Class AAAAAAA
1. Westlake (1-0)
2. Collins Hill (0-0)
3. Cherokee (3-0)
4. McEachern (2-0)
5. Pebblebrook (2-0)
6. Roswell (2-0)
7. North Forsyth (1-1)
8. Grayson (1-1)
9. North Cobb (0-1)
10. Campbell (4-0)
Class AAAAAA
1. Lovejoy (3-0)
2. Forest Park (2-1)
3. Valdosta (2-0)
4. Glynn Academy (1-0)
5. Creekview (0-0)
6. Dacula (2-0)
7. Grovetown (2-0)
8. Langston Hughes (0-1)
9. Douglas County (0-0)
10. Stephenson (3-1)
Class AAAAA
1. Buford (2-0)
2. Carrollton (2-0)
3. Veterans (1-0)
4. Statesboro (2-0)
5. Villa Rica (1-0)
6. Wayne County (1-0)
7. Woodland-Stockbridge (0-0)
8. Eagle’s Landing (1-0)
9. Jones County (1-0)
10. Starr’s Mill (2-1)
Class AAAA
1. Carver-Columbus (0-1)
2. Spalding (1-1)
3. Luella (1-0)
4. Flowery Branch (2-0)
5. Cross Creek (1-0)
6. Druid Hills (3-0)
7. Sandy Creek (0-1)
8. Woodward Academy (4-0)
9. McDonough (0-1)
10. Troup County (0-0)
Class AAA
1. Johnson-Savannah (0-0)
2. Jefferson (3-0)
3. Beach (1-0)
4. Sonoraville (0-0)
5. Ringgold (0-0)
6. Dawson County (1-1)
7. GAC (1-2)
8. Hart County (0-0)
9. Rutland (1-0)
10. Lumpkin County (2-0)
Class AA
1. Early County (1-1)
2. Laney (1-1)
3. Douglass (0-1)
4. Bryan County (1-0)
5. Washington County (0-0)
6. Rabun County (0-0)
7. Fitzgerald (0-0)
8. Putnam County (0-0)
9. Rockmart (0-0)
10. Southwest-Macon (1-0)
Class A-Private
1. St. Francis (1-0)
2. Holy Innocents’ (2-0)
3. Hebron Christian (3-0)
4. Wesleyan (1-0)
5. Mt. Paran (0-0)
6. Lakeview Academy (1-1)
7. Greenforest (2-1)
8. Stratford Academy (0-0)
9. Calvary Day (1-1)
10. Galloway (3-1)
Class A-Public
1. Greenville (0-0)
2. Wheeler County (1-0)
3. Clinch County (0-0)
4. Calhoun County (0-0)
5. Central-Talbotton (0-0)
6. Bowdon (0-0)
7. Marion County (0-0)
8. Turner County (0-0)
9. Wilcox County (0-0)
10. Pelham (0-0)
The race to the top has begun as early season favorites try to prove their rank. Two Preseason No. 1’s have suffered losses, but have remained atop their respective polls.
In Class 7A, No. 1 Westlake won its 31st straight game and 55th in a row against in-state competition as they drug Class 4A No. 2 Spalding 69-35 at the Hawks Naismith Classic, getting 16 points and 8 steals from Ta’Niah Latson. Homegrown No. 3 Cherokee is off to a fast start, pounding defending Class 6A state champion Lanier 69-32 before picking up easy wins over River Ridge (79-48) and North Paulding (62-28). Navy-signee Sydne Watts is averaging 16.6 points per game. No. 8 Grayson and No. 9 North Cobb tumble four spots. The Rams were stunned by Druid Hills 65-60 while North Cobb was flat in a 51-45 loss to a talented young Kell team. No. 4 McEachern rises three spots after beating Class 2A No. 3 Douglass 63-49 and earning an ugly 38-27 win over Class 6A No. 8 Langston Hughes at the Hawks Naismith Classic. Marietta (0-1) was blown out of the water by a shorthanded Class A-Private No. 2 Holy Innocents’, losing 63-29 at the Hawks Naismith Classic. They are replaced by No. 10 Campbell, whose best win came against Class 3A No. 7 GAC 61-47. Sophomores Nia Bozeman (17.7 ppg) and Sarah Taub (14 ppg, 5 spg) have paced Coach Randy McClure’s young team.
