Week 7 GHSA Girls Basketball State Rankings

Week 7 Girls Rankings

Class AAAAAAA

1. Westlake (10-1)
2. Collins Hill (14-0)
3. Cherokee (13-2)
4. West Forsyth (13-1)
5. Campbell (14-3)
6. North Forsyth (12-2)
7. Tift County (8-4)
8. Woodstock (14-2)
9. North Paulding (13-3)
10. Pebblebrook (10-3)

Class AAAAAA

1. Lovejoy (12-1)
2. Forest Park (10-4)
3. Valdosta (13-2)
4. Dacula (10-2)
5. Harrison (11-3)
6. Glynn Academy (12-4)
7. Stephenson (13-4)
8. Alexander (12-2)
9. Northside-Warner Robins (9-2)
10. Mt. Zion-Jonesboro (11-4)

Class AAAAA

1. Buford (12-0)
2. Kell (14-0)
3. Villa Rica (12-2)
4. Wayne County (11-0)
5. Rome (12-1)
6. Arabia Mountain (14-1)
7. Jones County (12-3)
8. Statesboro (9-3)
9. Veterans (10-2)
10. Southwest DeKalb (11-5)

Class AAAA

1. Carver-Columbus (9-3)
2. Spalding (10-2)
3. Americus-Sumter (11-0)
4. Woodward Academy (13-1)
5. Luella (10-3)
6. Troup County (9-0)
7. Marist (12-0)
8. St. Pius X (12-0)
9. West Laurens (10-3)
10. Central-Carrollton (11-2)

Class AAA

1. Johnson-Savannah (9-1)
2. Beach (11-6)
3. Jefferson (13-3)
4. Fannin County (10-3)
5. GAC (5-9)
6. Cedar Grove (8-3)
7. Coahulla Creek (10-2)
8. Dawson County (9-6)
9. Pierce County (11-2)
10. Lumpkin County (10-6)

Class AA

1. Early County (8-3)
2. Laney (11-1)
3. Rabun County (12-0)
4. Washington County (11-1)
5. Douglass (9-5)
6. Josey (10-3)
7. Southwest-Macon (11-1)
8. Union County (11-2)
9. Rockmart (8-4)
10. Vidalia (11-3)

Class A-Private

1. St. Francis (9-3)
2. Hebron Christian (15-0)
3. Holy Innocents’ (9-4)
4. Wesleyan (10-2)
5. Mt. Paran (10-2)
6. Greenforest (9-4)
7. Galloway (11-2)
8. ELCA (7-2)
9. Calvary Day (9-3)
10. Trinity Christian (12-3)

Class A-Public

1. Greenville (10-3)
2. Wheeler County (13-1)
3. Central-Talbotton (11-1)
4. Clinch County (6-1)
5. Pelham (7-0)
6. Macon County (8-2)
7. Marion County (3-1)
8. Calhoun County (7-4)
9. Turner County (6-4)
10. Bowdon (10-4)

A majority of Georgia’s top girls programs hit in-state and out-of-state tournaments over the Christmas break.

There is some movement in Class 7A as No. 7 Tift County breaks into the Top 10 after going 2-0 at the Classic City Clash, rallying from down 17 to upset No. 8 Woodstock 67-59 and then beating Class 3A No. 3 Jefferson 53-48. 5-foot-6 senior Nicky Jones has been the catalyst, averaging 12.9 points per game this season. She scored 14 in the win over Woodstock and added 10 against Jefferson. No. 6 North Forsyth is up two spots after a pair of wins at the Innisfree Hotels Tournament.  No. 4 West Forsyth is up a spot after No. 5 Campbell lost 46-30 to Bearden, TN in the Spartan Holiday Classic championship. Grayson (9-4) falls out after a 64-44 loss to Our Lady of Lourdes, NY at the Blue Star Invitational.

