HS basketball tournament follows year of transition, unpredictibility

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By Todd Holcomb

For the AJC

The only sure thing in the state high school basketball tournament used to be a championship for Wesleyan’s girls, who are seeking their fifth straight title.

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AJC file photo Westlake will face Tift County in the fiirst round of the Class AAAAA state playoffs.

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In a year of transition and unpredictability, even that presumption is now in dispute.

Wesleyan, the Norcross private school that has dominated Class A, lost to St. Francis of Roswell 52-45 on Saturday in the Region 6-A championship game and lost its No. 1 ranking entering the state tournament, which begins in earnest on Friday and Saturday with 160-first round games in five classifications.

Wesleyan hadn’t lost to another Georgia Class A school since 2008. That included 15 straight state-playoff victories by an average score of 79-37.

‘’Maybe our win will show a lot of teams that you can be just as good as anybody else if you play hard and don’t worry about the name [of the team you’re playing],’’ St. Francis girls coach Aisha Gaddis said. “It’s like a new season. Everybody has a chance. It could be anybody’s state championship.’’

Wesleyan’s loss was hardly the only sign of hope for the underdog last week. The Lady Wolves were one of four teams that lost and gave up their top rankings this week after region tournament defeats.

Also falling from No. 1 were Fayette County's boys (AAAA), Jordan's boys (AA) and Douglas County's girls (AAAA). Replacing them were defending champions Miller Grove (AAAA), Greater Atlanta Christian (AA) and Fayette County girls (AAAA). Southwest Atlanta Christian took Wesleyan’s place in A.

In AAAAA, only one of eight No. 1 seeds won their region tournaments Saturday. That was top-ranked Milton, which won Region 6 and ran its winning streak to 19 and is the clear favorite to make its fourth straight state final and win its first one since 2010.

But regular-season winners Tift County, Westlake, Johnson-Savannah, Harrison, Marietta, North Gwinnett and Shiloh all fell short in the region tournaments. Those earning No. 1 seeds in their place were Valdosta, M.L. King, Savannah, North Cobb, Wheeler, Peachtree Ridge and Berkmar.

Defending champion Norcross qualified only as the fourth team out of Region 7 and must face No. 1 seed Berkmar, ranked 4th in the state, in the first round.

Class AAAA’s boys region tournaments also were full of upsets as the highest ranked team or top seed won only one of eight. That was Miller Grove in 6-AAAA, a team seeking its fourth straight state title.

Top-ranked Fayette County lost to Alcovy, a Newton County school that will be looking for its first-ever victory in a state tournament this week.

Fayette County’s girls are the new No. 1 team. They were the only team in last week’s top six to win a region tournament. Previous No. 1 Douglas County lost to Kell 70-50 in the semifinals and settled for the third seed out of Region 5.

In AAA, Washington County, Columbia and Allatoona were the only girls teams in the top 10 last week to win their region titles, leading to the biggest rankings shakeup in any classification. In AA, Jordan’s boys lost their No. 1 ranking when they lost to Manchester for the second time.

But none of their losses were fatal. They all made the state tournament, which is what counts.

‘’Beating Wesleyan was important confidence-wise, and it put us in a good position,’’ St. Francis’ Gattis said. “But our record is now 0-0 again. What we do from here is what really matters.’’

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