A new year has arrived and so has the meat of the prep basketball season with conference play getting started statewide this week.

Frigid temperatures are forecasted to blanket the state with possible snow and ice coming at the end of the week, but there is plenty of action to pay attention to before that becomes a concern. 

In the first edition of the 2024-25 High School on SI girls basketball rankings, six of the Top 10 teams hail from Class 6A, led by top-ranked Conway, while 5A boasts the remaining four, headlined by back-to-back Class 4A champion Farmington, which has moved up a classification for the current cycle. 

See the full Top 25 below. 

January 7, 2025

The Wampus Cats closed 2024 with a bang as they returned home from Texas with the 74th annual Sandra Meadows Classic trophy (after finishing as runners-up the past three seasons) with a victory over Lone Star State power Boswell. They open conference play against Little Rock Southwest before the always-anticipated showdown against North Little Rock.

The back-to-back defending Class 4A state champions have bumped up to 5A and capped the first half of the season with a 3-1 finish at The Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic in Tennessee against what coach Brad Johnson called “the most difficult stretch we have ever played.” Farmington earned wins over defending 4A South Carolina state champion Riverside, plus Upperman (Tenn.) and Bearden (Tenn.). 

After a four-point road loss to No. 9 Central, Har-Ber rebounded with consecutive victories in the Hoops 4 Hunger Classic. The Wildcats got the new year started with a rout of Rogers to tip off 6A-West play in which all five starters reached double digits in points, led by Makenlie Campbell’s 17. 

It was a perfect December for the Bombers, who finished the final month of 2024 with 11 consecutive wins, including Top 25 triumphs over No. 8 Greene County Tech and No. 10 North Little Rock. They will play host to rival Harrison to open conference play in what expects to be a loaded 5A-West. 

Coach Heather Hunsucker and Co. have continued to do a superb job with this squad after a turnaround 2023-24 season. The Red Dogs notched a massive win over Hunsucker’s mentor, Rickey Smith, and Fort Smith Northside to open 6A-West play, and they have wins over No. 8 Greene County Tech and No. 7 Little Rock Christian. 

The Bears have played only two in-state opponents, wins over No. 9 Central and Bryant, while defeats have come to Oklahoma’s Booker T. Washington and Douglass by a combined six points, as well as Springdale in conference play. They have a chance to get back on track this week against Rogers and Bentonville West. 

Despite falling in the championship round of the LRCA Holiday Classic to No. 5 Springdale, the Warriors played lights-out through the first half of the season that included three victories over Top 25 opponents and multiple convincing wins. They have one more nonconference matchup Tuesday against Bryant before beginning 5A-Central play against No. 14 Vilonia. 

The Eagles have continued to build on last season’s 5A semifinal run as they are riding a seven-game win streak, while the only losses have been to Top 5 squads Mountain Home and Springdale. They are off until Friday, when they get 5A-East play rolling against Paragould. 

Central overcame a two-game skid to end the Sandra Meadows Classic in Texas, falling in their final game to 2024 Texas 6A semifinalist Summer Creek, but earned some early momentum to start 2025 with an overtime victory over No. 12 Nashville. The Tigers tip off 6A-Central play in a Top 10 matchup against North Little Rock on Tuesday. 

After taking their nonconference lumps, which included a defending Tennessee state champion plus multiple in-state ranked opponents, the Charging Wildcats have their sights set on 6A-Central play. They have not played since Dec. 28 (a loss to No. 3 Mountain Home) and that rest was needed with matchups against No. 9 Little Rock Central and top-ranked Conway this week. 

The Bruins have not skipped a beat under first-year legendary coach Becky Yarbrough and put an exclamation mark on the first half of the season with a dominant win over Class 5A and 20th-ranked Valley View to close December, then took home the Kameron Hale Invitational title with a win over No. 18 Lake Hamilton in the championship round. 

Look at the schedule, not the record, and it will make sense why the Scrapperettes are worthy of this spot — especially considering they have been playing without three starters. All six losses have been against 5A and 6A competition — four to Top 10 opponents, including the most recent one in overtime to defending 6A state champion Little Rock Central on the road. Another tough matchup against Mills is Tuesday before 4A-7 conference play tips against unbeaten No. 22 De Queen to finish the week. 

