Girls basketball: FHSAA releases initial rankings — Dec. 20

The Florida High School Athletic Association released its first girls basketball rankings of the season that will determine playoff seedings and some postseason berths. The district winners in each region automatically qualify for the playoffs and secure a home playoff in the region quarterfinals. The next four postseason berths in each region are determined strictly by the rankings. Here is the list of the top eight in regions that includes area teams. Local ranked teams are in bold.

Class 7A, Region 3
Rank/teamRecordRating
1. Winter Haven6-018.093
2. Plant11-314.821
3. Durant8-213.559
4. Sumner10-312.133
5. East Lake9-111.024
6. Sarasota Riverview6-59.990
7. Steinbrenner9-48.708
8. Venice5-38.093
Class 6A, Region 1
Rank/teamRecordRating
1. Oakleaf10-116.133
2. Niceville11-314.265
3. Pace9-213.575
4. Navarre8-312.070
5. Gainesville6-412.043
6. Ponte Vedra Nease7-311.924
7. Orange Park5-410.007
8. Ponte Vedra5-49.863
Local in the mix: No. 9 Land O’ Lakes (7-2)
Class 6A, Region 3
Rank/teamRecordRating
1. Bloomingdale13-017.033
2. Punta Gorda Charlotte7-316.792
3. Tampa Bay Tech10-213.397
4. Armwood8-48.723
5. Fort Myers6-28.617
6. South Fort Myers7-37.780
7. Hillsborough8-45.817
8. Palmetto7-42.966
Local in the mix: No. 9 Largo (6-4)
Class 5A, Region 2
Rank/teamRecordRating
1. Kissimmee Gateway11-117.962
2. River Ridge8-45.905
3. Lake Wales5-64.493
4. Tavares4-32.120
5. Orlando Jones3-72.090
6. Wesley Chapel7-51.693
7. Lake Region5-40.427
8. King4-5-0.493
Local in the mix: No. 10 Zephyrhills (5-5)
Class 5A, Region 3
Rank/teamRecordRating
1. Clearwater9-212.228
2. Port Charlotte9-511.266
3. St. Petersburg9-19.160
4. Parrish Community6-46.356
5. Naples Barron Collier10-55.790
6. Sebring5-33.255
7. Braden River5-62.118
8. Boca Ciega5-42.039
Local in the mix: No. 11 Northeast (4-8)
Class 4A, Region 3
Rank/teamRecordRating
1. Sarasota Booker10-119.103
2. Academy of the Holy Names8-314.377
3. DeSoto County9-211.699
4. Avon Park7-210.909
5. Lakewood7-39.417
6. Gibbs10-38.636
7. Weeki Wachee10-16.348
8. Robinson9-43.757
Class 3A, Region 2
Rank/teamRecordRating
1. Seffner Christian8-219.923
2. West Palm Beach King’s Academy7-118.166
3. Melbourne Holy Trinity Episcopal8-115.847
4. West Palm Beach Cardinal Newman8-310.880
5. Palm Beach Gardens Benjamin6-39.631
6. Windermere Prep7-37.750
7. Merritt Island Edgewood9-06.399
8. Orlando The First Acadmy7-34.349
Local in the mix: No. 9 Bell Creek Academy (9-4)
Class 3A, Region 2
Rank/teamRecordRating
1. Sarasota Cardinal Mooney6-116.720
2. Tampa Prep8-114.821
3. Brooks DeBartolo7-413.821
4. Tampa Catholic7-311.041
5. Carrollwood Day5-26.673
6. Community School of Naples6-16.390
7. Fort Myers Gateway Charter4-16.282
8. Calvary Christian6-45.750
Local in the mix: Clearwater Central Catholic (8-3)
Class 2A, Region 2
Rank/teamRecordRating
1. Central Florida Christian Academy10-313.120
2. Mount Dora Christian10-28.382
3. Orlando Faith Christian4-76.475
4. Ormand Beach Calvary Christian5-13.409
5. Orlando Christian Prep3-43.385
6. Ocoee Legacy Charter3-40.943
7. Academy at the Lakes8-20.348
8. Seven Rivers Christian7-20.288
Class 2A, Region 3
Rank/teamRecordRating
1. Fort Myers Evangelical Christian9-311.241
2. Naples St. John Neumann8-39.955
3. Bradenton Saint Stephen’s5-14.815
4. Keswick Christian8-24.791
5. Naples Seacrest Country Day4-33.275
6. Gulf Coast HEAT3-3-3.476
7. Canterbury3-3-4.333
8. Ave Marie Donahue Catholic4-5-5.038
Local in the mix: No. 9 Lakeside Christian (3-5)