No. 1 Lovejoy’s dominance of Class 6A continued with a resounding 64-46 win over No. 2 Forest Park as the predicted gap between the Wildcats and the field is now more apparent than ever. North Carolina State-signee Genesis Bryant (15), Georgia Tech-signee Anaya Boyd (14) and La’Nya Foster (14) powered Coach Ced King’s hungry team. No. 3 Valdosta picked up wins over Carver, AL (63-46) and Class 2A No. 1 Early County (71-64). Highly-touted 6-foot-3 freshman Essence Cody had her hands full with Makayla Timpson, but managed to contribute 12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals and 1 block. No. 4 Glynn Academy survived an overtime scare with Tift County, 43-41. UGA-signee Zoesha Smith had 22 points (8-26 FG), 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 6 steals and 6 blocks. Heritage-Conyers (0-2) falls out of the poll after losses to Arabia Mountain (71-35) and Eastside (42-34). Replacing the Patriots is No. 7 Grovetown. The Warriors knocked off perennial power Class 2A No. 2 Laney 64-61 at the Wolfpack Tip-Off behind sophomore Keona Curtis’ 22 points. Grovetown followed up with a 66-59 win over Class 4A Preseason No. 7 Baldwin. Keep an eye on No. 10 Stephenson. The Jaguars lost 65-43 at Forest Park but the biggest story is that double-double machine Sierra Wynn has quit basketball her senior season after averaging 11.2 points and 9.6 rebounds a year ago.
Class 5A is No. 1 Buford’s to lose. The three-time defending state champions routed Class 7A No. 7 North Forsyth 64-43 and Class 3A No. 7 GAC 59-25. Furman-signee Tate Walters scored 13 against the Spartans as the Wolves led 42-8 at halftime. No. 2 Carrollton moves up a spot after beating Pace Academy 46-37 and Opelika, AL 61-42. The Trojans’ D-I backcourt took a major hit, losing star sophomore Kehinde Obasuyi to an ACL injury in their preseason scrimmage. Coach Shon Thomaston has more than enough talent to make a deep run however behind High Major junior point guard De’Mauri Flournoy and freshmen standouts Eghosa Obasuyi and 5-foot-10 Kanija Daniel. No. 10 Starr’s Mill defeated Class 4A No. 7 Sandy Creek 51-41 as the Patriots were without Texas Tech-signee Daija Powell. Maynard Jackson (0-2) departs from the Top 10 after losing 75-41 to Class 7A No. 8 Grayson and to Josey 50-41. Cracking the rankings is No. 9 Jones County who beat Warner Robins 57-44. The Greyhounds have a talented freshman class led by Jada Morgan and Kimmya Epps who will pay dividends down the road.
Class 4A No. 1 Carver-Columbus saw their 32-game winning streak put to an end by Class A-Private No. 1 St. Francis, 52-46. No. 4 Flowery Branch moves up two spots after No. 7 Sandy Creek slips three places after a 51-41 loss to Class 5A No. 10 Starr’s Mill without Texas Tech-signee Daija Powell. Madison County (0-1) and Baldwin (0-2) both fall from the poll. Sandy’s Spiel Miss Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year Kayla McPherson dumped in 38 points in a 65-59 loss to Forsyth Central while Baldwin lost 64-63 at Greenbrier and 66-59 to Class 6A No. 7 Grovetown. Skyrocketing into the rankings is No. 6 Druid Hills. After finishing 12-16 with a state playoff berth, the Red Devils have come out with something to prove behind Coach Ro Rice. Druid Hills stunned Class 7A Preseason No. 4 Grayson 65-60 behind junior Jayla Thompson (23 points, 9 rebounds) and sophomore Kyia Craft (17 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, 5 steals). Thompson is averaging double figures while Craft is leading the charge from her guard position at 13.6 points per game as the Red Devils are off to their first 3-0 start since 2001. Following Druid Hills is the fourth team from Region 4 in the poll, No. 8 Woodward Academy. The War Eagles are leading the state in scoring at 83 points per game, with a high of 96 in their 77-point win over Creekside. Woodward tipped-off the season with a dramatic 93-91 double overtime victory over Class A-Private No. 10 Galloway as sophomore sensation Sydney Bowles poured in 40 points. Bowles, who averaged 23.3 points as a freshman, is currently posting 30.3 points, 8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 6 steals per game while shooting 52% from two-point range, 50% from three and 70% from the line.
