Class AAAAAA
1. North Paulding (20-1)
2. North Forsyth (22-0)
3. Grayson (20-1)
4. Carrollton (16-6)
5. Norcross (15-5)
6. Newton (16-3)
7. Archer (17-3)
8. Campbell (19-2)
9. Lowndes (16-2)
10. Cherokee (18-4)
Class AAAAA
1. River Ridge (21-1)
2. Langston Hughes (18-2)
3. Woodward Academy (14-5)
4. Milton (15-6)
5. Morrow (16-4)
6. Tri-Cities (15-2)
7. Bradwell Institute (18-2)
8. Creekview (18-4)
9. Pope (18-4)
10. New Manchester (17-3)
Class AAAA
1. Creekside (21-0)
2. Kell (15-5)
3. Marist (18-2)
4. Warner Robins (20-0)
5. North Oconee (20-1)
6. Maynard Jackson (12-5)
7. Jones County (18-1)
8. Dalton (18-3)
9. Midtown (17-4)
10. Stockbridge (16-3)
Class AAA
1. Baldwin (13-6)
2. Fayette County (13-4)
3. Jefferson (16-4)
4. Luella (17-3)
5. Pickens (18-2)
6. White County (16-4)
7. Sandy Creek (15-4)
8. Oconee County (16-5)
9. Cherokee Bluff (15-6)
10. Heritage-Catoosa (16-4)
Class AA
1. Thomson (18-1)
2. Josey (13-3)
3. Butler (14-2)
4. Murray County (18-1)
5. Hardaway (12-6)
6. Sonoraville (19-2)
7. Columbia (14-5)
8. Morgan County (11-9)
9. Sumter County (11-6)
10. Union County (13-8)
Class A D-I
1. Banks County (15-5)
2. Elbert County (19-1)
3. Central-Macon (14-4)
4. Washington County (13-3)
5. Fannin County (17-2)
6. Heard County (16-2)
7. ACE (16-2)
8. East Laurens (12-4)
9. Model (16-4)
10. Lamar County (15-4)
Class A D-II
1. Wilcox County (15-1)
2. Taylor County (15-1)
3. Bryan County (16-2)
4. Seminole County (15-4)
5. Brooks County (13-2)
6. Randolph-Clay (13-5)
7. Telfair County (13-3)
8. Metter (12-2)
9. Screven County (13-4)
10. Early County (12-5)
Class 3A-1A Private
1. Hebron Christian (19-1)
2. St. Francis (18-2)
3. Holy Innocents’ (13-5)
4. Mt. Paran (19-3)
5. Galloway (12-7)
6. SACA (15-1)
7. Athens Academy (15-5)
8. Calvary Day (9-8)
9. Greenforest (10-8)
10. Christian Heritage (16-3)
MLK Day provided the state with some high-level basketball before digging back into the final two weeks of region play. Please send region tournament brackets to [email protected] as they come available.
Class 6A No. 1 North Paulding continued to impress with another 3-0 week. The Wolfpack frustrated Class 3A No. 1 Baldwin at the HIES MLK Classic, blowing out the Bravettes in the second half to score a 70-45 win behind the play of Boston College-commit Morgan Landrum and Delaware-signee Ava Andrews. North Paulding finished their week with a 66-57 win at No. 10 Cherokee who sinks two spots with the hard-fought loss, Madison Moody with 25 points. No. 2 North Forsyth cruised at Lambert 67-48 and won at Buford (17-2) behind Chattanooga-signee London Weaver’s 16 points, 55-44 to withstand 26 points from Lydia Ledford. The Wolves drop out of a crowded Top 10 field, replaced by No. 5 Norcross, back in the rankings for the first time since Week 7 as the Lady Blue outlasted No. 4 Carrollton 42-39 at the HIES MLK Classic, Tobi Owolabi netting 19 points to match VCU-signee Daija Preston’s 17 points and 8 rebounds. The Lady Blue closed the week with a 67-29 romp of last week’s Private No. 6 Greenforest at the Georgia Nike Elite Showcase while Carrollton scored a monster 54-52 win over Class 5A No. 2 Langston Hughes to hold onto their spot. No. 3 Grayson raced past Private No. 8 Calvary Day 64-35 at the HIES MLK Classic before winning at No. 7 Archer 59-44 behind Coco Rudolph’s 20 points to drop the Tigers two spots. No. 6 Newton saw the long-awaited return of Desiree Davis, the once burgeoning D-I prospect dropping in 19 points in rout of Heritage-Conyers. No. 8 Campbell seized control of Region 3, beating Hillgrove 48-45 and avenging an earlier loss to Harrison, 43-36.
There are no changes in Class 5A. No. 1 River Ridge won at Private No. 3 Holy Innocents’ at the HIES MLK Classic 74-60, no Stanford-signee Hailee Swain for the Golden Bears. Finley Parker had a huge game in front of UConn’s Geno Auriemma, dumping in 29 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 blocks. No. 2 Langston Hughes beat Private No. 2 St. Francis 66-60 at the 4Tha Culture MLK Classic before losing at Class 6A No. 4 Carrollton 54-52. No. 5 Morrow lost 53-52 to Class 3A No. 7 Sandy Creek at 4Tha Culture. No. 9 Pope swept Sequoyah, winning in overtime 72-67 behind Abbey Bensman’s 22 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals and Kennesaw State lacrosse-signee Rylie Muller’s 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Class 4A No. 1 Creekside defeated Southridge, FL 57-52 before hammering No. 9 Midtown 66-38 on the road to drop the Knights two spots, C’India Dennis tallying 28 points, 8 rebounds and 11 steals against the region rival while scooping up an offer from Mississippi State. No. 5 North Oconee withstood Marlene Mbilima’s 30 points to topple Athens Christian 48-46 behind Laura Frances Willis’ 20 points.
