THE UPSTATE 20, comprehensive team rankings for all areas of the Empire State north of NYC, is back for a new installment. Not only are we well into the dog days of winter, it’s crossed into what I call the “wild card weeks” – a two-week span of late January/early February that tend to bring a few results that just don’t make sense. Never know what you’re going to get this time of year. Who is maintaining their daily approach to development & consistency?

Current rankings, Class AA notes, and more:

*** Note: I will include this prior to every ranking list for every class because it’ll always be someone’s first time reading the EST class rankings. All NYSPHSAA & non-NYSPHSAA ‘Federation’ schools north of NYC & Long Island are considered. Also, it isn’t called ‘The Upstate 20 and some more’ so I don’t include an honorable mention list, but approximately 45 teams are currently under consideration for this class. ***

• 1.) North Tonawanda (6)
• 2.) Pittsford Sutherland (5)
• 3.) Rye (1)
• 4.) Columbia (2)
• 5.) Horseheads (4)
• 6.) Webster Schroeder (5)
• 7.) Suffern (1)
• 8.) Penfield (5)
• 9.) Mahopac (1)
• 10.) Amherst (6)
• 11.) Nyack (1)
• 12.) Orchard Park (6)
• 13.) Clarkstown South (1)
• 14.) Nottingham (3)
• 15.) Troy (2)
• 16.) Pittsford Mendon (5)
• 17.) Ossining (1)
• 18.) Canandaigua (5)
• 19.) Cornwall (9)
• 20.) Victor (5)

Big Jumpers: Amherst, Troy (+4)

New Entries: Victor (re-entry)

NOTES

• Heck of a win by Troy as they took down Class A power Albany Academy in very convincing fashion on Friday night. This is a young group with great talent at the top in 2029s Amaya Harris & Kiana Tiernan, but with the youth, they’re still learning how to win on the fly. I’ve seen it up close & personal this year – getting up big, taking their foot off the gas, and having to survive late at Schalmont. Not being at their best, very up & down, and just having to figure it out late at Bethlehem. This one was an eye-opener. They bump up a few spots for it. Really high ceiling.
• Section I was a bit of a hot mess last week in AA. Mahopac took an unexpected loss, Nyack took its first loss to ~.500 Class A Irvington. Handful of teams that are pretty strong but clearly within range of each other to the degree that you don’t really know what to expect in a few weeks. Which – I mean – isn’t that what Class A was in Section I last year? And we saw how that worked out for Ardsley.
• Another week… let’s keep talking about Amherst continuing to get better! They’re looking like the team no one in WNY really wants to face at the moment. Only one game last week, a Round 2 against Williamsville East, a team I’ve had floating in & out of the bottom of the Upstate 20 the last 2-3 weeks. The first matchup between these two, back on December 15, was close the whole way before Amherst used a +6 4th quarter to squeak out a 52-47 win. Things have changed since. The Tigers put up a 50 spot in the 1st half on Wednesday & rolled to a 73-47 decision to push their current win streak to 7. As dangerous as it gets in Section VI, and another +4 up the rankings to reflect it.
• Starting off the week with a banger… #1 North Tonawanda at #2 Pittsford Sutherland. Annabelle Day. Lucy Bush. Lilly Day. Petra Hunt. Buffalo. Rochester. Let’s do it.

RESULTS OF NOTE (Jan 26-Feb 1) (current U-20 Class AA teams in bold)

• 1/27: Columbia 79, Ballston Spa 65
• 1/27: Horseheads 50, Elmira (AAA) 38
• 1/28: Suffern 48, Clarkstown South 43
• 1/28: Amherst 73, Williamsville East 47
• 1/28: Brewster 39, Mahopac 37
• 1/28: Bethlehem 56, Mohonasen 54
• 1/29: North Tonawanda 75, Bishop Kearney (AAA) 55
• 1/30: Nyack 65, John Jay-East Fishkill (AAA) 61
• 1/30: Penfield 48, Fairport (AAA) 42 (OT)
• 1/30: Troy 61, Albany Academy (A) 38
• 1/30: Pittsford Mendon 54, Honeoye Falls-Lima (A) 35
• 1/30: Horseheads 60, Johnson City (A) 44
• 1/30: Cicero-North Syracuse (AAA) 66, Nottingham 48
• 1/30: Tappan Zee (A) 46, Suffern 41
• 1/31: Roy C Ketcham (AAA) 62, Mahopac 56
• 1/31: Irvington (A) 46, Nyack 42

WEEKLY ALL-UPSTATE (Jan 26-Feb 1)

Maddy Marra (Columbia 2028): Columbia has already emerged as a Class AA favorite within the confines of Section II. If last week was a sign of things to come for Maddy, a third-year varsity player starting to come into her own, we could potentially begin to discuss Columbia in the state-level air. The athletic guard delivered her two biggest scoring totals of the season in Tuesday/Friday wins over Ballston Spa & Guilderland. She hit 4 threes & went off for a season high 29 points in Tuesday’s 79-65 victory over the Scotties, another Class AA contender. On Friday, a 73-53 win over Guilderland that was close for longer than Columbia would’ve liked, Maddy pumped in 23.

Mia Natale (Amsterdam 2028): Perhaps a little bias is showing because I was at this game, but it’s that time of year where I’m showing up more for the big ones, and performances in meaningful games matter much more to me. In Amsterdam’s only game of the week, a Round 2 showdown against league unbeaten and Class A Upstate 20 ranked Glens Falls, Mia had a ‘growing up’ sort of night where she shook off a slow 1st half and took over in the 3rd quarter when Amsterdam needed it. She finished with 21 points & 5 rebounds, 13 of those points coming in the 3rd, in a 46-41 win to continue their elevation within league play.

Sarah Rainville (Columbia 2026): Death, taxes, Sarah Rainville in her senior year. The Rochester commit continued her stellar campaign with scoring numbers that have become routine this winter. She averaged 26.5 PPG in wins over Ballston Spa & Guilderland, which is right around her season average of 26.3 PPG. 24 came in the 79-65 win over Ballston Spa, and she delivered 29 more in Friday’s 73-53 win over Guilderland.

Hannah Waldron (Central Square 2027): One of the more eye-catching results I saw all week while perusing scores was Central Square’s 55-38 win over Fayetteville-Manlius. In fairness, FM has been on a bit of a skid, but Central Square – 4-9 entering this game with a 3 game losing streak – is in a transitional period itself. It looks like Hannah had herself a day. The wiry junior guard, who’s been a main contributor for a couple years, went off for a career high 32 points (5 threes) with 9 rebounds & 3 steals in the big win.

Keymora Woods (Nottingham 2028): The City of Syracuse’s finest continues her monster sophomore campaign. Keymora, a gifted lead guard (being coached by Cintia Johnson, who was also quite the gifted lead guard in her day), was Nottingham’s preeminent force in both of their games last week. In a Tuesday win over West Genesee, maybe more notable because it played out a bit closer than anticipated, Keymora went off for 28. Then in a 66-48 loss to Upstate 20 ranked Class AAA Cicero-North Syracuse, one of the top teams on Nottingham’s schedule, Keymora shined bright in defeat with a big 31 points. She’s been one of the shining stars of CNY this winter and is averaging upwards of 24 per night.