Class AAAAAAA
1. Westlake (6-1)
2. Collins Hill (8-0)
3. Cherokee (11-1)
4. Pebblebrook (10-1)
5. Campbell (12-2)
6. McEachern (5-2)
7. West Forsyth (12-0)
8. Woodstock (11-1)
9. North Forsyth (9-2)
10. North Cobb (7-4)
Class AAAAAA
1. Lovejoy (9-1)
2. Forest Park (7-3)
3. Dacula (8-1)
4. Valdosta (7-2)
5. Glynn Academy (8-1)
6. Stephenson (11-2)
7. Harrison (7-3)
8. South Cobb (6-2)
9. Tri-Cities (7-1)
10. Greenbrier (9-3)
Class AAAAA
1. Buford (11-0)
2. Kell (10-0)
3. Villa Rica (8-2)
4. Carrollton (6-2)
5. Rome (8-0)
6. Wayne County (9-0)
7. Southwest DeKalb (8-1)
8. Statesboro (8-2)
9. Veterans (8-1)
10. Griffin (8-1)
Class AAAA
1. Carver-Columbus (6-2)
2. Spalding (9-1)
3. Woodward Academy (10-0)
4. Americus-Sumter (8-0)
5. Luella (7-2)
6. Troup County (6-0)
7. Marist (10-0)
8. St. Pius X (9-0)
9. North Oconee (8-2)
10. West Laurens (7-2)
Class AAA
1. Johnson-Savannah (6-1)
2. Jefferson (11-1)
3. Beach (9-3)
4. Fannin County (7-2)
5. Lumpkin County (7-4)
6. GAC (4-8)
7. Dawson County (6-5)
8. Cedar Grove (6-1)
9. Coahulla Creek (7-2)
10. Westminster (8-3)
Class AA
1. Early County (5-2)
2. Laney (7-1)
3. Rabun County (8-0)
4. Josey (8-1)
5. Southwest-Macon (9-0)
6. Douglass (6-3)
7. Putnam County (7-1)
8. Washington County (4-1)
9. Butler (6-3)
10. Vidalia (8-2)
Class A-Private
1. St. Francis (4-2)
2. Hebron Christian (10-0)
3. Holy Innocents’ (8-2)
4. Wesleyan (6-2)
5. Mt. Paran (7-2)
6. Stratford Academy (7-0)
7. Trinity Christian (10-1)
8. Calvary Day (5-2)
9. Galloway (8-2)
10. Greenforest (6-4)
Class A-Public
1. Greenville (6-3)
2. Wheeler County (10-1)
3. Clinch County (1-0)
4. Central-Talbotton (7-1)
5. Calhoun County (6-2)
6. Marion County (0-0)
7. Bowdon (7-2)
8. Macon County (6-1)
9. Turner County (4-1)
10. Pelham (3-0)
The biggest game in the nation took place at Whitewater’s Queens of the Hardwood as Class 7A No. 1 Westlake ranked 11th nationally battled No. 18 in the country Class 6A No. 1 Lovejoy.
Deadlocked nearly the entire game, it was Westlake who survived with a 55-52 win behind Ta’Niya Latson’s 23 points. Below Westlake, there was plenty of movement in the poll. No. 4 Pebblebrook is up three spots after wins over East Coweta (57-46) and Class 6A No. 9 Tri-Cities (67-56). No. 9 North Forsyth sinks five places after losing to debutant No. 7 West Forsyth 62-55 in overtime. The Wolverines enter the Top 10 at 12-0. Sophomore Calie Thrower poured in 28 points while sophomore Cayla Cowart netted 14 in their win over the Raiders. No. 6 McEachern won at No. 10 North Cobb 57-54, pushing the Warriors down four spots after they also lost to No. 5 Campbell 56-43 at the Hawks-Naismith Holiday Classic; the Spartans rising five spots with the win. Jameah Alston finished with 17 points and 9 rebounds while sophomores Nia Bozeman and Sarah Taub scored 11 apiece. No. 3 Cherokee pounded No. 8 Woodstock 56-32, but the Wolverines managed to score wins over Roswell (8-4) 65-58 and last week’s Class 6A No. 10 Creekview 48-31. Roswell went 0-3 to seal their fate, also losing to Walton (45-44) and North Forsyth (59-50).
Before their loss to Class 7A No. 1 Westlake 55-52 in which North Carolina State-signee Genesis Bryant netted 23 points, Class 6A No. 1 Lovejoy discombobulated Class A-Private No. 4 Wesleyan 60-44 at the Hawks-Naismith. Bryana Hardy posted 19 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks while Bryant collected 17 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals and 1 block as the Wildcats held Wesleyan to 30.4 percent shooting. No. 2 Forest Park went 0-2 at the She Got Game Classic in Virginia, losing to New Hope Academy, MD 44-33 and Riverdale Baptist, MD 55-44. No. 3 Dacula moves up a spot after seeing No. 4 Valdosta defeat No. 5 Glynn Academy 45-37. The Falcons take the third spot over Valdosta thanks to their earlier 43-40 win over the Wildcats. Grovetown (4-3) and Creekview (5-5) exit the rankings. Grovetown lost 65-53 to newly ranked No. 10 Greenbrier and to Class 2A No. 4 Josey 51-40. Creekview beat No. 8 South Cobb 58-50 but fell to River Ridge (35-32) and Class 7A No. 8 Woodstock (48-31). Into the Top 10 is No. 9 Tri-Cities. The Bulldogs won at New Manchester 55-51 before losing 67-56 to Class 7A No. 4 Pebblebrook. Mid-season transfer Jayla Thompson is averaging 14.3 points per game next to Shyni McGee (17.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and Anica Roberts (11.2 ppg), forming a strong 2021 nucleus. First place in Region 5 is on the line at 8-1 Alexander on Tuesday.
