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YAIAA girls' basketball power rankings, Feb. 3


No surprises this week. A pretty clear hierarchy has developed among the girls' ranks locally, with about five or six teams that have separated themselves from the rest of the pack.

Click the jump for the full rundown. Last week's rankings here.

1. Red Lion (1) -- How's this for dominance: Through 20 games, the Lions (19-1) boast an average winning margin of 26 points. And that's playing a schedule that has included 30-plus point victories against Manheim Township and Lower Dauphin, both of which were included in the Harrisburg Patriot-News' "teams to watch" section of its weekly Class AAAA state rankings. Not too shabby. Don Dimoff needs just five more wins to reach 400 for his career. Red Lion has two more games left in the regular season, which means if the Lions can win those and then take advance through the YAIAA tournament, Dimoff's milestone victory could come in the league championship game.

2. Delone Catholic (2) -- Plenty of congrats in order for Sierra Moore, who became the YAIAA's all-time leading scorer on Tuesday night against Fairfield -- on Delone's senior night no less. With that milestone out of the way, Moore and her teammates can focus fully on the stretch run to their season. The Squirettes (17-2) have a big one on the horizon, when they visit York Catholic on Tuesday with a Division IV title on the line. Delone will try to replicate the formula they used in the team's first meeting, in which Moore, Abbey Sponseller and Bethany Ball all reached double figures.

3. York Catholic (3) -- The Irish (17-2) have been able to slide along under the radar a bit this season, due in part to the fact that they haven't really been challenged since that loss to Delone in early January. But York Catholic has racked up some rather impressive victories along the way against teams like West York, Trinity, Eastern York and others. The point is, the Irish still pose a serious threat, even if it lacks a Sierra Moore or Kady Schrann-type star. You can bet York Catholic will want to make a statement Tuesday, although I'd be willing to bet this isn't the last time these two rivals see each other this season.

4. Eastern York (4) -- As Steve and I discussed in this week's GameTimePA TV, this Golden Knights team is more complete than people give them credit for. Yes, their outside shooting is a bit suspect (just 24 3-pointers all season). But Eastern's guards continue to play well, controlling the game and prying open defenses for forwards Elizabeth Myers and Morgan DeRemer. The latter had an incredible 21 points and 20 rebounds in a win over Susquehannock on Tuesday, which bought the Knights' winning streak to 14 games. And yet, they're still a No. 9 seed as of right now in the District 3-AAA power rankings.

5. West York (5) -- The Bulldogs long winning streak ended this weekend against Delone, but they can still lock up an outright Division II title tonight against Kennard-Dale. Sarah Shearer has made a huge difference for Jon Shultz's team this season; the Ephrata transfer is actually West York's leading scorer at 12.4 points per game. She scored 22 in a win over Spring Grove last Friday, and has reached double-digits scoring in nine of the last 10 games. The Bulldogs have also ascended to the No. 5 seed in the District 3-AAA playoff field.

In the hunt (alphabetical order) -- Dallastown (10-9), Dover (16-3), Susquehannock (13-8)