The Class AAAA state tournament has already featured a grand total of 48 boys and girls postseason games since the action tipped off on Feb. 16. Now, just four quarterfinals matchups remain on both sides. In today’s blog, I will select just one game from the girls’ bracket and one game from the boys’ as the top matchup to watch for.
GIRLS: R1#2 Americus-Sumter at R7#1 Marist
With a shared playoff history between them, tremendous talent leading both rosters, contrasting styles of play and countless other storylines (some even being years in the making), this my top girls game to watch for in the quarterfinals.
Americus-Sumter hails from the largest region in the classification (eight-team Region 1), while Marist comes out of the smallest (five-team Region 7). Americus-Sumer’s 61-50 loss to Carver-Columbus in the region championship earlier this month resulted in their No. 2 seed, but playing the top-ranked Tigers so closely has only seemed to stoke the Panthers’ fire this postseason. It was just two seasons ago that Americus-Sumter successfully captured the Class AAAA crown. In fact, the Panthers are not only a confident contender on the rise, but they are actually the most recent state champion left on the girls’ side.
That state title run in 2016 was where Americus-Sumter and Marist last saw their paths cross. The Panthers advanced to the semis with a 63-56 win, and sent Marist home in the third round for a second straight year in the process. That quarterfinal loss was also the end of War Eagle standout Dominique Oden’s incredible varsity career (Dominique has since gone on to star at Purdue, appearing in all 36 games as a freshman and shattering the school’s freshman record with her 61 made three-pointers.) Two years have passed since that last playoff meeting between the schools, but now it is Dominique’s younger sister Diarra leading Marist into a quarterfinal showdown against Americus-Sumter.
Marist fell to LaGrange 46-43 in the first round last year and was able to avenge that loss with a 59-48 victory over the Grangers in last week’s second-round victory. In the win, Marist outscored LaGrange 20-6 in the second quarter and closed it out with their relentless defense. LaGrange head coach Stephen Tuck was complementary of Marist, telling LaGrange News “Each and every game, they [Marist] are really patient and confident in what they do.”
Much of that confidence stems from the defensive intensity that has been passed down from the older Oden and kept in tune by Diarra. The War Eagles are scoring about 49 ppg offensively and holding opponents to just under 32 ppg. The War Eagles defeated St. Pius 36-22 in the first round and held the Golden Lions to just 1 point in the first quarter of play.
Americus-Sumter’s offense presents Marist with challenges defensively. Jy’kiera Long is an aggressive scorer and has averaged 18.25 points over the past four games. Long attempts nearly 17 shot attempts per game and has a strong supporting cast that can step up in the moment. Freshman Nyja Carson is just one example; she netted a career-high 10 points in Americus-Sumter’s 54-34 win over Perry to open the playoffs and then matched a career-high 5 assists in the Panthers’ 39-25 win over Burke County in the Sweet 16. Carson did, however, commit 7 turnovers with her five assists so that is an area that offers potential problems against Marist’s experience.
Americus-Sumter will also need a strong effort from Brianna Pope. The 6-footer is averaging double-figures in the last three games and hauled in a season-high 15 rebounds in the loss to Carver-Columbus earlier this month. Shidajah Johnson, showed up big in the second round with a team-high 10 points and five steals.
Americus-Sumter will need all of its pieces contributing to outmatch Marist and that is what helps promise this to be an outstanding playoff matchup.
BOYS: R5#2 Cartersville at R3#1 Baldwin
Both programs are coming off last-minute victories. Cartersville took down Blessed Trinity 58-56 in overtime and Baldwin mounted an improbable comeback to defeat Americus-Sumter 60-59. Baldwin scored 31 of its 60 points in the fourth quarter and trailed by as many as 15 points before taking its first (and only) lead of the game. Now, we are going to be treated to an entertaining, high-energy game between two of the most interesting boys teams left in the state playoffs, regardless of classification.
Cartersville has averaged more than 20 wins per season over its past five and this is their second trip to the third round in the same span. Baldwin’s journey to this year’s quarterfinals stands in sharp contrast. The Braves were a 3-21 team before Buck Harris took over in 2015. Harris improved Baldwin to a 10-win team his first year on the job and they reached the postseason with an 18-9 record last year. This year, Harris was named Region 3-AAAA Coach of the Year and his Braves are soaring at 23-6.
The toughness and scoring ability of Rodney Walker and Brenden Robertson headline a Baldwin roster filled with players that can provide quality minutes. In the first round, 10 different Braves scored points and then the second round saw Charles Ubah emerge as the unlikely hero that drilled what proved to be the game-winning three-pointer. Torez Hicks is another Baldwin X-factor and the junior quarterback has been the Braves’ leading assist man on the hardwood this season.
Cartersville is even more loaded with two-sport stars, and this is an exciting dimension that this matchup is teeming with. T.J. Horton and J’Kobe Orr starred at wide receiver this past season for Cartersville, Luke Schiltz is also powerful 6-foot-3 pitcher on the Hurricanes’ baseball team and Grant Harris will be playing middle linebacker at the University of Cumberland next fall. Jaylon Pugh and Horton are the team’s most effective scorers and Horton is coming off a 24-point performance.
Another player to watch will be Cartersville’s Isaac Gridley. The 6-foot-6 big man is averaging more blocks per game (3.2) than the entire Baldwin roster combined, and whether or not he can establish his presence down low could be the difference.
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