No. 1 Buford is the overwhelming favorite to win it all in Class 5A, but make no doubt, Region 7 is the toughest region in the classification. Buford rallied from down 18 to stun Class A-Private No. 3 Holy Innocents’ 47-44 behind Furman-signee Tate Walters’ 13 points before beating Norcross 48-42 and Mill Creek 67-30. In Region 7, madness ensued. No. 2 Kell is up five spots after beating Hiram 48-34 but more importantly, edging No. 3 Villa Rica 63-54. No. 4 Carrollton spanked Cass 78-39 but lost on a half-court buzzer beater from Ta’Emmica Nation 53-51 against newly ranked No. 5 Rome who enters the poll at 8-0. Earlier in the week Rome had beaten Cass 53-49 and Calhoun 61-33. Eagle’s Landing (4-2) drops out of the rankings after an 88-35 win over Ola to make way for Rome, giving Region 7 spots 2-4 in the Top 5.
With Louisville-signee Olivia Cochran in a boot, No. 1 Carver-Columbus hasn’t looked unbeatable, but has still handled their business in Class 4A, beating Shaw 64-51 and Columbia 58-42. No. 2 Spalding notched a 53-44 win over Class 5A No. 10 Griffin 53-44 and defeated Sandy Creek 47-42 at the Queens of the Hardwood. No. 3 Woodward Academy continues to climb and is legitimizing themselves as a true title contender after blasting No. 5 Luella 71-50 to take their spot in the Top 3. Sydney Bowles has been simply unstoppable this season. She went for 31 points and 7 rebounds in the win. Druid Hills (8-4) and Cross Creek (5-3) exit the Top 10. The Red Devils lost 46-39 to McDonough and 52-38 at Eastside. Cross Creek lost to South Carolina’s North Augusta (59-47) and Lower Richland (47-44). No. 9 North Oconee and No. 10 West Laurens break into the rankings. The Titans are led by Tennessee Tech-signee Ansley Hall and Jenna Tulenko while West Laurens gets 16.4 points per game from Makayla Murray. The Raiders had a big week, beating Northside-Warner Robins 41-36 and Houston County 47-42.
After a week in which five teams graced the Class 3A Top 10 from Region 7, now four remain after North Hall (5-4) couldn’t handle the gauntlet, losing to No. 6 GAC 73-66 and No. 7 Dawson County 57-54. GAC fell two spots this week however after No. 5 Lumpkin County clipped them 51-38 after the Indians lost to No. 4 Fannin County 51-38. The Rebels also beat Cherokee Bluff 68-58, rising five spots in the poll. Dawson County could have been Region 7’s high mark this week, but they fell 64-56 to White County. Clean weeks will be hard to come by in Region 7, but if someone can put together a two-week stretch, they could distance themselves from the field. Over in Region 6, No. 9 Coahulla Creek lost 63-54 to Sonoraville. Entering the Top 10 for the first time this season is No. 10 Westminster led by blue chip freshman Courtney Ogden. The 6-foot-1 wing is averaging 19.1 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.3 steals, leading a core of four freshmen who lead the team in the scoring.
Class 2A No. 1 Early County picked up a nice 64-43 win over Class A-Public No. 5 Calhoun County. No. 4 Josey springs up six spots after beating last week’s Class 6A No. 8 Grovetown 51-40. No. 7 Putnam County tumbles four spots after Banks County got them 37-30 in Homer. No. 3 Rabun County on the other hand, blew past Banks County 63-41. Bryan County (9-3) is out of the Top 10, replaced by Region 2 foe No. 10 Vidalia, who beat the Redskins 60-49 to earn their spot.
No. 1 St. Francis held off No. 5 Mt. Paran 67-54 as there is no movement in the Class A-Private poll. No. 3 Holy Innocents’ fell apart against Class 5A No. 1 Buford, blowing an 18-point lead to lose 47-44 but rebounded with a 66-47 win over Class 5A No. 7 Southwest DeKalb.
Class A-Public is picking up steam as No. 1 Greenville powered past No. 4 Central-Talbotton 72-65 as JaBrica Leslie posted 27 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block in her All-State matchup against Central’s Bernyla Sparks’ who hung 27 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks but committed 12 turnovers. Montgomery County’s (7-2) stay in the Top 10 was short-lived as they got blitzed by Class A-Private No. 8 Calvary Day 92-43 before losing 51-46 to Savannah Country Day. Back into the rankings is No. 10 Pelham who scored three wins to open up their campaign.