North Jersey Top 25 girls basketball rankings loaded with contenders
Greg Tartaglia
The first North Jersey tournament winner of February will be known by the end of the week. Contenders are peppered throughout this week’s Top 25 rankings.
Even with the change to a “tiered” divisional system, the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference is holding its 10th girls basketball playoff, featuring every division winner.
Glen Rock (9-1 Colonial), the reigning champ, is ranked No. 7 this week and has a bye to the semifinals, along with No. 21 Secaucus (8-2 Meadowlands), a three-time NJIC champ.
Both Secaucus and No. 25 Midland Park (9-1 American) qualified for the tourney on tiebreakers. The Panthers jumped into this week’s rankings after defeating Emerson, 48-33, to earn a season split.
Midland Park ended the Feb. 2 contest on an 8-0 run that proved to be critical – since Emerson won the first game by 10, getting those last eight points allowed the Panthers to come out plus-5 in head-to-head scoring, which broke the tie.
Secaucus finished plus-9 against Hasbrouck Heights, surviving a 47-34 Aviator win on Feb. 2 that left both teams at 8-2 in division. If not for a late-January upset by Cresskill, Eastern Christian (7-3 Meadowlands) might have made it a three-way deadlock.
All six NJIC Tournament entrants received Top-25 consideration this week, including unbeaten division winners Dwight-Englewood (10-0 National) and North Arlington (10-0 Patriot).
Waldwick (9-1 Liberty), meanwhile, can make the first addition to its league-title banner in 31 years. The Warriors’ last entry had been the 1995 B-PSL Carpenter Division crown, which closed the career of longtime coach (and 300-game winner) Bob Klie.
The first-round matchups on Feb. 9: Dwight-Englewood at Waldwick and North Arlington at Midland Park, with winners advancing to the Feb. 12 semifinals.
Top 25 rankings
- Immaculate Heart (16-3)
- DePaul (13-3)
- Demarest (17-2)
- Teaneck (12-7)
- Ramapo (18-3)
- Old Tappan (14-4)
- Glen Rock (15-5)
- Saddle River Day (14-8)
- River Dell (14-4)
- Ridgewood (12-6)
- Pascack Valley (13-8)
- Westwood (13-6)
- Rutherford (14-7)
- Fair Lawn (12-9)
- Northern Highlands (10-9)
- Mahwah (13-6)
- Eastside (12-7)
- Ridgefield Park (16-5)
- Passaic Tech (13-5)
- Ramsey (11-7)
- Secaucus (14-6)
- Eastern Christian (13-5)
- Leonia (11-9)
- Wayne Hills (10-8)
- Midland Park (14-6)
Also considered: Cresskill (12-11), Dwight-Englewood (13-3), Emerson (16-5), Hasbrouck Heights (11-10), North Arlington (18-4), Waldwick (14-7).
Records through Sunday’s games
