Class AAAAAAA
1. Collins Hill (6-0)
2. McEachern (3-2)
3. Woodstock (6-2)
4. Cherokee (9-1)
5. Campbell (5-1)
6. Parkview (5-2)
7. Grayson (4-1)
8. North Forsyth (6-1)
9. Marietta (3-4)
10. Archer (6-3)
Class AAAAAA
1. Westlake (4-0)
2. Lovejoy (6-1)
3. Buford (5-0)
4. Carrollton (6-0)
5. Kell (5-0)
6. Langston Hughes (6-1)
7. Rockdale County (5-0)
8. Cambridge (6-0)
9. Johns Creek (5-2)
10. River Ridge (6-1)
Class AAAAA
1. Forest Park (4-1)
2. Woodward Academy (3-1)
3. Southwest DeKalb (2-0)
4. Cass (5-0)
5. Hiram (7-1)
6. Maynard Jackson (3-1)
7. Griffin (6-1)
8. Loganville (6-1)
9. Tri-Cities (3-0)
10. Dutchtown (7-1)
Class AAAA
1. Jefferson (4-1)
2. Troup County (3-2)
3. Luella (8-1)
4. Carver-Columbus (2-2)
5. Marist (6-1)
6. McDonough (5-0)
7. Spalding (4-1)
8. Baldwin (4-0)
9. Arabia Mountain (0-0)
10. Cedar Shoals (4-1)
Class AAA
1. Johnson-Savannah (3-0)
2. Cross Creek (4-0)
3. Beach (4-1)
4. GAC (1-3)
5. Coahulla Creek (7-1)
6. Stephens County (4-1)
7. Lumpkin County (3-3)
8. Douglass (3-1)
9. Sonoraville (4-1)
10. Gilmer (5-0)
Class AA
1. Early County (2-0)
2. Rabun County (3-0)
3. Woodville-Tompkins (8-0)
4. Washington County (2-0)
5. Elbert County (1-0)
6. Josey (2-3)
7. Dade County (3-1)
8. Chattooga (2-0)
9. Heard County (7-1)
10. Fannin County (6-2)
Class A-Private
1. St. Francis (5-1)
2. Holy Innocents’ (2-2)
3. Mt. Paran (6-1)
4. ELCA (5-0)
5. Hebron Christian (6-1)
6. Galloway (7-0)
7. Wesleyan (3-0)
8. Greenforest (3-3)
9. Tallulah Falls (6-2)
10. Calvary Day (4-1)
Class A-Public
1. Calhoun County (1-0)
2. Greenville (2-0)
3. Turner County (6-0)
4. Clinch County (0-0)
5. Lake Oconee Academy (6-0)
6. GMC (2-0)
7. Trion (4-1)
8. Wilcox County (0-0)
9. Pelham (1-0)
10. Dooly County (2-1)
Week 4 of the GHSA season provides us with uncertainty. Not only on the court, but off it as well as more and more teams go into quarantine by the day. When the ball has been able to bounce, there have been some great games afforded to us most recently by Queens of the Hardwood, It’s Her Time Showcase and the Cherokee/Forsyth Challenge to name a few.
No. 1 Collins Hill continues to separate themselves from the pack in Class 7A with key wins. This week they defeated newly minted Class A-Private No. 1 St. Francis 54-47 at the It’s Her Time Showcase. No. 2 McEachern had a chance to make a statement at Queens of the Hardwood but a 27-5 first quarter hole against Class 6A No. 1 Westlake proved too deep. The Indians clawed their way back but lost 68-64. No. 3 Woodstock is the best team in Cherokee County right now after defeating No. 4 Cherokee 51-46 getting 21 points from Bridget Utberg. Woodstock tried to stamp themselves as one of the elites in the entire state, but ran into a red-hot Class 6A No. 2 Lovejoy at the It’s Her Time Showcase and lost 47-28. Aforementioned Cherokee bounced back by knocking West Forsyth (4-4) out of the Top 10 with a 71-43 rout at the Cherokee/Forsyth Challenge. The Wolverines also lost 53-33 to debutant No. 8 North Forsyth. The Raiders’ junior class did the bulk of the damage behind Anna Gliatta (11), Ali Jones (10) and Haelim Adle (8). North Forsyth’s only loss this year came in the GetMickey Raider Classic Championship to Cherokee 38-34. Up in the middle of the poll, No. 5 Campbell stopped North Paulding 51-37 while No. 7 Grayson beat No. 10 Archer for the second time this year, 50-49 at the Gwinnett Daily Post Metro Atlanta Challenge.
