Week 1 Girls Rankings

Class AAAAAAA

  1. Westlake (1-0)
  2. McEachern (2-0)
  3. Collins Hill (1-0)
  4. Norcross (2-1)
  5. Colquitt County (2-0)
  6. Newton (3-0)
  7. North Forsyth (2-0)
  8. Cherokee (1-0)
  9. Brookwood (1-0)
  10. South Gwinnett (3-0) 

Class AAAAAA

  1. Northview (1-0)
  2. Winder-Barrow (1-0)
  3. Lovejoy (2-0)
  4. Harrison (0-1)
  5. Sequoyah (0-0)
  6. Douglas County (1-0)
  7. Creekview (0-0)
  8. Mays (0-0)
  9. Forest Park (1-1)
  10. Alpharetta (1-0) 

Class AAAAA

  1. Buford (1-0)
  2. Flowery Branch (2-0)
  3. Eagle’s Landing (1-0)
  4. Carrollton (0-1)
  5. Arabia Mountain (1-0)
  6. Southwest DeKalb (0-1)
  7. Bainbridge (0-0)
  8. Villa Rica (0-0)
  9. Maynard Jackson (1-0)
  10. Dutchtown (0-0) 

Class AAAA

  1. Carver-Columbus (1-0)
  2. Spalding (2-0)
  3. Henry County (2-0)
  4. Luella (4-0)
  5. Jefferson (0-1)
  6. Northwest Whitfield (0-0)
  7. Madison County (0-1)
  8. West Hall (2-0)
  9. LaGrange (0-0)
  10. Baldwin (1-0) 

Class AAA

  1. Greater Atlanta Christian (3-0)
  2. Beach (0-0)
  3. Central-Macon (0-0)
  4. Johnson-Savannah (0-0)
  5. Franklin County (1-0)
  6. Monroe (1-0)
  7. Dawson County (1-0)
  8. Haralson County (0-0)
  9. Hart County (1-0)
  10. Lovett (2-1) 

Class AA

  1. Laney (0-0)
  2. Rabun County (1-0)
  3. Fitzgerald (1-0)
  4. Model (1-0)
  5. Swainsboro (0-0)
  6. Banks County (0-0)
  7. Putnam County (1-0)
  8. Dodge County (0-0)
  9. Berrien (1-0)
  10. Bleckley County (1-0) 

Class A-Private

  1. Holy Innocents’ (1-0)
  2. Wesleyan (1-0)
  3. St. Francis (2-0)
  4. Fellowship Christian (1-0)
  5. Landmark Christian (3-1)
  6. Stratford Academy (0-0)
  7. Greenforest (1-0)
  8. Prince Avenue Christian (0-0)
  9. Lakeview Academy (0-0)
  10. Pinecrest Academy (1-1) 

Class A-Public

  1. Pelham (0-0)
  2. Telfair County (1-0)
  3. Wheeler County (1-0)
  4. Woodville-Tompkins (0-0)
  5. Treutlen (0-0)
  6. Marion County (0-0)
  7. Macon County (0-0)
  8. Greenville (0-0)
  9. Turner County (0-0)
  10. Wilcox County (1-0) 

Much like on the boys side, Class AAAAAAA’s top teams were dominant. No. 1 Westlake drilled Sandy Creek 65-19, No. 2 McEachern beat Stephenson 77-65 and blew past Class 5A No. 6 Southwest DeKalb 73-52 at the Parkview Tip-Off Classic while No. 3 Collins Hill dismantled Riverwood 91-7. No. 4 Norcross suffered a 64-51 loss to Class 3A No. 1 Greater Atlanta Christian but remains in the four-spot after beating Tucker 63-52 and Class 6A No. 4 Harrison 63-50. Coach Angie Hembree has not been on the sidelines yet this season as she battles with health issues. No. 9 Brookwood moves down one spot after struggling with ML King, 52-43. Lambert (1-1) slides out of the Top 10 for now after losing a tough 48-41 game to Class 5A No. 3 Eagle’s Landing at the Johns Creek Gladiator Showcase. The Longhorns are replaced by No. 10 South Gwinnett The Comets are 3-0 with wins over Duluth (47-37), Grovetown (54-36) and Miller Grove (49-29).

