Weekly basketball polls are back, and there’s already been a significant shakeup in Class A.
Devils Lake was ranked No. 4 in the preseason Class A girls poll last week. In the second round of polls released Wednesday by the NDAPSSA, the Firebirds fell out of the top five after losing 69-65 to then-No. 2 Valley City in their season opener.
Valley City took over the top spot after preseason No. 1 South Prairie-Max lost to Carrington in its season opener. SP-M fell to No. 4 this week. Carrington, previously unranked, jumped all the way to No. 2.
Thompson and Kindred remained at No. 3 and 5, respectively.
Valley City received 14 of the 18 first-place votes and 86 points. Carrington got three first-place votes — a reward for beating the previous No. 1 — while Thompson got one.
Carrington and Thompson play in the same region as Devils Lake.
SP-M did beat Kenmare/Bowbells on Tuesday to improve to 1-1 in the early going. It’s worth noting that many of SP-M’s athletes played in the volleyball state tournament, giving them a short amount of time before they dove into basketball.
SP-M has been a familiar foe for Devils Lake over the last two years. Devils Lake beat SP-M in the 2024 state championship game, then lost to SP-M in the 2025 state third-place game.
The Firebirds took some tough luck in this poll. They went neck-and-neck with the new No. 1 and defending state champion on Tuesday — they led at halftime and were up by three with less than two minutes left. But their narrow loss pushed them out of the top five.
Devils Lake was still listed among additional vote-getters as the first team out. No. 5-ranked Kindred is yet to play a game, as of Thursday.
In the Class B poll — also released Wednesday — Benson County remained the unanimous No. 1 with 18 first-place votes and 90 points. The Wildcats beat Griggs/Midkota 74-40 to begin their state title defense on Monday. Berthold is a distant No. 2 with 55 points.
Langdon Area/Munich, while not having played any games yet, was one of the additional teams to receive votes.
Parentheses indicate first-place votes.
Class A girls’ basketball
- Valley City (14) – 86 points (Previous: 2)
- Carrington (3) – 58 points (Previous: NR)
- Thompson (1) – 44 points (Previous: 3)
- South Prairie-Max – 31 points (Previous: 1)
- Kindred – 23 points (Previous: 5)
Received votes: Devils Lake, Central Cass, Shiloh Christian, Turtle Mountain
Class B girls’ basketball
- Benson County (18) – 90 points (Previous: 1)
- Berthold – 55 points (Previous: 2)
- Maple River – 53 points (Previous: 3)
- LaMoure-Litchville/Marion – 33 points (Previous: 4)
- Tioga – 17 points (Previous: NR)
Received votes: Kenmare/Bowbells, Central McLean, Langdon Area/Munich, Hankinson, New Salem-Almont, Washburn
