Since it’s been a month since our last Girls High School Top 20 ranking, we have plenty to update. The ample time, however, has allowed a better understanding of the candidates.

Fallbrook’s still at the top, but the Warriors are hurting for competition. Stay tuned today for a more in-depth look at the four-time reigning champion, but coaches Marin and Craig Pinnell (who welcomed a new baby this week) admitted to being behind on the development curve. But, the team has welcomed back All American Richelle Stephens, who had been nursing a lower-body injury, and she’ll play a weighty role in the team’s SoCal championship next weekend against South Bay.

Danville is the new NorCal champion (read more) and are impressing at every turn. The team formed three years ago, and a large portion of those original members are still there, and the cohesion shows. Sacramento did pleasantly surprise in Saturday’s final, losing only 41-38 (necessitating a jump in the rankings). The Amazons announced that after seven years at the national high school championship, they would not be making this year’s trip. Injuries (the team has 17 players eligible to play) and fundraising issues prevented their commitment.

Sacramento swapped places with Pleasanton, as the pair had to play into the NorCal final, and the Amazons won. The Cavaliers recently announced that All American Emily Roskopf will be attending varsity Quinnipiac University in fall 2015.

Also in the West, Kent holds steady at number four, having returned from its Canada tour 4-0. The team is still undefeated in Washington and should remain that way through the state final. The Crusaders did play an interesting game against Oregon’s Grant. Both sides were missing players, but the Generals impressed in the 47-36 loss to Kent. We profiled the powerful A'au sisters - Sui, Tiara and Tiana - all noteworthy players who aided the team’s jump in the rankings.

Orem continues to trample the competition in Utah, having scored 499 unanswered points this season. The Lady Stallions are the favorites, by far, for the state title (read more). The only issue is that they aren’t playing any crossover competition – no tournaments working in teams from other regions, and they were unable to accept a late invitation to nationals. In other words, it’s tough to gauge those 499 points.

And that’s why it’s great to have events like the Midwest Championship, which occurs this weekend. Elkhart, Ind., will host several of our Top 20s, as well as candidates looking to break in (read more). Perennial champ Divine Savior is looking as strong as ever, banking a couple of friendly wins without surrendering a point against. Catholic Memorial showed some vulnerability against Illinois state champ Plainfield, but we were unwilling to demote the Crusaders for a 40-minute, disruptive game – but we’ll be taking notes this weekend. Ohio state champ St. Joseph’s Academy banked a solid 27-5 win against the rebuilding Lakewood. And Minnesota state champ Armstrong has posted two 100-point-plus wins and will be initiating its large freshmen class against quality competition this weekend.

We’ll be watching Plainfield, also competing in the Midwest Championship DI, as well as Indiana’s Warsaw and Penn. The reigning Indiana state champ, North Central, doesn’t compete above the state level because of playing restrictions on Sunday, but they’re posting big numbers back home, and we’ll use some of these crossover results to better understand where they fit in.

Some teams are on tenuous ground – like Maryville. The Tennessee state champ hasn’t lost any games, but they haven’t played much either, and won a 28-19 match against unranked McMinn Tribe. The duo play this weekend for the Smoky Mountain championship, and we’re eager for those results.

The Pennsylvania-area teams are still trading wins, so the strongest sides seem to change every week. Just means there is good competition, and right now, the Valkyries (North Penn) are proving the most stable. After an early, one-try defeat to State College, the Valkyries have defeated former league leader North Bay 36-17. The Maryland side also suffered three big losses during last weekend’s Maryland Exiles tournament – including a 54-0 defeat to West End – and warranted a drop from the top 20. Downingtown holds on at #20. After losing a 19-12 contest to North Bay in the opening week, Downingtown bettered State College 26-17. On May 3, Downingtown and the Valkyries will play each other, and that’ll be a game to watch.