Each week during the high school basketball season, select coaches from the six Nebraska classes rate the teams in their class and our Tony Chapman compiles the rankings. Here is the final girls basketball coaches poll for the 2023-2024 season presented by Pinnacle Bank.
Class A (Record), Previous
- Millard West (27-1), 1
- Bellevue West (20-7), 4
- Lincoln Southwest (22-4), 2
- Lincoln North Star (20-6), 6
- Omaha Central (19-7), 9
- Lincoln Southeast (18-7), 10
- Millard North (17-8), 3
- Papillon-LaVista South (17-8), 8
- Lincoln Pius X (17-7), 5
- Lincoln Northeast (18-7), 7
Receiving Votes: Omaha Marian (16-8), RV.
Comments: Millard West completes a dominant Class A season with their only loss to Iowa champion Johnston, ranked 13th in the nation by MaxPreps. Pre-season No. 1 Bellevue West won 14 games in a row prior to Saturday’s 58-55 loss in the Class A final.
Class B (Record), Previous
- Elkhorn North (25-1), 1
- Skutt Catholic (27-2), 2
- Beatrice (20-6), 6
- Gretna East (19-8), 4
- Norris (19-6), 3
- Waverly (18-5), 5
- Scottsbluff (16-10), RV
- South Sioux City (16-10), 10
- Bennington (15-9), 7
- Seward (16-8), 8
Receiving Votes: Elkhorn (15-8), 9.
Comments: Elkhorn North wins their fourth straight Class B title in a thrilling 49-47 win over Skutt. Beatrice claims third after getting Norris in the opening round at state and then playing Elkhorn North to 59-49 in the semifinals.
Class C-1 (Record), Previous
- Lincoln Christian (25-2), 2
- Sidney (26-2), 4
- Bridgeport (27-1), 1
- GICC (24-4), 3
- Minden (20-4), 5
- Adams Central (20-6), 8
- Broken Bow (19-5), 6
- North Bend Central (17-9), 9
- Gothenburg (19-6), 7
- Battle Creek (17-6), RV
Receiving Votes: Arlington (21-5), 10.
Comments: The top four continued their flip as Lincoln Christian rolled through the Class C-1 field in convincing fashion over the weekend. Sidney edges Bridgeport for second, despite a loss to the Bulldogs in the sub-district final. The finals trip and previous win over LC just winning out.
Class C-2 (Record), Previous
- Yutan (24-2), 3
- Crofton (27-1), 1
- Bishop Neumann (20-7), 5
- Elmwood-Murdock (25-3), 2
- Clarkson/Leigh (17-7), 9
- Oakland-Craig (16-6), 8
- Hastings St. Cecilia (16-5), 4
- Freeman (18-6), 7
- Cross County (23-4), 10
- Niobrara/Verdigre (19-7), NR
Receiving Votes: none.
Comments: Yutan as strong as ever at state with an impressive 55-36 win over Crofton in the state championship game. Crofton’s bid at the only unbeaten season in the state ended on Saturday. Clarkson/Leigh jumps from ninth to fifth off wins over Cross County and St. Cecilia in the postseason and pushing Crofton to overtime at state.
Class D-1 (Record), Previous
- Pender (28-1), 2
- Southern Valley (28-2), 3
- Guardian Angels CC (23-3), 1
- O’Neill St. Mary’s (23-4), 4
- McCool Junction (20-4), 6
- Elgin Public/Pope John (22-3), 7
- Bancroft-Rosalie (17-7), NR
- Centura (20-7), 8
- Johnson-Brock (21-3), 5
- Maywood-Hayes Center (21-3), 10
Receiving Votes: Alma (20-5), NR.
Comments: Pender and Southern Valley move up after SV took down No. 1 GACC in the semifinals before Pender won the title game 39-25. The rest didn’t change much save for Bancroft-Rosalie which is ranked for the first time after beating Johnson-Brock in four overtimes in the district final.
Class D-2 (Record), Previous
- Overton (28-1), 1
- Wynot (22-3), 3
- Howells-Dodge (15-11), 8
- Falls City Sacred Heart (21-6), 2
- Sandhills/Thedford (21-5), 4
- Plainview (18-7), 6
- Humphrey St. Francis (15-10), 10
- Wilcox-Hildreth (16-10), 7
- Shelton (16-6), 9
- Paxton (17-10), NR
Receiving votes: Leyton (21-4), 5
Comments: Overton’s volleyball-basketball double ends in dominating fashion as they defeated Wynot 44-40 in the D-2 final after winning their first two games in Lincoln by 24 and 14 points. Howells-Dodge jumps from 8th to 3rd off their consolation win over Sacred Heart.
