
5. Lynden Christian, Northwest Conference (9-1)
Isaac Reimer recorded triple-double with 11 points, 13 rebounds and 12 blocks to lift Lynden Christian past visiting Nooksack Valley 61-48 on January 5 for its sixth straight win.
Lynden Christian is in an interesting situation. The Northwest Conference contains a bunch of 3A and 2A teams, so it’s a serious uphill battle for the Lyncs to win the conference title. However, the team is very talented, so expect them to make noise in the 1A tournament this year.
6. Zillah, South Central (8-2)
7. King’s, Cascade Conference (9-3)
8. Chimacum, Nisqually League (8-2)
9. Okanogan, South Central (10-2)
10. Life Christian Academy, Nisqually League (8-4)
Here is a link to last week's rankings: 12/28/11
--Nathan Parsons (@nathanparsons98)