There is some shuffling near the top of Class 6A but of course, not at the very top. No. 1 Westlake punished Class 7A No. 2 McEachern in the opening 8 minutes and led 27-5 after one before holding on for a 68-64 victory at Queens of the Hardwood. South Carolina-signee Raven Johnson tallied 19 points, 10 assists and 6 steals while Ta’Niya Latson added 17 points and Virginia Tech-commit Brianna Turnage chipped in 13 points and 6 rebounds. No. 2 Lovejoy leaps three spots after another dominating win against a Class 7A Top 10 team. This time it was No. 3 Woodstock who felt the wrath of the Wildcats in a 47-28 mauling. Lovejoy has now won six-straight after a season opening loss to Class 5A No. 1 Forest Park. Young players are settling into their roles. 5-foot-9 sophomore La’Nya Foster posted 18 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals in the win over Woodstock. No. 5 Kell found themselves in a dog fight with Pope, trailing 36-31 at the half before surging past the Greyhounds for a 79-63 win behind Crystal Henderson’s 26 points, Sylvia Kahoro’s 18 and Jada Green’s 15 points and 14 rebounds. Unsigned 5-foot-10 point guard Cheyenne Holloman nearly single-handedly upset the Longhorns, pouring in 37 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks. No. 6 Langston Hughes defeated Class 4A No. 7 Spalding 54-45 at Queens of the Hardwood. Sequoyah (2-3) and Grovetown (1-1) both depart from the poll. Grovetown fell to Class 2A No. 5 Elbert County 65-55 while Sequoyah lost 54-39 in Region 7 play at newly ranked No. 10 River Ridge. 5-foot-7 sophomore guard Mataya Gayle is a blur with the ball and a freak athlete. She’s averaging 19.8 points, 4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 4.8 steals. 6-foot freshman Allie Sweet has added a new dimension to the Knights interior averaging 8 points, 11 rebounds and 3.2 steals. Also following River Ridge into the rankings is No. 9 Johns Creek – the third team from Region 7 to crack the Top 10 behind No. 8 Cambridge. Johns Creek transformed over the offseason with the addition of 5-foot-11 junior point guard Paris Miller (Luella) and 5-foot-6 junior Evelina Davlakou (Victory Christian Center, NC). Miller, a blue-chip prospect, has had a breakout season, scoring over 30 points in four of Johns Creek’s first seven games. The Gladiators are currently 3-0 in region play with a 61-54 win at River Ridge under their belt.
No. 3 Southwest DeKalb finally “tipped-off” their season in Class 5A with a pair of blowouts over Stone Mountain (71-27) and Clarkston (74-6). No. 5 Hiram won at Harrison 58-52 before the school shutdown due to COVID. No. 8 Loganville blasted Greenbrier 57-28 led by Lenoir-Rhyne-signee Rose Bone’s 17 points, Janae Charles’ 14 and Sydney Bolden’s 11. New Manchester (6-2) slips out of the rankings following a 73-72 loss at Roswell. Into the poll is No. 10 Dutchtown. Coming off a 10-15 season, the addition of East Carolina-signee Paige Lyons from Wesleyan has changed the Bulldogs’ fortunes. The catalyst is averaging 17.5 points, 4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 4.8 steals. Dutchtown’s lone loss came at Class 7A No. 8 North Forsyth 41-25 in the second game of the season.
In Class 4A, No. 1 Jefferson handled Banks County 67-43 while No. 2 Troup County defeated Harris County 72-60. No. 4 Carver-Columbus edged Class A-Private No. 8 Greenforest 64-57 at Queens of the Hardwood. No. 7 Spalding holds tight after a tough 54-45 loss to Class 6A No. 6 Langston Hughes at QOC while missing some starters. No. 8 Baldwin dispatched of last week’s Class 2A No. 7 Northeast-Macon 61-41 as Tamia Smith scored 14 points and Nykeisha Thornton contributed 12 points, 10 rebounds and 5 steals. Hardaway (4-2) drops out following a 50-43 loss at Brookstone. Sneaking into the rankings is No. 10 Cedar Shoals. They outlasted East Hall in overtime to secure a 55-48 victory. Sophomore Ashley Lester scored 14 points to lead the way while seniors Skylar Lattimore (12) and Autumn Jones (11) also helped out.
No. 2 Cross Creek continues to impress in Class 3A. They pounded long-time Augusta power and last week’s Class 2A No. 6 Laney 61-36. No. 4 GAC picked up their first win of the year, beating Sandy Creek (4-2) 53-49 to send the Patriots out of the poll. No. 5 Coahulla Creek fell to returnee No. 9 Sonoraville 50-39 but finished the week with a throttling of Rockmart 76-47 as Jillian Poe (15), Shorter-signee Katelyn Richards (13), Brinkley Kate Reed (13) and Kenley Woods (10) all reached double figures. No. 7 Lumpkin County knocked off Flowery Branch 43-32. Following Sandy Creek out of the Top 10 is Westminster (1-1). They had a pair of big games postponed against No. 8 Douglass and Cedar Grove. Breaking into the poll is No. 10 Gilmer. The Bobcats are coming off a 62-19 win at West Hall. They are led by 6-foot junior Elly Callihan, a double-double machine and shot blocking presence. Their biggest win of the season came during Thanksgiving week, drilling Class 2A No. 10 Fannin County 70-45.
