Class AAAAAAA
1. Brookwood (16-1)
2. Archer (13-2)
3. Norcross (14-1)
4. Buford (15-1)
5. Peachtree Ridge (14-3)
6. North Paulding (18-1)
7. Campbell (16-2)
8. Hillgrove (14-5)
9. South Forsyth (15-3)
10. McEachern (10-4)
Class AAAAAA
1. River Ridge (14-5)
2. Forest Park (14-3)
3. Woodward Academy (12-5)
4. Rockdale County (14-4)
5. Lovejoy (13-4)
6. Langston Hughes (12-4)
7. Brunswick (13-3)
8. Veterans (14-2)
9. New Manchester (12-2)
10. Tift County (11-4)
Class AAAAA
1. Kell (12-5)
2. Warner Robins (15-1)
3. Bradwell Institute (14-2)
4. Union Grove (12-6)
5. Hiram (14-2)
6. Jones County (13-3)
7. Maynard Jackson (12-1)
8. Arabia Mountain (17-1)
9. Statesboro (15-3)
10. Ware County (13-4)
Class AAAA
1. Griffin (14-2)
2. Westminster (12-4)
3. Holy Innocents’ (10-4)
4. Luella (11-6)
5. Baldwin (9-7)
6. Stockbridge (12-6)
7. Hardaway (13-3)
8. Chestatee (14-4)
9. Westover (12-4)
10. Walnut Grove (13-4)
Class AAA
1. Hebron Christian (15-0)
2. Wesleyan (14-2)
3. Lumpkin County (14-3)
4. White County (15-3)
5. Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe (16-0)
6. Carver-Columbus (8-9)
7. Cross Creek (13-4)
8. Pickens (13-4)
9. Mary Persons (16-1)
10. Monroe (12-4)
Class AA
1. Mt. Paran (18-1)
2. Central-Macon (15-1)
3. Banks County (17-3)
4. Thomson (11-4)
5. Josey (13-3)
6. Columbia (12-5)
7. Landmark Christian (8-7)
8. Butler (13-3)
9. Dodge County (13-1)
10. Murray County (12-4)
Class A D-I
1. St. Francis (15-5)
2. Galloway (16-4)
3. Elbert County (15-3)
4. Rabun County (15-1)
5. Woodville-Tompkins (13-5)
6. Mt. Pisgah (10-4)
7. Athens Christian (10-5)
8. Trion (13-1)
9. Lamar County (14-4)
10. Darlington (15-4)
Class A D-II
1. Lake Oconee Academy (15-1)
2. Clinch County (12-0)
3. Turner County (14-2)
4. Montgomery County (16-1)
5. Schley County (10-1)
6. Taylor County (14-1)
7. Mt. Zion-Carrollton (15-3)
8. Macon County (13-4)
9. Towns County (9-6)
10. Jenkins County (13-3)
Some classifications see serious movement with region play and the J4 Sports MLK Classic pitting ranked teams against each other.
Class 7A sees some changes in the middle of the poll, but the top remains status quo. No. 2 Archer held off Grayson 63-52 while No. 4 Buford suffered their first loss of the season, beat at home by Class 6A No. 1 River Ridge 53-51, the Wolves missing a putback off an intentionally missed free throw at the buzzer. Ava Grace Watson scored 16 points followed by Taylor Romano’s 10. No. 6 North Paulding jumps two spots after winning at Harrison 35-22 and knocking off No. 8 Hillgrove 51-47. The Hawks actually move up two places with a dominant 58-39 victory against rival No. 10 McEachern earlier in the week, sinking the Indians three spots. No. 7 Campbell edged Carrollton 44-37 before escaping an upset bid from Rome with a 58-52 win, Tai Harvey scoring 14 points. No. 9 South Forsyth blew past Lambert 54-29 then crushed Milton 73-21 as North Georgia-signee Ava McGlockton scored her 1,000th point.
