Girls Basketball

HighSchoolOT's final statewide and area code rankings for girls basketball

Panther Creek took home the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A girls basketball championship and now the Catamounts are taking home the top spot in the final HighSchoolOT statewide top 25 rankings.
Posted 2023-03-19T18:04:14+00:00 - Updated 2023-03-19T18:04:14+00:00

Panther Creek took home the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A girls basketball championship and now the Catamounts are taking home the top spot in the final HighSchoolOT statewide top 25 rankings. Panther Creek went 8-1 against opponents who also finished in the final HSOT Top 25, and its other three losses came to out-of-state teams.

West Rowan, the undefeated 3A champ who took down three fellow top 25 teams, all in the postseason, finished second. 4A runner-up Lake Norman was third, 3A West runner-up East Lincoln was fourth, and North Mecklenburg — who took Lake Norman to the limit twice — was fifth.

There are three other state champs in the top 25 — 1A champion Bishop McGuinness is seventh, NCISAA 2A champ Grace Christian of Sanford is 10th, and 2A champ Salisbury is 11th.

The full rankings — a statewide Top 25 and Top 15 rankings for each of the state’s six area codes — are below. Any school that plays in an education-based association is eligible for the rankings.

Final Statewide Top 25

  1. Panther Creek (29-4, 4A champ)
  2. West Rowan (31-0, 3A champ)
  3. Lake Norman (31-1, 4A runner-up)
  4. East Lincoln (31-1, 3A West runner-up)
  5. North Mecklenburg (27-3)
  6. Charlotte Catholic (25-7, 4A West runner-up)
  7. Bishop McGuinness (28-4, 1A champ)
  8. Northern Guilford (27-1)
  9. Hillside (25-4, 4A East runner-up)
  10. Grace Christian of Sanford (32-3, NCISAA 2A champ)
  11. Salisbury (27-3, 2A champ)
  12. Rocky Mount (30-2, 3A runner-up)
  13. Cannon School (24-6, NCISAA 4A runner-up)
  14. Cherokee (26-4)
  15. Providence Day (21-7)
  16. Independence (25-4)
  17. Mallard Creek (24-5)
  18. Ben L. Smith (25-3)
  19. D.H. Conley (27-4)
  20. Apex Friendship (23-6)
  21. Rolesville (25-5)
  22. Cape Fear (25-5, 3A East runner-up)
  23. Cardinal Gibbons (22-4)
  24. E.E. Smith (26-2)
  25. East Burke (27-3, 2A West runner-up)

Final Area Code Top 15 Rankings

Teams in bold are also ranked above

252 area code

Eligible counties: Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven, Currituck, Dare, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene, Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Nash, Northampton, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Pitt, Tyrrell, Vance, Warren, Washington, and Wilson.

Rocky Mount took on West Rowan for the NC 3A State Championship at Reynolds Coliseum on March 11, 2023. (Photo by: Jerrell Jordan)
Rocky Mount took on West Rowan for the NC 3A State Championship at Reynolds Coliseum on March 11, 2023. (Photo by: Jerrell Jordan)
  1. Rocky Mount 30-2 (3A runner-up)
  2. D.H. Conley 27-4
  3. North Pitt 27-3 (2A East runner-up)
  4. Northeastern 27-2
  5. South Central 21-6
  6. Beddingfield 26-2
  7. Fike 22-6
  8. Perquimans 23-3
  9. Wilson Christian 30-3 (NCCSA 2A champ)
  10. Farmville Central 13-10
  11. SouthWest Edgecombe 18-8
  12. East Carteret 22-3
  13. Southside 25-7
  14. Crossroads Christian 25-4 (NCISAA 1A runner-up)
  15. Northampton County 22-2

919 area code

Eligible counties: Chatham, Durham, Franklin, Granville, Johnston, Lee, Orange, Wake, Wayne.

