Every Sunday, the AJC releases its top 10 polls for both the boys and girls. Here's a rundown of Class AA's ranked teams and where they stand at this point in the season.
Boys
1. Therrell (13-5)
Region record: 8-0 in Region 6 (first place)
Notes: The Panthers won their only game last week, 80-53, over league opponent McNair. This week they play two more region games — both on the road — against B.E.S.T. (5-10, 2-6) on Tuesday and KIPP (13-7, 5-3) on Friday. They've already beaten both teams by double-digits.
2. Swainsboro (17-2)
Region record: 7-1 in Region 2 (first place)
Notes: The Tigers went 2-0 last week with blowout region wins over Metter (89-47) and Toombs County (92-53). This week they play three games starting with region opponents Woodville-Tompkins (10-8, 5-2) at home on Tuesday and at Bacon County (5-6, 2-4) on Friday, then Saturday against A-public's No. 6 Wilkinson County (10-6) at home. They're 3-0 against those teams this season.
3. Glenn Hills (14-6)
Region record: 10-1 in Region 4 (first place)
Notes: The Spartans went 3-0 in league play last week, beating No. 7 Butler 81-71, Harlem 66-52 and Screven County 72-59. John Whitehead III had 21 points, four assists, two steals and a block and Emmanuel Jones had 20 points and 11 rebounds in the Butler win. They play two more region games this week against Jefferson County (11-6, 7-3) at home on Tuesday and at Westside (10-7, 7-4) on Friday. They beat Jefferson County earlier in the season. On Dec. 10, and Westside handed them their only region loss, beating them 68-63, with freshman Khalon Hudson scoring 21 points for the Patriots.
4. Jeff Davis (13-5)
Region record: 6-1 in Region 2 (second place)
Notes: The Yellow Jackets went 3-0 last week with region wins over Bacon County (78-76) and Woodville-Tompkins (70-39) and a 75-53 win over AAA's Appling County. This week they play three more league games against Toombs County (4-12, 1-6) on the road Tuesday, Metter (9-6, 2-5) at home on Friday and Bryan County (0-17, 0-6) at home on Saturday. They are 3-0 against those teams this season.
5. Laney (11-5)
Region record: 7-3 in Region 4 (second place)
Notes: The Wildcats went 2-1 last week, beating Jefferson County (66-50) and Josey (61-22) but losing 61-57 to Butler in overtime. They play three games this week with two against region opponents in Screven County (2-17, 0-11) at home on Tuesday, at Hephzibah (10-7, 6-5) on Friday, then at AAAA' Burke County (10-5) on Saturday. They are 3-0 against those teams including a 73-8 win over Screven County on Dec. 6.
6. Banks County (16-2)
Region record: 7-0 in Region 8 (first place)
Notes: The Leopards earned a pair of region wins last week over Union County (79-44) and Social Circle (46-39), with the latter determining sole possession of first place. They play two more league games this week with Putnam County (3-13, 2-4) on the road Tuesday and at home against Rabun Count (5-12, 3-4) on Friday. They're 2-0 against those teams, beating each of them by more than 30.
7. Butler (10-5)
Region record: 6-3 in Region 4 (fourth place)
Notes: The Bulldogs had a challenging week and came away 1-1, losing 81-71 to No. 3 Glenn Hills and beating No. 5 Laney 61-57 in overtime. The Laney win was a team effort, with four Bulldogs scoring in double figures: Trayveyon Perry (16 points), Richard Visitacion (14), Ronnie Striggles (13) and Quantavious Franklin (10). They play three league games this week, with Harlem (6-9, 2-8) on the road Tuesday, and home games against Screven County (2-17, 0-11) on Friday and Josey (4-14, 1-8) on Saturday. They've already beaten Harlem and Screven County.
8. Spencer (14-3)
Region record: 6-0 in Region 5 (first place)
Notes: The Green Wave Owls posted three region wins over Jordan (68-27), Bremen (105-29) and Lamar County (106-60), twice eclipsing the 100-point mark against the latter two opponents. No game was closer than 41 points. After six days of rest, they'll play region opponent and second-place Temple (13-6, 5-1) at home Friday, then at A-Public's No. 10 Dooly County (13-4) the next day. They beat Temple 71-50 on Dec. 17.
9. Douglass (14-4)
Region record: 6-2 in Region 6 (second place)
Notes: The Astros played just once last week, beating B.E.S.T. 75-48. Weather wiped out their other scheduled game against AAAAAA's Mays, though it may be rescheduled despite it being a non-region contest. This week they play two region games against KIPP (13-7, 5-3) on Tuesday at home and at Washington (8-9, 4-4) on Friday. With a win, KIPP would move into a tie for second place with Douglass. On Nov. 21, the Astros edged KIPP 77-71. Washington beat Douglass 75-72 on Dec. 3.
10. Thomasville (14-3)
Region record: 3-0 in Region 1 (first place)
Notes: The Bulldogs went 3-0 last week with a 71-46 win over AAAA's Cairo — that was their third win over Cairo this season — and region wins over Early County (66-45) and Berrien (57-29). They play three more games this week against A-Public's Pelham (8-4) at home Tuesday, region rival Fitzgerald (4-12, 2-0) at home Friday and at AAAAA's Thomas County Central (5-10) on Saturday. Despite Fitzgerald being eight games under .500 with its overall record, a win over Thomasville puts the Purple Hurricane alone in first place. The Bulldogs already beat Pelham and Thomas County Central earlier this year.
