Willard ranked No. 7 in Div. III AP poll

COLUMBUS — After a narrow loss at Hopewell-Loudon on Feb. 4, the Willard girls basketball teams fell two spots in the latest Associated Press weekly high school state poll, released on Monday. The Crimson Flashes (17-2) fell two spots from fifth to No. 7 in this week's Division III poll. The Chieftains (18-1) are No. 12 in this week's poll for the second straight week after they claimed a 50-49 win over Willard. The two teams are also the top two seeds in the Div. III Shelby district, with sectional action getting underway next weekend. Willard bounced back with an 61-38 win over Huron on Feb. 6, which clinched a share of the SBC Bay Division title. The Flashes then cruised past visiting Ashland, 58-22, on Monday night. On Thursday, Willard heads to Castalia to take on Margaretta (15-5, 8-1), which needs a win over the Flashes to force a co-championship in the Bay Division. The Polar Bears are also in the same district as the Flashes, and on the same side of the bracket as the Chieftains. Hopewell also won a close game, 41-38, over the Bears earlier this season. Also of note in the poll, Napoleon (17-1) is No. 2 this week in Div. II. The Wildcats ended the Flashes, 44-41, on Jan. 2 in Napoleon. It was the lone loss of the season for the Flashes until last week's setback at Hopewell-Loudon, which snapped a seven-game win streak. In Div. IV, Buckeye Central moved up one spot from No. 7 to sixth. Willard topped the Bucks, 56-53, in overtime on Jan. 14. The top-ranked teams in the poll this week include Cincinnati Mt. Notre Dame (Div. I), Thornville Sheridan (Div. II), Berlin Hiland (Div. III) and Ft. Loramie (Div. IV).