Every other week, Outside the Huddle will break down the top 10 teams on the girls side, starting with today’s first Power Poll of the regular season.
Sure, Bounce gave you his top 5 girls teams heading into the season but now that the girls have three weeks of games under their belts, what does a true top 10 look like?
Keep in mind when you see this season’s best win/worst loss category, a bad loss could be a bad one by point total or a big game or a team you shouldn’t lose to. A good win may come by point total but likely has to do with the best team on your schedule you have beaten.
#1 – HOMESTEAD (6-0)
The Spartans were our preseason #1 and have shown no reason to take them out of that spot yet. They beat a very game Norwell and then later in the week they topped a surprising Concordia team by 49 points before winning at Noblesville on Saturday. This is going to be a tough team to move out of this spot.
WHY NOT HIGHER?
Doesn’t get higher.
BEST WIN/WORST LOSS: 76-66 win over Norwell; No losses
#2 – WARSAW (7-0)
Warsaw has been dominant and kudos to Brooke Zartman for her stellar start. They have a lot of quality wins including two this past Saturday over Merrillville and Crown Point where Zartman hit a total of 14 three pointers and broke the program’s all-time three point record.
WHY NOT HIGHER?
They started 2nd, so we will have them there for now.
BEST WIN/WORST LOSS: 74-50 win over Norwell; no losses
#3 – NORWELL (4-3)
The Knights are playing a bonafide murder’s row of teams to start this season, so losses to Homestead, Warsaw and Northridge actually move them into the top 5, a place they were not this preseason with so many questions about player replacement. Those three losses are to teams with a combined 18-1 record and Norwell has lost to Northridge by just three and Homestead by 10.
WHY NOT HIGHER?
Well, they do have three losses.
BEST WIN/WORST LOSS: 62-57 win over Northrop; 57-54 loss to Northridge
#4 – EASTSIDE (5-0)
The Blazers have done what has been expected so far and after starting at #5 in the preseason, there is no reason to consider moving them down or keeping them stagnant. Their wins aren’t the most impressive in terms of opponents but there is something to be said about a team that still just goes to work no matter who is against them. And they already hold a dominant win over one of their best competitors in the NECC.
WHY NOT HIGHER?
Tougher competition for the teams ranked above them.
BEST WIN/WORST LOSS: 59-37 win over Fremont; no losses
#5 – BELLMONT (5-0)
Big time Bellmont had a solid start but their dominant win over the ACAC favorite Jay County certainly opens more eyes. We expect JC to roll, especially with some known names. But Bellmont does things different and Andy Heim’s program has just gotten so good, I am not sure why Bounce questions them much.
WHY NOT HIGHER?
Maybe I am just trying to make them mad on X again this season?
BEST WIN/WORST LOSS: 66-47 win over Jay County; no losses
#6 – COLUMBIA CITY (4-1)
The Addison Baxter show has already been a fun one to watch. She has, throughout all of the Eagles wins, done basically whatever she wants on the floor. Congrats too for coach Amy Shearer for picking up her 200th win last week!
WHY NOT HIGHER?
Only half of their wins come against teams with above .500 records and those two teams are a combined 7-5.
BEST WIN/WORST LOSS: 54-42 win over Snider; 57-53 loss to Fishers
#7 – NORTHROP (3-2)
Northrop was a preseason top 5 team and they haven’t done enough to stay there but aren’t going to fall too far yet. Swynn Jackson and Khala Williams-Thomas are one of the area’s best 1-2 punches, as shown this past weekend in a dominant win over Whitko; that said, the Wildcats are the only team in Northrop’s win column with a winning record to date.
WHY NOT HIGHER?
Two losses and that one to Concordia may end up being a not good loss depending on what lies ahead for the Cadets.
BEST WIN/WORST LOSS: 63-54 win over Carroll; 62-57 loss to Concordia
#8 – DEKALB (4-0)
The Barons are the lowest undefeated on this list, but undefeated they are never the less. They are winning by an average of 12 points per game and only one win has come by less than that, being a surprisingly close one against Central Noble.
WHY NOT HIGHER?
Their wins aren’t over as high of profile competition as those above them.
BEST WIN/WORST LOSS: 54-42 win over Bishop Luers; no losses
#9 – CARROLL (2-2)
Carroll opened 2-0 and is now 2-2. They have a big perk in the fact that Cala Haffner has broken out as well as she has. They will have the chance to prove a lot coming up with their own tough schedule; the next easiest game on their schedule is against conference foe Wayne but thats in 9 games on December 20.
WHY NOT HIGHER?
The loss to Northrop was a real buzzkill. They’ve now lost two games in a row.
BEST WIN/WORST LOSS: 63-59 win over Fishers; 63-54 loss to Northrop
#10 – SNIDER (4-3)
Snider, with a less than experienced core, has been pretty solid to start the season. Opening weekend saw them battle hard and they’ve won the games they should win. We don’t know enough about the Panthers yet, but we do know they are being fun to watch.
WHY NOT HIGHER?
Three losses are three losses. Though they were against quality teams. The gap in the loss to Warsaw is essentially the difference between 2nd and 10th this week.
BEST WIN/WORST LOSS: 40-33 win over Lake Central; 74-45 loss to Warsaw
IN THE CONVERSATION
Bluffton (5-1)
Southern Wells (5-1)
Fairfield (5-2)
Fremont (5-2)
Lakewood Park (4-1)
East Noble (4-1)
Leo (4-2)
Bishop Luers (3-1)
Concordia (3-3)
These opinions represent those of Bounce and Outside the Huddle. No opinions expressed on Outside the Huddle represent those of any of our advertisers. Follow Bounce on Twitter at Bounce_OTH
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