Despite their stellar 17-2 record, you won’t find the Cass girls in the state rankings. That issue could be rectified this weekend the Colonels put their 10-game winning streak on the line against two state-ranked teams – No. 9 Carrollton on Friday and No. 2 Villa Rica on Saturday.
“We’ve been flying under the radar and that’s OK,” Cass coach Burt Jackson said. “I tell our girls not to worry about it. It doesn’t matter where you are now, it’s where you finish that matters.”
Cass has a veteran team that’s enjoyed plenty of success – the girls won 21 game two seasons ago and 16 last year – but they’re in Region 7, which is one of the toughest leagues in the state. The Colonels are 9-2 in the league.
The Colonels raised some eyebrows this week by beating Rome, avenging a 10-point loss to the Wolves. They’ll try to do the same thing on Friday when they host Carrollton, a team that beat them 56-34 on Dec. 14. They’ll play unbeaten Villa Rica two times over next week.
“We’re excited about this weekend,” Jackson said. “We understand we have an enormous task ahead of us. We’ve still got a lot to prove.”
Cass has a senior-heavy team that enjoys playing an up-tempo style, but is versatile enough to adjust. Over the break they played Peachtree Ridge, a fast-paced pressing team one night and scored 77, then turned around the next night and played a slow game at Southside, the No. 7 ranked team in Alabama, and won 42-40.
The Colonels start four seniors -- Sharia Wade, Payton Stoddard, Amber Brittian and Alexis Ware – and freshman point guard Claire Davis. Stoddard and Davis both average 12 points and Wade averages 11. The balance can be seen on the stat sheet, where five different girls have been the leading scorer – one game there were six players in double figures -- and eight different players had made a pair of 3-pointers in the same game.
“These girls don’t care who gets the points, they all pull for each other,” Jackson said. “They just want to win.”
Carrollton (14-6, 9-2) is led by all-state guard De’Mauri Flournoy. The Trojans have won two straight since its Jan. 8 loss at Villa Rica. Carrollton’s only two league losses have come against Villa Rica.
Villa Rica (18-0, 9-0) is led by all-state forward Deasia Merrill, who has signed with Kentucky. The Wildcats play Paulding County on Friday.
“We like to say our league is like the Southeastern Conference,” Jackson said. “It’s that tough.”
In other big games this weekend:
Boys -- No. 3 Southwest DeKalb will try to get back on track at Miller Grove, a state finalist last year that has struggled due to some player defections that thinned the roster … No. 4 Eagle's Landing has a Region 4 contest against Jones County. … No. 8 Jonesboro hosts a dangerous Griffin Club on Friday, then has a match at No. 1-ranked Fayette County on Saturday. … In Region 2, Statesboro plays New Hampstead, with the winner taking over first place.
Girls -- Friday's other big game features No. 10 Jones County at No. 6 Eagle's Landing. … Ware County travels to Wayne County in a key Region 2 contest, as both try to keep pace with No. 7 Statesboro. … No. 3 Veterans has a non-region game Friday with Peach County before traveling to Bainbridge for a Region 1 match on Saturday.
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