No. 2 Forest Park split at the Big South Shootout to retain their ranking in Class 6A. The Panthers lost to Hoover, AL 61-40 but surged past Class 3A No. 2 Beach in the second half to earn a 49-34 win. No. 3 Valdosta climbs a position after winning the BSN Holiday Hoopfest by beating Thomasville 68-34. No. 4 Dacula falls one place after losing to Oak Ridge, TN 72-58. Greenbrier (11-4) and South Cobb (8-4) exit the poll. The Wolfpack were thumped by Rockdale County 62-37 at the Monterrey Christmas Classic while South Cobb lost 45-42 to Sprayberry before beating Decatur 73-67 and Riverwood 55-48. Two debutants slide into the Top 10 to close out 2019 in No. 8 Alexander and No. 10 Mt. Zion-Jonesboro. The Cougars won the Spartan Classic, outlasting both Marietta (57-54) and Class 7A No. 10 Pebblebrook (47-46) in overtime before holding off Peachtree Ridge 58-55 in the title game. North Paulding transfer Aaliyah Foxx-Rome has powered Alexander, the 6-foot-1 senior averaging 13 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.  6-foot-2 Jacksonville-signee Khalela Hayes has done the same for Mt. Zion, posting 11.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2 steals and 1.2 blocks. The Bulldogs beat Woodville-Tompkins 72-57 at the Big South Shootout.

No. 6 Arabia Mountain is on the climb in Class 5A, jumping four spots after a perfect 3-0 week at the Chuck Miller Classic, capped by a 68-45 win over McDonough.  No. 7 Jones County is back in the rankings following a 49-48 win over No. 8 Statesboro. The Greyhounds replace Carrollton (7-7). The Lady Trojans have played possibly the toughest schedule in Class 5A and have had bad luck with injuries and buzzer-beating losses. They fell to North Cobb 50-48 and Class A-Private No. 4 Wesleyan 66-52 at the Big South Shootout.

No. 4 Woodward Academy was finally cooled off in Class 4A as Class A-Private No. 6 Greenforest defeated the previously undefeated War Eagles 63-57 at the Battle in Buckhead. Woodward’s swap with No. 3 Americus-Sumter is the only change in this week’s poll. No. 5 Luella and No. 8 St. Pius X both went 2-0 in their respective tournaments.

Class 3A No. 2 Beach’s reputation of fearing no one was proven once again in two tough losses at the Big South Shootout, falling to Class A-Private No. 3 Holy Innocents’ (61-49) and Class 6A No. 2 Forest Park 49-34 after leading at the half. No. 8 Dawson County is down two spots after their inability to piece together a winning streak bit them again, this time losing to Stephens County 53-38. The Tigers have not won more than two games in a row this season. Fellow Region 7’er No. 10 Lumpkin County is down one position following a 70-65 loss to undefeated Murphy, NC. No. 9 Pierce County moves up after wins over River Ridge (53-46) and North Murray (67-60).

Even though they now sit at 8-3, No. 1 Early County is still the current team to beat in Class 2A. The Bobcats lost 52-44 to Class 7A Lowndes. All three of Early County’s losses have come against large schools including 6A No. 3 Valdosta and 7A Colquitt County. Combined, the three have a record of 34-8. No. 6 Josey slips two places after a 43-35 loss to Cross Creek. No. 4 Washington County had a big week with wins over Camden County (53-43), Tattnall County (61-36) and Jefferson County (71-49) to finish the Paul Thigpen Automotive Group Christmas Classic undefeated, setting up a key Region 3 showdown with No. 7 Southwest-Macon on Friday. Putnam County (9-2) falls out following a 53-50 loss at Class A-Public No. 9 Turner County. Back in the poll is No. 10 Vidalia who went 3-0 at their Paul Thigpen Christmas Classic.

The Top 5 remains unchanged in Class A-Private. No. 1 St. Francis ripped Griffin 69-41 and beat Columbia 52-36 while No. 2 Hebron Christian won the Jim Clark Classic championship 60-35 over Cardinal Gibbons, FL.  No. 3 Holy Innocents’ beat Class 3A No. 2 Beach 61-49 before losing to Hoover, AL 46-32. No. 4 Wesleyan defeated Carrollton 66-52.  Longtime fixture in the poll, Stratford Academy (8-2), is bounced after losing 64-61 to returnee No. 8 ELCA. The biggest gainer this week is No. 6 Greenforest who is up four spots after defeating Class 4A No. 4 Woodward Academy 63-57 behind 6-foot-3 junior L’Or Mputu’s 23 points.

No. 2 Wheeler County is making a strong case for the top spot in Class A-Public. The Bulldogs blew out Dooly County (8-4) 71-53 in Vienna, ousting the Bobcats from the Top 10. Dooly County also lost to No. 4 Clinch County 62-47. Replacing Dooly is No. 9 Turner County. The Rebels knocked off Putnam County 53-50 before losing 58-50 to No. 3 Central-Talbotton. Yakia Temple (18), Jaylasia Office (16) and Mya Byrd (14) combined for 48 points but it wasn’t enough to top Bernyla Sparks’ 27-point 11-rebound effort.