Week 9 Girls Rankings

Sandy's Spiel Showcase

Class AAAAAAA

1. Westlake (16-2)
2. Collins Hill (19-0)
3. Cherokee (17-2)
4. Campbell (16-3)
5. North Forsyth (17-2)
6. Tift County (13-4)
7. Woodstock (17-2)
8. Pebblebrook (14-3)
9. West Forsyth (16-2)
10. Rockdale County (15-4)

Class AAAAAA

1. Lovejoy (16-1)
2. Forest Park (15-5)
3. Valdosta (15-2)
4. Dacula (17-2)
5. Glynn Academy (14-4)
6. Alexander (15-3)
7. Stephenson (14-5)
8. Harrison (15-4)
9. Langston Hughes (11-5)
10. Mt. Zion-Jonesboro (12-5)

Class AAAAA

1. Buford (17-0)
2. Kell (18-0)
3. Rome (15-3)
4. Jones County (16-3)
5. Villa Rica (16-3)
6. Statesboro (15-3)
7. Wayne County (15-1)
8. Veterans (15-2)
9. Starr’s Mill (14-3)
10. Southwest DeKalb (13-6)

Class AAAA

1. Americus-Sumter (15-0)
2. Spalding (13-4)
3. Carver-Columbus (13-4)
4. Woodward Academy (17-1)
5. Troup County (13-0)
6. Luella (14-5)
7. Marist (16-1)
8. Central-Carrollton (15-2)
9. Burke County (10-3)
10. Stephens County (14-5)

Class AAA

1. Johnson-Savannah (13-1)
2. Jefferson (16-3)
3. Beach (13-7)
4. GAC (9-9)
5. Coahulla Creek (15-3)
6. Fannin County (13-5)
7. Pierce County (14-2)
8. Ringgold (11-7)
9. Dawson County (11-7)
10. Cedar Grove (11-4)

Class AA

1. Douglass (11-5)
2. Laney (15-2)
3. Early County (11-4)
4. Rabun County (16-1)
5. Union County (14-3)
6. Putnam County (14-2)
7. Josey (13-4)
8. Southwest-Macon (14-2)
9. Washington County (13-2)
10. Vidalia (14-3)

Class A-Private

1. St. Francis (13-3)
2. Hebron Christian (20-0)
3. Wesleyan (13-2)
4. Holy Innocents’ (12-5)
5. Mt. Paran (14-2)
6. Greenforest (13-4)
7. Galloway (13-4)
8. ELCA (10-2)
9. Stratford Academy (13-2)
10. Darlington (15-2)

Class A-Public

1. Central-Talbotton (13-1)
2. Wheeler County (18-1)
3. Clinch County (12-1)
4. Greenville (13-4)
5. Calhoun County (12-4)
6. Bowdon (14-4)
7. Dooly County (11-5)
8. Macon County (11-3)
9. Pelham (11-1)
10. Turner County (10-6)

There are plenty of changes in Class 7A but the Top 3 remain unchanged.

No. 1 Westlake holds onto their top spot after a 73-61 loss to Centennial, NV at the Big West Shootout while No. 2 Collins Hill beat up on Duluth (59-38) and Mill Creek (65-14). With the amount of talent they have, Collins Hill hasn’t tested themselves as much as Westlake and other top teams in the state have. They will play Class A-Private No. 3 Wesleyan on MLK Day. No. 3 Cherokee blasted Roswell (65-41) and Etowah (55-24) before holding on in a wild finish against Grayson at the Hudl Classic, 52-49. Navy-signee Sydne Watts scored 14 points followed by Shorter-signee Chatham Brown’s 13. No. 9 West Forsyth tumbles five spots after a 51-37 loss at Roswell. No. 6 Tift County is up a spot after dispatching of Region 1 rival Colquitt County 63-45 in Moultrie. Falling from the poll is North Paulding (14-4), who lost 49-33 at North Cobb. No. 10 Rockdale County debuts in the Top 10 after strong Region 8 wins over Archer (63-60) and Grayson (59-55). 6-foot junior Shaquice May is the straw that stirs the drink, averaging 11.8 points per game. 5-foot-8 junior Alana Moore pitches in 9.1 points and 7.6 rebounds while 5-foot-10 freshman Nylah Williams averages 9 points and 6.4 rebounds.

It was a statement week for No. 3 Valdosta in Region 1-AAAAAA as the Wildcats went on the road to beat Northside-Warner Robins 69-31 and Houston County (12-4) 45-39, dropping the Bears from the poll. 6-foot-3 freshman Essence Cody collected 14 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks in the win over Houston County. No. 8 Harrison sinks three spots after a blowout loss to Sprayberry 46-28. Keep an eye on the 10-8 Yellow Jackets. 5-foot-10 sophomore Flau’Jae Johnson of America’s Got Talent fame, just got eligible and is a region-changing presence. She had 11 points and 8 rebounds. No. 6 Alexander climbs two spots after losing to returnee No. 9 Langston Hughes 64-60 but bouncing back with wins over Mays (52-24) and Lithia Springs (66-48). The Panthers are ranked for the first time since Week 1 and have hit their stride. They also won at Tri-Cities 45-35 and have control of first-place in Region 5 at 9-1.