Class 3A No. 1 Baldwin suffered three-straight losses but remain atop the poll. The Bravettes saw a four-point halftime deficit balloon into a 70-45 defeat at the hands of Class 6A No. 1 North Paulding at the HIES MLK Classic. To make things worse, Janaye Walker was ejected late in the game for shoving Morgan Landrum in the chest, forcing her to sit the next two games which resulted in losses at Richmond Academy 53-43 and in double overtime against Class A D-I No. 4 Washington County 54-51. No. 3 Jefferson took a 66-59 loss to Private No. 5 Galloway at the HIES MLK Classic but saw Michel Robbins shine with 27 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 9 steals. No. 4 Luella survived Dutchtown 49-44 while No. 5 Pickens escaped North Hall 42-39. No. 7 Sandy Creek climbs two spots with a 53-52 win over Class 5A No. 5 Morrow at the 4Tha Culture MLK Classic.
In Class 2A, No. 4 Murray County won at Lakeview Academy at the MLK Day Showcase 48-42 as freshman Blaklee Ledford scored 21 points. The Indians also beat Coahulla Creek (12-8) 57-53 to drop the Colts from the Top 10. No. 5 Hardaway pulled away from Marietta 67-51 at the HIES MLK Classic as Rhianna Boynton posted 17 points and 15 rebounds, New Orleans-signee Mikayla Johnson had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Hampton-signee Akilah Shelton added 17 points and Adazha Burrell racked up 8 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. No. 10 Union County resurfaces in the Top 10, beating Coahulla Creek for a second time, 46-31 as Regan Trlica scored 13 points.
Momentum in Class A D-I was stymied a bit due to the snow with a handful of games postponed in Middle Georgia but there still were some significant results. No. 2 Elbert County won at Private No.7 Athens Academy 44-43 as Ciara Rucker scored 12 points. No. 4 Washington County outlasted a Janaye Walker-less Class 3A No. 1 Baldwin in double overtime 54-51, Jade Kitchens and Aeria Hagans with 17 points apiece. No. 5 Fannin County went 4-0, winning at Armuchee 57-48 then beating newly ranked Private No. 10 Christian Heritage 68-53, breaking free for multiple transition layups and seven threes. Maggie Ledford scored 21 points while Emma Buchanan collected 13 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks and Reese Lewis added 12 points and 9 rebounds. No. 6 Heard County wore down No. 9 Model, winning in Rome 58-35 a game that was 26-23 in the third quarter, dropping the Blue Devils four spots. The Braves pressed relentlessly every possession, forcing a plethora of Model turnovers as freshman Azhia Kendall played a key role.
There is no movement in Class A D-II with the snow forcing postponements. No. 2 Taylor County suffered their first loss, beaten at St. Anne-Pacelli 58-47.
Class 3A-1A Private No. 2 St. Francis fell to Class 5A No. 2 Langston Hughes 66-60 at the 4Tha Culture MLK Classic. No. 3 Holy Innocents’ played without Stanford-signee Hailee Swain who injured her ankle in a loss to North Paulding against Class 5A No. 1 River Ridge, losing 74-60 at the HIES MLK Classic. The young frontcourt tandem of freshman Loriel Murray and sophomore Nakhai Worthy dominated defeat, Murray with 21 points, 16 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 blocks while Worthy chipped in 17 points, 13 rebounds and 3 assists in front of a slew of Power 5 coaches. No. 4 Mt. Paran crushed No. 9 Greenforest 54-13. The Eagles are down three spots, still without a point guard on the roster with leading scorer Milica Lazarevic (19.9 ppg) seemingly gone from the program, not playing since January 14 and not on the bench in any subsequent games. Greenforest has now lost three-straight games, beaten 47-36 at No. 6 SACA and thrashed by Class 6A No. 5 Norcross 67-29 at the Georgia Nike Elite Showcase. No. 7 Athens Academy lost 44-43 at Class A D-I No. 2 Elbert County but opened the week with a 36-35 win over GAC (11-9) at the HIES MLK Classic, forcing the Spartans out of the poll on a three-game losing streak, also falling to Chestatee 50-37 and Parkview 59-46. No. 8 Calvary Day fell 64-35 to Class 6A No. 3 Grayson at the HIES MLK Classic as Flagler-signee Bre Jones scored 11 points. Cracking into the poll for the first time is No. 10 Christian Heritage. The Lions lost at Class A D-I No. 5 Fannin County 68-53 but saw freshmen Annaka Hembree (19 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals) and Olivia Perry (11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 5 blocks) play well before avenging a loss to Chattooga, drilling the Indians 60-40, Hembree with 25 points and Carly Bramlett with 15.