GBB RANKINGS: Ben Davis, Wawasee bump SB Washington, Twin Lakes

It took until Week 11 of the 2007-08 girls basketball season, but Ben Davis has finally knocked defending state champion South Bend Washington out of the top spot in Class 4A. In the Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association’s 11th set of polls, coach Stan Benge’s Giants are the new No. 1 following South Bend Washington’s second loss of the year to an out-of-state power.

And there’s a new No. 1 in 3A as well after Twin Lakes was knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten by fellow 3A undefeated Northwestern (up from ninth to fifth this week). Defending state runner-up Wawasee now resides in 3A’s top spot, with Twin Lakes falling to third behind Fort Wayne Elmhurst. Five different schools received first-place votes this week in the state’s second-largest class.

The other No. 1s – 2A Heritage Christian and 1A Oregon-Davis – maintain their superiority over the state’s second-smallest and smallest classifications, respectively, while seven new schools enter the polls this week.

Defending state runner-up Columbus East moves into 12th in 4A, where Decatur Central (13th) and Highland (17th) also appear. Bloomfield, the state’s first-ever runner-up back in 1976 and the 1998 1A state champion, is now 15th in 2A. And Tri (10th), Southern Wells (12th), and New Washington (18th) all enter the 1A list.

Teams are listed by current ranking followed by school, number of first-place votes if applicable, record, and vote total. Your 64 ranked schools from Jan. 21:

CLASS 4A
1. Ben Davis (8) 18-1 134
2. South Bend Washington (6) 16-2 132
3. North Central (Indianapolis) 13-3 84
4. Penn 16-2 83
5. Fort Wayne South 16-2 81
6. Carmel 15-2 77
7. Lawrence North 15-3 73
8. Bloomington South 14-2 57
9. Perry Meridian 10-6 15
10. Jennings County 15-2 10
11. Terre Haute South 14-5 8
12. Columbus East 12-5 4
13. South Bend Clay 15-4 3
13. Center Grove 10-6 3
13. Decatur Central 15-4 3
16. Hamilton Southeastern 13-4 2
17. Highland 14-2 1

CLASS 3A
1. Wawasee (6) 14-2 134
2. Fort Wayne Elmhurst (2) 16-2 119
3. Twin Lakes (4) 16-1 111
4. Crawfordsville (1) 16-2 94
5. Northwestern (2) 18-0 87
6. Indianapolis Chatard 14-4 81
7. Owen Valley 16-1 73
8. Evansville Memorial 13-4 50
9. Plymouth 13-4 39
10. Vincennes Lincoln 15-2 17
11. Norwell 13-4 16
12. Gibson Southern 15-3 2
12. Indianapolis Northwest 11-5 2

CLASS 2A
1. Heritage Christian (13) 18-0 148
2. Oak Hill (2) 16-0 137
3. Jimtown 14-1 105
4. Austin 14-3 104
5. Lapel 16-2 88
6. Southwestern (Hanover) 15-4 70
7. North Miami 13-2 41
7. Winamac 15-2 41
9. Garrett 16-2 35
10. Cambridge City Lincoln 15-3 23
11. Triton Central 15-1 14
12. Fort Wayne Luers 12-6 11
13. Winchester 15-3 5
14. Forest Park 13-4 2
15. Bloomfield 14-3 1

CLASS A
1. Oregon-Davis (14) 18-0 149
2. Jac-Cen-Del (1) 16-0 135
3. Kouts 16-1 102
4. Wood Memorial 14-3 101
5. Vincennes Rivet 14-2 84
6. Barr-Reeve 12-4 63
7. Northeast Dubois 14-3 53
8. South Central (Elizabeth) 12-6 34
9. White River Valley 13-3 27
10. Tri 10-5 16
11. West Central 12-4 13
12. Southern Wells 10-5 11
13. Turkey Run 13-3 9
14. Tri-Central 12-6 8
15. Fort Wayne Canterbury 11-5 7
15. University 14-5 7
17. Randolph Southern 13-4 3
18. New Washington 12-5 2
19. Madison Shawe 11-5 1