In Class 5A, No. 1 Buford pulled out a 49-42 win against 14-5 Loganville, possibly 5A’s best unranked team. Furman-signee Tate Walters scored 13 points in the win while Tamori Plantin added 11. No. 5 Villa Rica is down two spots after getting drilled by Carrollton 70-37. Fellow Region 7er No. 3 Rome takes their spot after the middle of the poll saw some big changes. No. 7 Wayne County falls three spots after a 42-40 loss at No. 6 Statesboro who rises two positions. Arabia Mountain (14-3) goes from No. 5 to unranked after losses to returnee No. 10 Southwest DeKalb (72-57) and Columbia (43-41). No. 9 Starr’s Mill is quietly making hay in Region 3, winners of now 12-straight. They took care of Griffin 45-35 to end the week.

A changing of the guard in Class 4A is underway as No. 1 Americus-Sumter dethroned No. 3 Carver-Columbus 58-53, dropping the Tigers two spots. Troy-signee Jelissa Reese scored 20 points while Divine White netted 18 and Trinity Jones chipped in 9. Louisville-signee Olivia Cochran was held to 15 points for Carver while Khamya Edmonds had 13 and Kionna Gaines scored 9. No. 2 Spalding pounded West Laurens (12-5) out of the rankings with a 78-24 walloping. No. 4 Woodward Academy beat No. 6 Luella for the second time, 72-67 in overtime getting 28 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals from Sydney Bowles. The race to the top of the Region 5 standings is getting tight as No. 8 Central-Carrollton hosts undefeated No. 5 Troup County on Tuesday. New to the poll is No. 9 Burke County. 6-foot-1 senior Tyasia Freeman is averaging 16.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.3 steals and 1.7 blocks. Freeman came up big this past week, scoring 26 in a 61-40 win over Baldwin and double-doubling with 20 points and 15 rebounds in the Bears’ 50-44 win over Cross Creek to move into sole possession of first-place in Region 3.

Already for the third time this season, No. 1 Johnson-Savannah beat No. 3 Beach 38-34 in Class 3A’s premier rivalry. No. 4 GAC has now won its fourth-straight game and is officially the team to beat in Region 7. The Spartans took down No. 6 Fannin County 66-49 before handing Class 4A No. 7 Marist their first loss of the year 52-37. Sophomore Kaleigh Addie has been on fire, scoring 22 against Fannin County before dropping 31 points on Marist. Fannin County falls two spots after beating No. 9 Dawson County 54-53 but losing to Class 2A No. 5 Union County 62-47. No. 5 Coahulla Creek is up two spots after getting revenge against Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 69-32, but the Colts were trounced by suddenly hot and in first-place in Region 6, No. 8 Ringgold. The Tigers roar back into the Top 10 on a 5-game winning streak, polishing up a week in which they also knocked off Sonoraville (11-6) 56-49 on the road before beating Coahulla Creek in Dalton. No. 10 Cedar Grove plummets four places following a 44-24 loss at Pace Academy.

Everything revolves around Region 8 in Class 2A. Defending state champ No. 1 Douglass rises to the pole position after No. 4 Rabun County fell 58-54 to No. 6 Putnam County, who surges back into the rankings at 14-2. Jashanti Simmons dropped in 22 points in the win. Putnam also beat a very talented young Elbert County team on the road 54-48 and finished the week by beating Oconee County 49-43. Sandwiched in between Rabun and Putnam is No. 5 Union County. The Panthers won 45-40 at Banks County before clipping Class 3A No. 6 Fannin County 62-47 behind Ava Hunter’s 27 points. Over in Augusta, No. 2 Laney beat No. 7 Josey again 59-54. Falling out of the Top 10 to make room for Putnam County is hard-luck Bryan County (15-3). The Redskins are on a 7-game winning streak and just beat Woodville-Tompkins 67-49.

The only change in Class A-Private comes at the bottom of the poll as No. 10 Darlington replaces Calvary Day (13-4) to make their 2019-20 debut. The Tigers scored wins over Trion (64-35) and North Cobb Christian (64-30). Calvary Day was beaten for the second time by Hilton Head Christian Academy, SC 60-58 in overtime. Up near the top of the rankings, No. 4 Holy Innocents’ defeated No. 7 Galloway 63-45.

There is no movement in Class A-Public. No. 6 Bowdon scored a 49-35 win over Christian Heritage while No. 8 Macon County edged No. 10 Turner County 52-44.