Jan. 10—Already No. 1 in the state for a month, Maryknoll's girls basketball team gets stronger each day.

Already No. 1 in the state for a month, Maryknoll's girls basketball team gets stronger each day.

The Lady Spartans retained their No. 1 ranking in the Star-Advertiser Girls Basketball Top 10 with convincing wins over Damien and 'Iolani last week.

Maryknoll (16-1, 6-0 ILH ) left no doubt with a 43-23 rout of three-time defending state champion 'Iolani. The Spartans shut out the Raiders in the third quarter, a feat that has not happened at Father Bray Athletic Center in ages.

Ciera Tugade-Agasiva was virtually unstoppable when Maryknoll handed 'Iolani a 47-44 loss on Dec. 17, scoring 22 points. The persistent junior shot 6-for-7 at the free-throw line that night.

On Saturday afternoon, she had 15 points and nine rebounds, shooting 13-for-13 at the charity stripe.

Since taking the lead in the ILH standings in December, Maryknoll has remained at No. 1 four weeks in a row. This week's balloting among coaches and media resulted in the Spartans' first unanimous top ranking of the season.

Campbell leaped over Lahainaluna to claim the No. 5 spot. The Sabers crushed Waipahu (64-24 ), Mililani (55-31 ) and Leilehua (51-31 ) and is now 9-0 in the OIA West (12-6 overall ).

Maui moved up two notches to No. 7 after a 52-51 victory over Lahainaluna. With their first win over the Lady Lunas in three tries, the Sabers improved to 7-2 in the MIL Division I standings, one game behind Lahainaluna.

No. 8 Kamehameha has a four-game week in the ILH gauntlet with home games against Damien (Monday ), Maryknoll (Wednesday ), Punahou (Friday ) and 'Iolani (Saturday ).