MassLive released its fourth Western Mass. girls basketball Top 20 ranking for the 2025-2026 season on January 14.
Previous Rankings: Dec. 10, Dec. 19, Jan. 7
Western Mass. Top 20 Ranking
- Springfield Central (7-1; 1)
- Minnechaug (5-1; 2)
- Northampton (6-3; 4)
- Pittsfield (5-2; 3)
- Longmeadow (6-4; 5)
- Frontier (9-1; 6)
- South Hadley (2-5; 7)
- Drury (6-3; 11)
- Springfield International (7-3; 9)
- Wahconah (5-3; 8)
- Pope Francis (4-4; 10)
- Lee (7-2; 12)
- Southwick (7-0; 13)
- East Longmeadow (7-2; 14)
- Hampshire (5-3; 15)
- Hoosac Valley (3-6; 16)
- Belchertown (4-4; 17)
- Easthampton (6-3; 20)
- West Springfield (6-2; NR)
- PVCA (6-3; NR)
As teams cross the midway point of their regular season schedule, health and momentum will become increasingly more important with the postseason looming around the corner.
Springfield Central stays atop the region after earning key victories over Minnechaug on Thursday and over Pittsfield on Tuesday. The Golden Eagles knocked off their top competition in the region, but will need to maintain their focus ahead of their Hoophall Classic matchup against Northwest Catholic (CT) on Friday, Jan. 16 at 1 p.m.
The Falcons bounced back from their loss to the Golden Eagles with a statement win over Division I state champions, Wachusett Reg. on Tuesday. Zahara Wilson had 28 points to help Minnechaug pick itself up after its first loss of the season.
The Blue Devils just had one game last week, but they picked up a key victory over Pittsfield on Thursday. Northampton earns back-to-back wins over Valley League opponents, shrugging off its last two losses to Central and Leominster.
Pittsfield takes a slight drop after back-to-back losses against high-level competition.
Like Minnechaug, the Lancers have found their stride of late. Longmeadow clinched wins over South Hadley, Holyoke and Renaissance, with Emersynn Cage reaching 1,000 career points in Friday’s win over the Tigers.
The Red Hawks remain hot on the Lancers’ heels. With wins over Wahconah, Pope Francis, Hoosac Valley and Monson last week, Frontier has won nine straight games since its loss to Northampton to start the season.
Further down the rankings, Drury climbs up after a close win over Wahconah on Monday. Morgan McGrath and Ella Bond combined for 31 of the Blue Devils’ 41 points, following up on their well-balanced win over Lenox on Friday.
West Springfield joins the fray this week after clinching its third and fourth-consecutive victories this past week.
After a resounding win over Holyoke on Friday, the Terriers defeated Westfield on Tuesday. Emily Poulin drilled seven three-point shots to lead West Springfield with seven three-pointers.