They have a win over No. 14 Vilonia on their resume and are unbeaten against in-state competition, but there is still plenty for the Blue Devils to prove — and they will get that opportunity multiple times in the always-rugged 5A-East. They start conference play against No. 15 Marion on Friday. 

There has been no shortage of frustrations for the Eagles, but everything they sowed during a very tough nonconference schedule should reap success with 5A-Central play tipping off this week. The back-to-back 5A runners-up have another very talented squad, headlined by the stellar backcourt of UT-Martin signee Sidni Middleton and junior sharpshooter Maddie Mannion. 

The Patriots know how precious every win is after barely missing the state tournament last season despite being seven games over .500. Since late November, they have won eight of their 12 games and have all week to get ready for a rivalry matchup against No. 13 West Memphis to tip off 5A-East play. 

The 5A-West will be a little deeper with the addition of No. 2 Farmington, plus No. 4 Mountain Home in the fold, but don’t sleep on these Pointers. They mostly handled their business throughout nonconference play, suffering close losses to Top 7 squads Springdale Har-Ber, Springdale and Little Rock Christian. 

Fresh off bringing home the Gravette Invitational Championship trophy with a triumph over No. 19 Bentonville, the Pirates opened conference play with a win over Harmony Grove (Benton). This loaded squad has a chance to do some big-time damage in Class 3A during the second half of the season. 

A very young Wolves squad shocked the state last season, making a deep 5A playoff run to the semifinals, and they hope to take it a step further as they also aim for yet another South Conference title. After a 2-4 start to the season against a brutal slate, Lake Hamilton has won eight of its past 10 matchups and fell just short of its first win of 2025 in a three-point loss to No. 11 Pulaski Academy in the Kameron Hale Invitational final. 

To say it was a rollercoaster first half of the season for the Tigers would be an understatement, but they have rebounded well from an 0-3 start — all losses against ranked opposition — to win 11 of their past 13 games. They took a loss to unbeaten No. 17 Dover in the championship round of the Gravette Invitational Tournament but bounced back with a lopsided win over Fort Smith Southside in 6A-West play. 

The Blazers finished 2024 with a humbling defeat at the hands of No. 11 Pulaski Academy, but they proved they can play with some of the state’s best as demonstrated in early-season wins over No. 4 Mountain Home and No. 25 Brookland. They have one more tune-up game against Westside (Jonesboro) before getting to 5A-East play against Batesville on Friday as they aim for redemption after falling to the Pioneers on Dec. 5.

Former Nashville assistant Bret Burgess has the Leopards off to a perfect start in his first season at the helm and they have every argument to be in the conversation as Class 4A’s top team. There will be multiple opportunities to keep climbing in a deeper 4A-7 conference, starting this week when they head to No. 12 Nashville on Friday. 

The Class 2A Bulldogs are determined to get the bitter taste from last season’s ending out of their mouth and they have proven that thus far with an unblemished first half. Of their multiple victories against higher-classed teams, Quitman closed 2024 with a seven-point triumph over No. 23 Beebe to take the Beebe Holiday Classic championship. 

All signs pointed to a continuously improving 2024-25 after the Badgers finished last season 19-12 and made the 5A state tournament, including victories in six of their final seven games. Beebe is led by stellar sophomore Bailey Barton, who finished with 31 points — including nine three-pointers, a school record for a single game — plus five rebounds and three assists in their most recent win over Clinton. 

One of the top reasons the Purple Dogs are here is because they have not played many games, but they certainly have not lacked in strength of schedule. Before a dominant win over Rogers Heritage to open 6A-West play, their losses included top-ranked Conway and No. 10 North Little Rock, along with successful out-of-state programs Osbourn Park (Va.) and Carondelet (Calif.). 

With 4A-3 play tipping off Thursday, the Bearcats are primed for a run at a third consecutive conference championship. All five of their losses have come at the hands of Class 5A competition, including No. 20 Valley View, plus three defeats to No. 8 Greene County Tech.

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