Panther Creek girls basketball coach Danielle Sullivan. Panther Creek won the school’s first girls basketball state championship, beating previously undefeated Lake Norman 75-65 at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill on Saturday, March 11, 2023. (Photo By: Evan Moesta/HighSchoolOT)
Panther Creek girls basketball coach Danielle Sullivan. Panther Creek won the school’s first girls basketball state championship, beating previously undefeated Lake Norman 75-65 at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill on Saturday, March 11, 2023. (Photo By: Evan Moesta/HighSchoolOT)
  1. Panther Creek 29-4 (4A champ)
  2. Hillside 25-4 (4A East runner-up)
  3. Grace Christian of Sanford 32-3 (NCISAA 2A champ)
  4. Apex Friendship 23-6
  5. Rolesville 25-5
  6. Cardinal Gibbons 22-4
  7. Holly Springs 18-10
  8. Millbrook 20-8
  9. Wakefield 19-9
  10. Southern Durham 23-6
  11. Seaforth 27-4 (2A runner-up)
  12. Northwood 23-5
  13. Wayne Country Day 27-2 (NCISAA 2A runner-up)
  14. Jordan 16-12
  15. Chapel Hill 22-8

910 area code

Eligible counties: Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Cumberland, Duplin, Harnett, Hoke, Montgomery, Moore, New Hanover, Onslow, Pender, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson, Scotland

Jayda Angel. South View at Cape Fear girls basketball - Feb. 15, 2023 (Photo by J. Mike Blake)
Jayda Angel. South View at Cape Fear girls basketball - Feb. 15, 2023 (Photo by J. Mike Blake)
  1. Cape Fear 25-5 (3A East runner-up)
  2. E.E. Smith 26-2
  3. Southwest Onslow 23-2
  4. Terry Sanford 23-6
  5. Hoggard 26-3
  6. Purnell Swett 24-6
  7. St. Pauls 20-6
  8. Fairmont 24-5
  9. East Bladen 19-8
  10. O'Neal School 26-3
  11. Jack Britt 19-8
  12. Topsail 21-7
  13. South View 16-12
  14. North Duplin 24-2
  15. Scotland 20-9

336 area code

Eligible counties: Alamance, Alleghany, Ashe, Caswell, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Person, Randolph, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry, Wilkes, Yadkin.

The Chatham Charter Knights played the Bishop McGuinness Villains for the 1A NCHSAA Girls basketball state championship in Raleigh, N.C. on March 11, 2023. Photos by Dean Strickland, HSOT.com.
The Chatham Charter Knights played the Bishop McGuinness Villains for the 1A NCHSAA Girls basketball state championship in Raleigh, N.C. on March 11, 2023. Photos by Dean Strickland, HSOT.com.
  1. Bishop McGuinness 28-4 (1A champ)
  2. Northern Guilford 27-1
  3. Ben L. Smith 25-3
  4. T.W. Andrews 22-5
  5. Randleman 27-2
  6. Williams 20-7
  7. Western Alamance 21-9
  8. Southern Alamance 20-9
  9. Ashe County 19-9
  10. Northwest Guilford 21-8
  11. Eastern Randolph 19-8
  12. High Point Christian 20-9 (NCISAA 3A runner-up)
  13. Oak Grove 21-7
  14. Greensboro Day 19-9
  15. Wesleyan Christian 23-10

704 area code

Eligible counties: Anson, Cabarrus, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Stanly, Union.

Rocky Mount took on West Rowan for the NC 3A State Championship at Reynolds Coliseum on March 11, 2023. (Photo by: Jerrell Jordan)
Rocky Mount took on West Rowan for the NC 3A State Championship at Reynolds Coliseum on March 11, 2023. (Photo by: Jerrell Jordan)
  1. West Rowan 31-0 (3A champ)
  2. Lake Norman 31-1 (4A runner-up)
  3. East Lincoln 31-1 (3A West runner-up)
  4. North Mecklenburg 27-3
  5. Charlotte Catholic 25-7 (4A West runner-up)
  6. Salisbury 27-3 (2A champ)
  7. Cannon School 24-6 (NCISAA 4A runner-up)
  8. Providence Day 21-7
  9. Independence 25-4
  10. Mallard Creek 24-5
  11. South Mecklenburg 24-5
  12. Shelby 26-2
  13. Myers Park 21-7
  14. Bessemer City 21-7
  15. Concord Academy 24-7 (NCISAA 3A champ)

828 area code

Eligible counties: Alexander, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Clay, Cherokee, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Yancey.

Jada Whiteside of East Rutherford
Jada Whiteside of East Rutherford
  1. Cherokee 26-4
  2. East Burke 27-3 (2A West runner-up)
  3. Watauga 23-7
  4. A.C. Reynolds 22-8
  5. Asheville 24-3
  6. East Rutherford 27-3
  7. T.C. Roberson 17-10
  8. Freedom 15-13
  9. Hibriten 23-5
  10. Alexander Central 20-8
  11. Newton-Conover 25-5
  12. Mountain Heritage 24-3
  13. Pisgah 23-5
  14. Rosman 23-6
  15. Robbinsville 21-9 (1A West runner-up)

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