Who’s destined to be next in the top 25?

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One month into the season, who are the movers in Southland girls’ basketball?

The way I see it, these are some teams that weren’t heavy on the radar but deserve a good look when The Times’ preseason top 25 gets readjusted next week:

Bishop Montgomery (11-4). The Knights beat No. 23 Brentwood, No. 13 Marlborough and No. 10 Chatsworth in successive games. They also beat Edison, which went on to win the Orange County Championships, and last week avenged a loss to No. 8 Lynwood.

Edison (11-2). The Chargers lost consecutive games to Bishop Montgomery and Chatsworth at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Chandler, Ariz., but last week won the OCC with victories over No. 6 Santa Margarita, No. 22 Foothill and No. 12 Mira Costa in a three-day span.

Millikan (10-2). The Rams lost by four points to both No. 11 Redondo and Chatsworth, but behind Courtney Clements’ 18.6 average have since beaten No. 21 Esperanza, No. 4 Ayala and a South Torrance squad that has beaten No. 14 Magnolia.

Ventura (14-1). The Kali Bennett era ended with her graduation to Washington, but the wait-and-see approach toward the Cougars yields a mostly positive response. A one-point loss to Perris in the championship of the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions might be the best indicator thus far, but they have also beaten No. 25 Saugus and Santa Monica. The real meat of the schedule is forthcoming: hosting South Torrance on Saturday, Norco, No. 19 Cajon and Marlborough.

Who do you think deserves to be added to the region’s elite? Make your case because my ears aren’t always deaf.

-- Martin Henderson

-- Image from www.webs.wichita.edu