The first AJC rankings since the preseason were released Sunday and it's little surprise that Holy Innocents' and Pelham occupy the top two spots. Holy Innocents' lost only one senior from last year's Class A runner-up squad, and features high-level college prospects in Erika Cassell and Khayla Pointer. They've only reinforced the preseason expectations, winning their first 14 games.
Pelham dropped its first game of the year last week, falling to highly-ranked Ribault – a Class AAAA team out of Florida – in a holiday tournament at Colquitt County. They’ve since rebounded with three straight wins, and led by Arkansas-signee Briunna Freeman, are expected to be near the top of the rankings the rest of the way.
Let’s take a look at the rest of the top 10 as we prepare the second half of the season …
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1. Holy Innocents’ (14-0)
Region 6 features three teams in the top eight, but the Lady Bears have already knocked off eighth-ranked Lovett, 77-43, Dec. 12. They’ll get their first crack at No. 3 Wesleyan – the defending Class AA runner-up and a perennial power – on Saturday.
2. Pelham (11-1)
The Lady Hornets resumed play in Region 1 with a 71-54 win over Fitzgerald on Saturday and will play two nonregion games this week before returning to league play at Brooks County this weekend. First up is tonight’s game at Lowndes, which Pelham defeated 76-48 on Dec. 6, followed by unbeaten Mitchell County, the sixth-ranked team in Class A, on Friday.
3. Wesleyan (10-4)
Dealing with the loss of starting point guard Mikayla Coombs to an ACL injury – among other injuries – the Lady Wolves lost two of their first three games, but have played better as of late, Saturday’s loss to Loganville notwithstanding. Thus far, each of their losses have come against teams Class AAAA and larger, and they played Buford (No. 3, Class AAAA) down to the wire. As they continue to get healthy, results should only improve.
4. Darlington (12-2)
The Lady Tigers’ only two blemishes have come against top-ranked Holy Innocents’ and Southwest Atlanta Christian, the No. 2 team in Class A. A big Region 7 game looms Friday against No. 7 Model. Darlington defeated the Lady Devils 57-48 in the championship game of the Rome Christmas tournament, but unlike this week’s game, that one won’t factor into the region standings.
5. Vidalia (11-1)
The Lady Indians haven’t lost since the second game of the season and are the only Region 2 representative in the top 10. Among the other favorites in the region include tonight’s opponent, Jeff Davis, which is off to a 10-3 start, and Long County (11-4), which Vidalia will face next Tuesday.
6. Putnam County (12-3)
The Lady Eagles, a AA semifinalist last season, lost twice over the Christmas break in the Antebellum Holiday Classic, but have won twice since and are unbeaten against Class AA competition this season. They’ll dive back into Region 4-AA play tonight, hosting Lamar County.
7. Model (13-2)
On Friday, the Lady Devils get a return date with No. 4 Darlington, which won its third straight Rome Holiday Festival Tournament championship over the Lady Devils last month. Both teams are currently unbeaten in Region 7 play.
8. Lovett (9-4)
The Lady Lions haven’t been able to keep pace with the top teams on their schedule, suffering lopsided losses to No. 1 Holy Innocents' and Buford (No. 3, AAAA), but will get a chance to rectify that Thursday at No. 3 Wesleyan.
9. Early County (9-2)
No. 2 Pelham, which beat the Lady Bobcats, 71-51, on Dec. 13, is the favorite in Region 1, but Early County and Thomasville (10-4) could make things interesting down the stretch. The Lady Bobcats can score in bunches when given the chance, having topped 80 points three times already this season.
10. Dade County (12-3)
The Lady Wolverines have a hole to climb out of after falling to Region 7 frontrunners Darlington and Model in December, but they’ll get the chance in back-to-back games later this month. Before then, they’ll re-open region play tonight at Gordon Lee.
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