Girls
1. Laney (15-2)
Region record: 10-0 in Region 4 (first place)
Notes: The Lady Wildcats went 3-0 last week in region play with wins over Jefferson County (91-43), Butler (55-45) and No. 8 Josey (59-54) to take command in the standings and earn their rightful spot atop the rankings, jumping two spots from last week's poll. In the Jefferson County win, Rocquana Drayton scored a season-high 29 points. They play three games this week, first against region opponents Screven County (5-14, 2-9) at home on Tuesday and at Hephzibah (8-11, 5-6) on Friday. The next day they play at AAAA's Burke County (10-3).
2. Early County 11-4
Region record: 2-0 in Region 1 (tied for first place)
Notes: They Lady Bobcats opened region play last week with a pair of wins over Brooks County (58-24) and Thomasville (65-46). Makayla Timpson scored 27 points in both games. The wins moved them into a first-place tie with Fitzgerald, the team they play next. That game will be Monday in Fitzgerald. They also play at A-Public's Terrell County (3-9) on Tuesday and at home against region opponent Berrien (6-9, 0-2) on Friday.
3. Rabun County (16-1)
Region record: 6-1 in Region 8 (first place)
Notes: The Lady Wildcats went 1-1 last week, losing on the road when unranked Putnam County edged them 58-54, ending their shot at an undefeated regular season after winning their first 16. With the loss, they swap places in the rankings with Laney. Before that game, they beat Social Circle 62-15. They play region opponents twice this week, hosting Oglehorpe County (2-12, 0-7) on Tuesday and traveling to Banks County (8-10, 4-3) on Friday. They've already beaten both teams in blowout fashion.
4. Union County (14-3)
Region record: 5-1 in Region 8 (tied for second)
Notes: The Lady Panthers jumped two spots in the rankings by going 3-0 last week with region wins over Banks County (45-40) and Oglethorpe County (43-13) and AAA's Fannin County (62-47). This week they play region opponents with Elbert County (12-5, 4-3) on the road Tuesday, Monticello (3-12, 2-5) at home Friday and Putnam County (14-2, 5-1) on the road Saturday. The Putnam County game is crucial in terms of league standings, with the current order being Rabun County (6-1), followed by Union County and Putnam County (5-1).
5. Southwest-Macon (14-2)
Region record: 6-1 in Region 3 (first place)
Notes: The Lady Patriots picked up region wins over Bleckley County (36-31) and Dodge County (62-32) last week, with leading scorer Ja'Khyla Johnson averaging 18.5 points in those games. However, they slid one spot in the rankings. They play just one game this week, on Friday at Northeast (14-5, 4-3) in a league contest. On Dec. 7 they edged Northeast 44-38 at home.
6. Washington County (13-2)
Region record: 5-1 in Region 3 (second place)
Notes: The Lady Golden Hawks played just one game last week against region opponent Dublin and won 60-37, with Miracle Parker scoring 21 points. They also dropped a spot in the rankings. They play three times this week against region opponents East Laurens (9-7, 5-2) on the road Tuesday, and at home against Bleckley County (7-10, 3-4) on Friday. On Saturday they host AAAA's Baldwin (13-6), which beat them 55-47 in their season opener. They beat East Laurens and Bleckley County earlier this season.
7. Douglass (11-5)
Region record: 8-0 in Region 6 (first place)
Notes: The Lady Astros played just once last week and it was a 61-10 blowout win over Corretta Scott King YWLA. Their much-anticipated game against A-Private's No. 3 Wesleyan in the Hudl Classic was cancelled due to weather and will not be made up. This week, they play region games against KIPP (7-9, 3-4) at home on Tuesday and at Washington (2-10, 1-5) on Friday. They host AAA's Hart County (9-8) on Saturday. They've already beaten KIPP and Washington the first time they played.
8. Vidalia (14-3)
Region record: 8-1 in Region 2 (first place)
Notes: Last week the Lady Indians picked up a pair of league wins over Toombs County (53-32) and Metter (60-45). They play three more region games this week at Bacon County (3-10, 1-7) on Tuesday, at home against Woodville-Tompkins (10-8, 7-2) on Friday and at St. Vincent's (6-11, 4-7) on Saturday. They beat Bacon County and St. Vincent's the first time, but Woodville-Tompkins beat them 51-44 on Dec. 6.
9. Josey (13-4)
Region record: 7-2 in Region 4 (second place)
Notes: The Lady Eagles came oh-so-close to an epic win over crosstown rival and top-ranked Laney last weekend, falling just short, 59-54, at home. They are now 0-31 against Laney dating back to the 2006-07 season. They won their other game against Westside, 70-14. This week they play three region road games against Hephzibah (8-11, 5-6) on Tuesday, Harlem (4-8, 2-7) on Friday and Butler (11-6, 7-2) on Saturday. They beat Hephzibah and Harlem earlier.
10. Bryan County (15-3)
Region record: 8-1 in Region 1
Notes: The Lady Redskins went 3-0 last week to enter the top 10, with region wins over Woodville-Tompkins (67-49) and Bryan County (79-25), and 64-62 over A-Private's Claxton. In the Claxton game, senior Olonna Rawls (pictured above with her team) finished with 32 points — the exact total she needed to reach 2,000 points for her prep career. This week they play league games against Metter (7-9, 3-6) on the road Tuesday, at home against Toombs County (4-13, 1-9) on Friday and at Jeff Davis (11-6, 4-4) on Saturday. They beat all three teams the first time they played.
Etc.: Rockmart junior Keyarah Berry also topped the 2,000-point mark for her career last week against Chattooga. She will be honored for the achievement on Tuesday, when the Lady Yellow Jackets host Dade County.
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