Claire Heilman (25) / Photo by Noah Clooten

Claire Heilman (25) / Photo by Noah Clooten

Devils Lake girls’ basketball remained at No. 2 in the latest NDAPSSA polls released Monday.

The Firebirds took their first loss of the season on Friday against Kindred in the Class A Girls’ Shootout. They bounced back on Saturday with a win over Watford City, going 1-1 in the shootout. Their record moved to 8-1.

Thompson, which was previously unranked, slid into the No. 5 slot. The voting was done before Devils Lake’s matchup with Thompson scheduled for Monday, which is now a contest between No. 5 and No. 2.

The Firebirds only got two first-place votes, though, compared to seven last week. No. 1 South Prairie-Max went from 11 to 19 first-place votes. No. 3 Valley City, which Devils Lake recently beat in a 66-64 thriller, did not receive any first-place votes. Clearly, the Firebirds’ edge in the head-to-head matchup helped convince the voters to keep them at No. 2 despite the surprising loss to unranked Kindred.

Devils Lake unsurprisingly remained at No. 2 on the boys’ side as well. The Firebirds went from six to five first-place votes, while No. 1 Kindred went from 12 to 16. Each team is 6-0 overall, and 2-0 against opponents of its respective region. Devils Lake will play Kindred on Feb. 22 in a rematch of last year’s Class A title game.

Coincidentally, Thompson also moved up to No. 5 in the boys’ poll. Grafton, the previous No. 3, fell out of the top five completely after losing to Thompson and Shiloh Christian.

Over in Class B, Benson County is still No. 1 in the girls’ division. The Wildcats received 15 first-place votes, while Kenmare/Bowbells got the remaining six. They received 14 of the 18 first-place votes last week. Benson County is 12-0 overall and 2-0 in district play.

The New Rockford-Sheyenne boys fell from No. 5 to No. 8 this week. The Rockets, after starting the year 6-0, lost 72-70 to Carrington on Jan. 9. Carrington is a Class A team that competes in Devils Lake’s region.

Wilton-Wing is still dominating things at the top of the Class B boys’ poll. The defending champion, Westhope/Newburg, fell from No. 4 to No. 9 after losing 58-44 to then-No. 9 Our Redeemer’s.

Class A boys’ basketball

  1. Kindred (16) – 100 points (Previous: 1)
  2. Devils Lake (5) – 89 points (Previous: 2)
  3. Killdeer – 56 points (Previous: 4)
  4. Shiloh Christian – 46 points (Previous: 5)
  5. Thompson – 20 points (Previous: NR)

Received votes: Lisbon, Beulah, Grafton

Class A girls’ basketball

  1. South Prairie-Max (19) – 100 points (Previous: 1)
  2. Devils Lake (2) – 68 points (Previous: 2)
  3. Valley City – 63 points (Previous: 3)
  4. Carrington – 50 points (Previous: 4)
  5. Thompson – 12 points (Previous: NR)

Received votes: Central Cass, Kindred, Turtle Mountain, Des Lacs-Burlington

Class B boys’ basketball

  1. Wilton/Wing (16) – 204 points (Previous: 1)
  2. Bishop Ryan (4) – 190 points (Previous: 2)
  3. North Border (1) – 163 points (Previous: 3)
  4. Hankinson – 129 points (Previous: 6)
  5. Our Redeemer’s – 101 points (Previous: 9)
  6. Velva – 100 points (Previous: 7)
  7. Glen Ullin/Hebron – 81 points (Previous: 8)
  8. New Rockford-Sheyenne – 79 points (Previous: 5)
  9. Westhope/Newburg – 63 points (Previous: 4)
  10. Midway/Minto – 36 points (Previous: 10)

Received votes: Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood, LaMoure-Litchville/Marion, Oakes, Washburn

Class B girls’ basketball

  1. Benson County (15) – 197 points (Previous: 1)
  2. Kenmare/Bowbells (6) – 184 points (Previous: 2)
  3. Tioga – 153 points (Previous: 3)
  4. Central McLean – 146 points (Previous: 4)
  5. Berthold – 138 points (Previous: 5)
  6. May-Port-C-G – 109 points (Previous: 7)
  7. Washburn – 75 points (Previous: 9)
  8. Bowman County – 43 points (Previous: 8)
  9. Hatton/Northwood – 27 points (Previous: NR)
  10. Sargent County – 23 points (Previous: 6)