SBLive Arkansas Top 25 girls basketball rankings: No major upsets but Top 10 shuffles a bit

The girls Top 25 for February 14-21

By Kyle Sutherland | Photo by Sadie Rucker

There are 15 movements this week, with only three coming in the Top 10, and we did not have any major upsets for the first time in a couple of weeks. With some teams beginning the postseason and others in the higher classifications fighting for conference supremacy, we can expect to see plenty of shifts with possibly a little bit of chaos. 

Here is the girls Top 25 for February 14-21:

1. Conway (23-1)

Conway continues to flex its muscles against in-state competition after taking care of No. 18 Cabot and No. 7 Fort Smith Northside, both by double-digit margins. In the Top 10 matchup with Northside, Louisiana Tech signee Jaiden Thomas had nine points and four steals in the first quarter for the Lady Wampus Cats while top 2023 prospect Chloe Clardy led all scorers with 28 points.

2. North Little Rock (20-3) 

The Lady Charging Wildcats scored plenty of baskets this week but defense was the major story, only allowing 38 points combined to Little Rock Southwest and Mount St. Mary. Up next, are rematches with No 10 Fort Smith Northside and No 15 Bryant.

3. Melbourne (26-0) 

The Lady Bearkatz already had the 2A-2 regular season crown secured and remain undefeated defeating Sloan-Hendrix 70-18. They now set their sights on another postseason run in hopes of winning a fourth-straight state title.

4. Greenwood (18-4) 

Greenwood keeps building a case as the favorite in Class 5A after defeating thn-No. 11 Vilonia to take a comfortable lead in the West. Sophomore Anna Trusty was big against Vilonia scoring 19 points while also grabbing 8 rebounds and Abby Summit stepped up with 14. 

5. Farmington (26-1) 

The Lady Cardinals continue to fly high continuing unscathed in in-state play having already clinched the 4A-1 regular-season title and look forward to competing in the district tournament at Pea Ridge this week.

6. Lake Hamilton (21-2) 

The win streak is now at 13 for the Lady Wolves after wins over Pine Bluff along with rivals Hot Springs and Lakeside. They will host El Dorado, who is currently in third place in the 5A South, to begin the week.

7. Har-Ber (17-4) 

Senior Caylan Koons led the Lady Wildcats to a huge week, scoring 25 points against Fort Smith Southside followed by one of the top performances of the week on homecoming against Bentonville West with 31 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 steals. Har-Ber is in the driver’s seat for the 6A-West.

8. Nashville (25-2) 

The Lady Scrappers crushed Hope and Arkadelphia to cap an undefeated conference slate having only lost twice in non-conference play to No 2 North Little Rock and No 4 Greenwood. All eyes are on the district tournament to begin a state title run to Hot Springs.

9. Bentonville (15-7) 

Following a loss to Har-Ber to begin the month, the Lady Tigers have now won their past three games. They were on fire from 3-point range against Rogers Heritage with junior Ella Campbell connecting on seven of them ending with 22 points and junior Abbey Kate Sanders hitting four finishing with 18. Campbell also hit five 3-pointers against Fayetteville.

10. Northside (19-3) 

Northside is in unfamiliar territory following losses in two of their past three games. They had no issues at home against Mount St. Mary, but top-ranked Conway was too much to handle. The Lady Bears were down five at halftime but scored just one basket in the fourth quarter falling 65-46.

11. Southside Batesville (25-1) 

Another major contender in Class 4A, the Lady Southerners are winners of the 4A-3 regular season title as well as three other non-conference tournaments. Junior post Kamie Jenkins had a big final home conference game with a double-double: 17 points (5-8 shooting) and 10 rebounds to go with 4 steals and 3 blocks.

12. Bergman (34-0) 

The Lady Panthers complete an undefeated regular season and have the looks of the favorite in the very loaded Class 3A.

13. Little Rock Christian (18-3) 

The Lady Warriors are now on a three-game win streak after stubbing their toe against Benton on February 1. They start the week with a crucial game at Jacksonville that will have major implications on the 5A Central. 

14. Vilonia (17-5) 

The Lady Eagles really needed a win over No. 4 Greenwood on Friday to inch closer to the top spot in the 5A-West, but strong defense and solid 3-point shooting in the second half helped the Lady Bulldogs take this one. Senior leader Madeleine Tipton laid it all on the line as she always does and led the Lady Eagles with 16 points.

15. Bryant (14-7) 

The Lady Hornets had a great week that began with a home win over Central led by UCA signee Parris Atkins’ 25 points. Atkins also added another individual milestone eclipsing 1,000 career points. 

16. Jacksonville (17-5)

The Lady Titans ended a current win streak Benton had and added to their own currently sitting at six as winners of 11 of their past 12. They have a huge rematch at home with Little Rock Christian on Tuesday hoping to get closer to the top spot in the 5A Central.

17. Cabot (13-9)

As Conway has been for just about every team on its schedule, Cabot met the same fate as those before falling 83-51 to the Lady Wampus Cats. They did bounce back against another young, but promising, Central team. They have two big opportunities to move up this week at No 15 Bryant and No 10 Fort Smith Northside.

18. Siloam Springs (15-6) 

The Lady Panthers have won four of their past five games and are going to need to continue adding to that to stay in the Top 3 of the 5A West standings. They travel south to Greenbrier before No 4 Greenwood comes to town to end the week.

19. Jonesboro (15-6) 

Jonesboro moves into the Top 20 on an eight-game win streak currently in control of the 5A-East. 

20. Marion (17-7) 

Marion remains in the -A East race behind Jonesboro facing two road games this week against Batesville and West Memphis. 

21. Central (15-7) 

The Lady Tigers have had a rough stretch losing four of their last six games, and to make matters more difficult they start the week against top-ranked Conway. They also still have No 2 North Little Rock and No 10 Fort Smith Northside remaining on the schedule. 

22. Booneville (24-0) 

Booneville completed an undefeated regular season and now they chase the ultimate prize awaiting in Hot Springs. No 12 Bergman, Lamar, Clinton, and Manila are just some of many names you could pick out of Class 3A who will be standing in the Lady Bearcat’s way.

23. Rogers Heritage (16-7) 

The Lady War Eagles could not overcome the torrid shooting of Bentonville but took out their frustrations on Southside to cap the week. They have a big matchup at Har-Ber, who holds the top spot in the 6A West, on Tuesday.

24. Benton (17-6) 

The winning spree came to an end against Jacksonville for the much-improved Lady Panthers who still have plenty to play for. The schedule looks favorable until they head to No 11 Little Rock Christian to finish the regular season.

25. West Memphis (11-5) 

The Lady Blue Devils make their move into the Top 25 and are not out of the race for the 5A East title. They can continue to make their case twice this week as they head to No 19 Jonesboro and then host No 20 Marion.