Girls’ basketball preview: State coaches’ rankings

(Rankings as selected by the coaches)

Top 10 Teams

(Last year’s record in parentheses)

1. Elizabethtown (32-3) — Lost by one point to eventual champion Covington Holy Cross in state quarterfinals. Won Sweet Sixteen in 1998.

2. Male (26-5) — Reached Sweet Sixteen for fourth time last season (first time since 1996). Also ousted by Holy Cross in March.

3. Butler (23-6) — Tied with Lexington Catholic and Sacred Heart for second-most titles in history.

4. Franklin County (26-7) — Top five scorers all return for Flyers, who were bounced early in last year’s tournament.

5. Mercer County (29-4) — Seygan Robins led Titans to second Sweet Sixteen in history last season as a freshman.

6. Manual (23-7) — Crimsons and Male will vie for 7th Region honors.

7. Bullitt East (22-9) — Title aspirations took a blow when Lindsey Duvall announced she’ll miss season.

8. Murray (27-4) — Junior Maddie Waldrop averaged 16.3 points to lead Tigers. Third- and fourth-leading scorers return as sophomores.

9. Bowling Green (26-8) — Purples sport good blend of youth and experience, led by last year’s leading scorer Oneisha Turner.

10. Eastern (19-7) — Eagles have never reached the Sweet Sixteen; the cost of being in a region with foes like Male and Manual.

Top 10 Players

(Year, height, last year’s PPG in parentheses)

1. Erin Boley (Sr., 6-2, 20.1) — Notre Dame commitment tries to lead Elizabethtown to third straight Sweet Sixteen.

2. I’liyah Green (Sr., 6-1, 10.6) — Male product, daughter of former U of L football player Ibn Green, signed with Cincinnati.

3. Lindsey Duvall (Jr., 5-10, Jr.) — Bullitt East star will miss this season after surgery to remove benign tumor on her knee.

4. Krys McCune (Sr., 6-3, 9.5) — Manual star nearly averaged a double-double with 8.6 rebounds. West Virginia signee.

5. Mykassa Robinson (So., 5-7, 10.7) — Ashland Blazer standout could lead Kittens to record-tying fifth 16th Region title.

6. Bree Glover (Sr., 5-11, 19.2) — Will try to get Glasgow back to Sweet Sixteen before heading to Mississippi.

7. Whitney Creech (Sr., 5-9, 42.0) — WKU signee from Jenkins needs 88 points to become fourth Kentuckian to score at least 4,000 points at varsity level. Could be first to hit 5,000.

8. Jaelynn Penn (Jr., 5-10, 10.3) — Agile wing aims to get Butler back in Sweet Sixteen after three-year absence.

9. Seygan Robins (So., 5-7, 14.2) — UK has already offered Mercer County standout who will eclipse 1,000 points early.

10. Malaka Frank (Sr., 5-10, 10.1) — Franklin County went 35 seasons between Sweet Sixteen appearances. WKU pledge could lead them to first back-to-back bids.

Sweet Sixteen Picks

1st: Murray

2nd: Madisonville

3rd: Muhlenberg County

4th: Bowling Green

5th: Elizabethtown

6th: Butler

7th: Male

8th: Simon Kenton

9th: Holmes

10th: Mason County

11th: Franklin County

12th: Mercer County

13th: Harlan

14th: Breathitt County

15th: Johnson Central

16th: East Carter

This story was originally published November 28, 2015 at 8:00 PM with the headline "Girls’ basketball preview: State coaches’ rankings."