No. 2 Winder-Barrow didn’t necessarily open their season with an overly impressive start, the Class AAAAAA power struggling to score in a 35-24 win over Central Gwinnett at the Tabo’s Tip-Off Classic. Chellia Watson dumped in 15 points to lead the Lady Doggs. UConn-signee Olivia Nelson-Ododa is still trying to regain her form after dislocating her knee cap last season. The Doggs see a respected Mill Creek team in Round 2 today.  No. 6 Douglas County breezed by Tri-Cities 88-33 behind Amari Robinson’s 18 points. The Tigers face a stiff challenge today against Norcross at the Parkview Tip-Off Classic. No. 9 Forest Park drops one spot after losing at Parkview 51-50, blowing a 39-28 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Nonetheless, 6-foot-3 freshman post Sania Feagin has been impressive to start the year. She had 15 points, 13 rebounds and 6 blocks in a 62-27 rout of North Clayton before adding on 10 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks against the Panthers.

Michigan State-signee Tory Ozment said the goal for No. 1 Buford is to repeat in Class AAAAA this year. The Lady Wolves looked sharp in their 71-31 win over Duluth at the Craig Sager Memorial Tournament, Ozment leading the way with 15 points. Ebony Grant added 11 while Air Force-signee Audrey Weiner netted 9. Region 8 rival No. 2 Flowery Branch shook off the rust with a 67-40 win at Chestatee and a 55-47 victory against No. 4 Carrollton, Alabama-signee Taniyah Worth going for 23 points and 7 rebounds while Caroline Wysocki, a junior that might be taking her game to the next level, finished with 19 points, 5 assists and 9 steals.

In Class AAAA, No. 2 Spalding has gotten a lift from freshman guard Kierstyn Milner. The spark plug is averaging 19 points per game for the 2-0 Jaguars.  No. 4 Luella jumps No. 5 Jefferson after the Dragons were upset by Class 3A No. 7 Dawson County. The Lions did damage at the Hoops 4 A Cure Classic, pouring on a 78-40 win over Milton highlighted by Kamya Hollingshed’s 27 points and 12 rebounds. Keely Brown added 24 and Zaria Bankston netted 15. Hollingshed nailed 12 threes in the Lions two weekend wins.

There is a new No. 1 in Class AAA, but it’s no fault of defending state champion No. 2 Beach who hasn’t started their season yet.  No. 1 Greater Atlanta Christian has made a statement behind Auburn’s Robyn Benton and Hofstra’s Caria Reynolds. The Spartans, who boast four D-I signees (Taylor Sutton – MTSU; MaryMartha Turner – Wofford), have already beaten Norcross (64-51), Woodward Academy (87-36) and Milton (98-15). Their firepower will be on display today against Southwest DeKalb. Near the bottom of the poll, Coach Steve Sweat was at it again, guiding his No. 7 Dawson County squad to a 68-56 win over Jefferson. No. 9 Hart County jumps into the rankings after beating Class 4A No. 7 Madison County 54-51. Inactive Cedar Grove (0-0) drops out of the rankings for now. No. 10 Lovett remains anchored in the final spot after losing in overtime to Class 2A No. 4 Model, but beating Class A-Private No. 5 Landmark Christian 56-37.

No. 4 Model was Class AA’s biggest mover, up two spots after beating Lovett 63-59 in overtime. South Carolina-signee Victaria Saxton was unstoppable inside, exploding for 32 points and 21 rebounds, outbattling Stanford-signee, guard Jenna Brown who had 21 points. Model’s only apparent competition in Region 7, Dade County (0-2) exits from the poll after losing at Collinsville, AL 42-28 and to Ringgold 62-50. Replacing the preseason No. 7 team is No. 10 Bleckley County. Jahnaria Brown is back in the fold as a versatile forward. She helped the Royals to a 46-19 win over Hawkinsville.

The race for style points in Class A-Private is officially on, as No. 1 Holy Innocents’, No. 2 Wesleyan and No. 3 St. Francis took turns boat-racing their opponents. The Golden Bears drubbed Archer 68-38, the Wolves beat Whitewater 68-33 and the Lady Knights blew out Brewbaker Tech and Carver, AL by an average of 47.5 points at the Hoops 4 A Cure Classic. Climbing two spots to No. 4, is Fellowship Christian. Colorado-signee Cameron Swartz poured in a career-high 45 to lead the Paladins past No. 10 Pinecrest Academy, 57-49.

There were no changes in Class A-Public. No. 2 Telfair County and No. 3 Wheeler County were scheduled to play on Saturday, but no score has been posted. (If you know the score or if the game was even played, please contact me.)