Genesee Valley boys hop up to 15th in latest State basketball rankings; Whitesville girls hoops make first appearance within Class D rankings, Fillmore girls move inside Top 5
This past Saturday marked a new month in 2020, but Tuesday marked the release of a fresh new set of rankings for boys and girls basketball from the New York State Sportswriters Association (NYSSWA).
Around here, two boys basketball programs are still battling for position in Class D, while on the other side in the girls basketball spectrum, a new team from Allegany County has joined the fray.
Starting on the boys basketball side, the Genesee Valley Jaguars earned the biggest jump out of the local teams. After a big win over Prattsburgh at the Barkley Showcase allowed them back into the Top 20 in last week’s set of State rankings, they made the move up to 15th overall as they stand with a current record of 12-4. On Thursday, they will return to action in a game that will likely decide the top spot in the Division I standings inside Allegany County League play, as they travel to Fillmore to battle the Eagles.
The Eagles remain in the hunt for a position in the Class D rankings, as they continue to capture attention from the State with their 12-1 record garnering another honorable mention. Behind their biggest strength this season — an even balance of offense, with depth on the bench, Fillmore is currently driving on a 10-game win streak, the longest out of all boys basketball programs in the county this season, including a big double-OT win over C.G. Finney inside The Rock that allowed them to keep that blaze afire.
On the girls side, the Fillmore Lady Eagles still have a stranglehold on the highest position out of all four local teams. After battling in a close 53-50 contest alongside State-ranked Franklinville, led by one of Western New York’s premier dynamos in Dani Haskell, the Lady Eagles have made their way inside the Top Five in the Class D New York State rankings, taking the No. 5 spot and joining the ranks of current No. 1, the Elba Lady Lancers, and the second-ranked Panama Lady Panthers from Section VI.
Fillmore currently stands with a record of 13-2, and will be in action tonight, as they look to avenge one of their two losses of the season on the road by visiting the Andover Lady Panthers for a 7:30 p.m. contest.
Further down the list in Class D, a new team has made their first appearance in the State rankings — The Whitesville Lady Blue Jays. With a roster that holds no seniors, first-year coach Aaron Rawady has led the Lady Blue Jays toward a record of 12-3 with five games remaining on their schedule. Whitesville owns the county’s longest winning streak, which was recently snapped by fellow Allegany County counterpart Fillmore this past week, as the Lady Eagles defeated the Lady Blue Jays by a 48-22 count to snap their 11-game tear. As of Tuesday, they hold the No. 19 position in Class D.
Whitesville will return to the floor Thursday night, hopping on the bus to take on the Alfred-Almond Lady Eagles for a 6 p.m. contest.