Though they have a perfect record, wins haven’t come easy for Class 3A No. 2 Jefferson. The Dragons had to rally twice in their first two games, surviving No. 6 Dawson County 54-47 and Banks County 55-52. The nucleus of North Georgia-commit Livi Blackstock (12.6 ppg), Deshona Gaither (12.6 ppg) and Courtney Kidd (12 ppg) has carried Jefferson in close games. Franklin County (0-2) exits the Top 10 after blowout losses to North Oconee (64-24) and Habersham Central (59-40). Coach John Strickland is without his top three players including Preseason All-State selection Bailee Breedlove who is out till at least January. Breaking through is No. 10 Lumpkin County. After flirting with the Top 10 all of last season, the Indians have solidified their status early on with two road wins over Chestatee (51-45) and White County (73-67). Junior guard Isabel Davenport is averaging 20.5 points per game while freshmen Mary Mullinax and Kate Jackson have taken turns with big scoring games on a 9-girl roster which features six freshmen and one senior.
No. 1 Early County remains at the top of Class 2A after a 1-1 start which saw the Bobcats beat Class 4A No. 9 McDonough 62-61 before falling to Class 6A No. 3 Valdosta 71-64. Reigning Class 2A Player of the Year 6-foot-3 junior Makayla Timpson is making an early case for Sandy’s Spiel Miss Basketball, averaging 27.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, 5 steals and 3.5 blocks. No. 2 Laney started the season 0-1 for the first time since 2014-15 when they lost to Greenbrier 56-50. The Wildcats were upended by Class 6A No. 7 Grovetown 64-61 before bouncing back with a 67-47 win over Greenbrier. Without playing a game, No. 7 Fitzgerald has dropped three spots after losing Preseason First Team All-State guard Trinity Jones (20.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.7 apg, 3.4 spg) to Americus-Sumter. No. 4 Bryan County rises two positions following a 73-48 win over Southeast Bulloch in which Columbus State-signee Olonna Rawls dropped 28 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. East Laurens (0-1) fell 51-44 to Vidalia and sinks from the poll, replaced by Region 3 foe No. 10 Southwest-Macon, who took care of business in a 56-21 win at Howard.
No. 1 St. Francis proved its mettle and why they are ranked No. 1 in Class A-Private with a huge road win over Class 4A No. 1 Carver-Columbus, 52-46. No. 2 Holy Innocents’ steamrolled Brookwood (56-37) and Class 7A Preseason No. 9 Marietta (63-29). Freshman Olivia Hutcherson has stepped up big time, posting 14 points, 14 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 blocks against Marietta at the Hawks Naismith Classic while defending Class A-Private Player of the Year Jillian Hollingshead tallied 12 points, 12 rebounds and 3 steals. No. 3 Hebron Christian is ahead of schedule and overtakes No. 4 Wesleyan for the third spot, even after the Wolves beat No. 7 Greenforest 65-52. Hebron Christian cemented itself as a title contender with a 72-39 whipping of No. 9 Calvary Day in Savannah as Nicole Azar had 18 points, 7 assists and 4 steals while Carly Heidger had 17 points and 12 rebounds and Jessie Parish tacked on 14 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks. Malia Fisher double-doubled with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. Carly Fahey added 11 points, 6 assists and 5 steals. No. 6 Lakeview Academy lost 72-62 to Class 7A No. 6 Roswell as sophomore Joelle Snyder exploded for 40 points in the loss. ELCA (0-1) drops from the rankings after a 58-44 loss to debutant No. 10 Galloway. The Scots are led by senior Jayla Brown (22.6 ppg), junior Jada Ryce (17 ppg) and freshman Allison Hoffmann (15.3 ppg). Galloway’s legitimacy will be immediately tested this Tuesday as they visit No. 5 Mt. Paran.
The only game played in Class A-Public’s Top 10 was No. 2 Wheeler County defeating Telfair County 62-47 on the road. All-State senior guard Sameria Bryant totaled 16 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 8 steals while Lela Wright had 16 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 steals. Keyona Mincey, the third senior of Coach Angelia Wright’s veteran attack, had 13 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.