If you didn’t believe that Class 6A No. 1 River Ridge is the best team in the entire state, the numbers are getting harder and harder to ignore. Even without second leading scorer, rebounder and top shot blocker Kayla Cleaveland (14.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.1 bpg), the Knights managed a 3-0 week kicked off by routs of Woodstock (72-47) and Rome (72-26). Heading into their showdown at previously undefeated Class 7A No. 4 Buford, the Knights were actually without two starters, missing leading rebounder Allie Sweet (11.6 rpg) as well but still led wire-to-wire for a 53-51 win. Penn-signee Mataya Gayle recorded 15 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks while freshman Makayla Roberson had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Sophia Pearl netted 11 points. 5-foot-11 sophomore Joy Tchamabe found herself in an increased role off the bench with the Knights missing their top two posts and delivered 10 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks. Maybe the most impressive stat for the unbeaten-in-state Knights is what they have done against Class 7A’s best. No. 1 Brookwood (16-1), No. 4 Buford (15-1) and No. 6 North Paulding (18-1) are a combined 49-3. Their three losses? All coming via River Ridge. Over in the Region 3 torture chamber, No. 2 Forest Park has emerged unscathed at 8-0, jumping three spots this week after knocking off No. 4 Rockdale County 54-50. The seven-man roster holds wins over region rivals No. 5 Lovejoy (58-56) and No. 3 Woodward Academy (69-66), who is coming off a 57-56 win against Class 5A No. 1 Kell at the J4 Sports MLK Classic, George Washington-signee Sara Lewis netting 19 points. North Forsyth (11-6) falls back out of the rankings with a 55-45 loss at Habersham Central after drilling previously undefeated Gainesville 79-59 behind Kamryn Gardner’s 26 points. No. 10 Tift County debuts following wins over Northside-Warner Robins (74-25) and Lee County (58-40). The Blue Devils have a puncher’s chance in Class 6A, proven by their 47-44 win over No. 2 Forest Park at the Deep South Classic over two weeks ago.
Every week the pause at the top of Class 5A gets longer and longer when picking between No. 1 Kell and No. 2 Warner Robins. The Longhorns lost 57-56 to Class 6A No. 3 Woodward Academy at the J4 Sports MLK Classic while the Demonettes hammered Northside-Warner Robins 51-20. Kell continues to get the slight edge due to strength of schedule with four significant Top 10 wins and losses to three state powers and two national programs while Warner Robins also has four ranked wins but just off the caliber of Kell’s. The Demonettes have a massive week ahead of them however, looking for season sweeps of Class 6A No. 8 Veterans and No. 4 Union Grove, who just beat Northside-Columbus (10-5) 60-55, to drop the Patriots from the Top 10. Also out of the poll is Greenbrier (13-6) who has now lost three-straight, beat by Region 1 foes and debutants No. 9 Statesboro 66-65 and No. 10 Ware County 60-52 while also losing to Class 2A No. 8 Butler 48-34.
Over in Class 4A, No. 4 Luella was the latest Georgia team to fall at the hands of No. 19 ranked Hoover, AL 68-48 at the J4 Sports MLK Classic, the Alabama powerhouse now 7-0 against the Peach State. No. 7 Hardaway was victorious in their crucial Region 1 showdown at No. 9 Westover 55-51, Mikayla Johnson scoring 19 points to lead the Hawks while the Patriots received 17 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals and 4 blocks from Rayven Thurston. North Hall (12-5) drops out quickly following a 57-56 loss to East Forsyth. No. 10 Walnut Grove resurfaces with a 52-41 win at red-hot North Oconee.
Now more than ever, all eyes are on Region 7-3A. No. 3 Lumpkin County enters the week fresh off a 54-45 win over Dawson County and will travel to No. 4 White County on Tuesday, the Warriors beating No. 8 Pickens in overtime 53-52 on a last-second shot from Aaliyah Anderson. On Friday, the Lady Indians host No. 2 Wesleyan in a rematch of their 74-68 overtime loss on December 6. The Wolves blew out Pickens 55-36 behind Chit-Chat Wright’s 13 points, handing the Nettes their third-straight loss firmly cementing them in a tie for fourth-place in the region at 2-3 with Dawson County who was defeated by White County 52-39 this past week. Outside of Region 7, No. 5 Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe survived a scare against Coahulla Creek 68-65. No. 10 Monroe slips two spots with a 60-53 loss at Dougherty.
