Basketball super 7
Records through Wednesday
Girls
1. Wiregrass Ranch (11-1, 2-1): The Bulls remain in third place in 7A-8, but have shined outside of district play. Wiregrass Ranch’s only loss has come against Steinbrenner, and the team has defeated local powers Gulf and Pasco.
2. Gulf (10-1, 8-0): The Buccaneers continue to dominate in and out of Class 5A-8 district play. The Bucs underscored their top spot by holding off district challenger Land O’Lakes on Tuesday. Ali Cochrane is emerging as a key scorer and playmaker for the Bucs.
3. Land O’Lakes (8-2, 6-2): The Gators shut down River Ridge’s normally high-scoring playmakers last week to win by 19 points. Jhade Hayes leads the Gators in scoring (13.4) and rebounds (7.0) per game.
4. River Ridge (10-2, 6-2): The Royal Knights lost their runnerup spot in 5A-8 after the loss to the Gators. Don’t expect them to stay down long, though. Eve Hay and MacKenzie Kistler have stepped up as scorers, taking some of the pressure off junior Leah Ford.
5. Pasco (6-4, 5-0): Recent wins over Hernando and Nature Coast put the Pirates in first in 5A-7. Pasco is the only team in its district that is still undefeated.
6. Nature Coast (8-2, 5-1): The Sharks’ decisive 60-39 win over Zephyrhills keeps them at second in the district. Opponents will need to shut down Rita Jarque (16.9 ppg) and Fatima Jones (15.7 ppg) to have a prayer of catching up on the scoreboard.
7. Mitchell (9-2, 3-0): The Mustangs shot to the top of 6A-10 with wins by a combined 60 points against Springstead, Osceola and Ridgewood. Mitchell is tied with Dixie Hollins, and the two face each other Tuesday.
Boys
1. Wesley Chapel (8-0, 4-0): The Wildcats remain undefeated in 5A-7 play and face the district co-leader, Nature Coast, tonight in a matchup that could be a significant predictor of the postseason.
2. Mitchell (8-0, 2-0): The Mustangs remain the only unbeaten team in 6A-10, rallying behind top scorers Lawrence Watt, Sean Thompson and Bernie Conley.
3. Nature Coast (6-0, 4-0): Wins against Pasco and Zephyrhills proved the Sharks’ early undefeated record wasn’t a fluke. Opponents simply haven’t been able to catch up to Nature Coast, which has put up more than 60 points in every game so far.
4. Springstead (7-2, 2-1): The Eagles sit in second place in 6A-10, outscoring opponents by an average of 3.7 points.
5. Hernando (4-2, 2-1): The Leopards climbed to third in 5A-7; next week’s matchups against Zephyrhills and Wesley Chapel should highlight the team’s strengths as well as areas for improvement.
6. River Ridge (6-5, 4-2): The Royal Knights are beginning to shine in 5A-8. Wins against Land O’Lakes and Dunedin boosted River Ridge to second in the district, and opponents will need to watch John Childs and Kyle McCoy, the team’s leaders on offense.
7. Land O’Lakes (4-3, 2-2): The Gators have lost to the top teams in 5A-8 (Tarpon and River Ridge), but a one-point loss to the Royal Knights and wins over other district foes give the Gators our final spot — for now.