Class 2A might not run directly through Augusta anymore, but to be fair it hasn’t the past two seasons. No. 4 Washington County started their season by beating up on the CSRA, drilling both Burke County (68-45) and Laney (64-45), sending the Wildcats out of the rankings at 1-2 after also suffering a 61-36 loss to Class 3A No. 2 Cross Creek. Laney is unranked for the first time in Sandy’s Spiel history and are one loss away from equaling their loss total from the previous two seasons. Don’t leave the Wildcats for dead, but they have a lot to prove like I have mentioned all offseason with a cast trying to sort into their new roles after seeing their top three leading scorers graduate. Following Laney out of the poll is Northeast-Macon (1-1). The Raiders were beat by Class 4A No. 8 Baldwin 61-41. Entering the rankings are debutant No. 9 Heard County and returnee No. 10 Fannin County. Heard County is off to a 7-1 start and capped their week with a 41-34 win over Class A-Private preseason No. 8 Trinity Christian. Freshman Jayden Boykin has been an immediate game-changer as the Braves are already halfway to last year’s win total. She posted 14 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in their win over Trinity Christian. Fannin County has handled their business and has only lost to Class 3A No. 10 Gilmer (70-45) and Class 5A No. 8 Loganville (54-33). The Rebels earned wins over Coosa (69-23), Gordon Central (52-46) and Union County (58-47) this past week. Shifting back near the middle of the poll, No. 5 Elbert County made a statement by beating last week’s Class 6A No. 9 Grovetown 65-55 to jump five spots. The 2023 class was at it again for Coach Josh Jones. 5-foot-7 Aaniyah Allen exploded for 28 points, 6 rebounds and 10 steals while 5-foot-6 Terrace Hester added 18 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
Class A-Private has seen a monkey wrench thrown into things as No. 5 Hebron Christian plummets four spots after a surprising 51-50 loss to No. 4 ELCA. Texas A&M-signee Keslynn Oxendine dumped in 21 points while Anderson-signee Martyna Radzicka scored 13 and Jacksonville-signee Jalisa Dunlap netted 11 in the upset. The Chargers were able to hold Hebron’s high-powered offense to their lowest point total of the season as Rice-signee Malia Fisher was kept in check with 10 points. With the win, ELCA climbs four spots but the undefeated Chargers don’t ascend all the way to the top. No. 1 St. Francis has gelled quickly as a fairly young group that has settled into their roles. They fell 54-47 to Class 7A No. 1 Collins Hill at the It’s Her Time Showcase, but already have four Top 10 wins on their resume beating No. 2 Holy Innocents’ (70-61), No. 8 Greenforest (51-47), Class 6A No. 6 Langston Hughes (46-41) and Class 2A No. 6 Josey (62-54). No. 2 Holy Innocents’ is up two spots after having their game with Class 3A No. 4 GAC postponed. The Golden Bears have played four ranked teams and have earned back-to-back wins over Class 5A No. 2 Woodward Academy 76-69 and Class 5A No. 1 Forest Park 59-52, good enough of a resume to grab the two-hole. No. 3 Mt. Paran holds firm after seeing Kara Dunn score 22 points in a win over Norcross at the GBCA Showcase. The Eagles’ lone 79-66 loss to Woodward Academy keeps them behind Holy Innocents’. In the middle of the rankings sits No. 6 Galloway. They survived at Denmark in double-overtime 74-70 before earning wins over Trinity Christian 68-48 and Whitewater 65-57. With ETSU-signee Jada Ryce still out, 5-foot-10 sophomore Kyla Cain has stepped up. She pumped in 26 points, 11 rebounds and 6 steals in the win over Whitewater at Queens of the Hardwood.
Class A-Public is starting to get going. No. 1 Calhoun County defeated Shaw 44-32 to open up the year while No. 2 Greenville collected their second win by beating St. Anne-Pacelli 70-15. No. 3 Turner County climbs a spot following blowouts of Hawkinsville (54-16) and Worth County (62-22). No. 5 Lake Oconee Academy leapfrogs former rival No. 6 GMC. The Titans defeated Prince Avenue 67-44 and Athens Academy 51-30 while GMC survived First Presbyterian Day in overtime 33-29. No. 10 Dooly County falls two spots after a 50-41 loss to Dodge County while Mitchell County (0-0) sinks completely due to inactivity. No. 9 Pelham gets into the rankings for the first time following a 45-24 win at Cook. 5-foot-7 senior Quedasha Ervin netted 14 points.