Class 2A has some serious movement this week but at the top No. 1 Mt. Paran continues to add to their resume, thrashing Carrollton 59-36 at the J4 Sports MLK Classic as Jacalyn Myrthil scored 16 points. No. 3 Banks County climbs a spot with a dominant 56-28 beat down of previously 13-1 Athens Academy as Emmanuel-signee Kamryn Grier netted 17 points. No. 4 Thomson shoots up four spots, putting the CSRA on notice with a signature 36-32 win over No. 5 Josey, dropping the Eagles a pair of spots after sophomore Ty Latimore led the Bulldogs with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 8 steals in the defensive battle. It took No. 6 Columbia overtime to outlast Callaway 52-50. No. 8 Butler rises a pair of slots as Region 4’s third team ranked, securing a big 48-34 win against last week’s Class 5A No. 9 Greenbrier. Fannin County (12-5) sinks to the land of the unranked after a 46-41 loss at No. 10 Murray County, the Indians back in the poll as they near 100% health, welcoming Carson-Newman-signee Mattie Nuckolls, the All-State forward debuting with 14 points and 9 rebounds, raising the Indians’ ceiling in 2A tenfold.
The jockeying for the top spot in Class A D-I sees No. 1 St. Francis edge back ahead with a 71-63 win over No. 2 Galloway. It’s a big week in Region 8 as No. 3 Elbert County comes off wins over No. 7 Athens Christian (66-46) and Oglethorpe County (63-43). Athens Christian travels to No. 4 Rabun County on Tuesday, the LadyCats torching Commerce 60-24 last Tuesday, Lucy Hood totaling 21 points, 5 assists and 8 steals. Round 1 of Elbert County vs. Rabun County takes place in Tiger on Friday. The home team won each of the first three matchups last season, resulting in the LadyCats winning their first region title since 2019, but Elbert County capturing the Class 2A championship 52-44 in a 56-foul slobber knocker. The Blue Devils return nearly their entire roster while Rabun County returns just one starter and four total players that saw minutes in the title game. The return of Ellie Southards (17.0 ppg) off an ACL tear has helped Rabun County remain competitive albeit against a weak schedule compared to what the Blue Devils have seen. No. 5 Woodville-Tompkins slides a spot following a 50-38 win over Screven County but a 49-40 loss to Rock Hill, SC. In an effort to figure out who is a true contender below the Top 5, No. 6 Mt. Pisgah debuts thanks to their star power and strength of schedule. William & Mary-signee Monet Dance is the straw that stirs the drink in the backcourt averaging 15.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 3.4 steals. 5-foot-9 junior Morgan Blake (12.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg) and freshmen 5-foot-10 Evia Spencer (11.6 ppg, 7.9 rpg) and 5-foot-6 Sydney Glahn (9.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg) give the Patriots nice balance. Sitting at 10-4, Mt. Pisgah has challenged themselves against larger schools, their best win coming against Class 3A No. 9 Mary Persons 57-34, the Bulldogs’ only loss sitting at 16-1. The Patriots have competed fairly well in losses against big names like No. 1 St. Francis (76-58) and 12-2 Marist (57-47). No. 9 Lamar County slips two places with a 40-39 overtime loss at Manchester while No. 10 Darlington is also pushed down with low-scoring sluggish wins against Armuchee (34-32) and Model 34-33, rallying from down 13 points in the third quarter. Pelham (9-2) is squeezed out of the poll after a pair of blowout wins.
Nothing crazy occurred in Class A D-II as the top eight all handled their business in blowout fashion. At the bottom of the poll, No. 10 Jenkins County falls a spot after losing 50-38 at Burke County. No. 9 Towns County netted a 53-26 win against Washington-Wilkes, led by Brelan Sieveking and Kaleigh Beaver’s 14 points apiece.