There will definitely be a shift in the power structure for Class AAA girls basketball this season. St. Pius and Buford, two finalists who met for the championship, have both moved up to AAAA. So did semifinalist Pike County, as did quarterfinalist Woodward Academy.
With two-time champion St. Pius and all-state guard Asia Durr in a different league, that leaves the door wide open. Here are some of the teams that might just be able to take advantage of the situation.
Kendrick: The Cherokees won the Class AA championship last year and are moving up in classification. Coach Sterling Hicks will make the move without Khalia Lawrence, the AA Player of the Year and her 26.2 points and 7.1 rebounds. Kendrick has several building blocks in place: Margarnique McKissic (7.8 points, 3.6 steals), Brittany Thompson (8.6 points), and Taylor Farley (8.4 points, 3.7 rebounds). Freshman Mariah Igus has already proven she can help, averaging 13.5 points and 7.0 steals in the first two games, both wins.
Washington County: The Golden Hawks went 26-1 a year ago for coach Sug Parker, losing to Beach in the third round of the state playoffs. Washington County lost all-state guard Shon Kitchens (19.2 points) but return key pieces in Nia Johnson (11.9 points, 3.3 assists, 3.6 steals) and Daknequa White (13.2 points, 3.4 steals). The Golden Hawks are always in the mix.
Morgan County: Alexis "Pumpkin" Brown, an honorable mention all-state player a year ago, returns to lead the Bulldogs. Coach Josh Reeves' team went 23-5 a year ago and returns key pieces in Sydney Nash and Tatyana Davis.
Decatur: The Bulldogs won't have St. Pius and Woodward to worry about this year. Juniors Jayla Morrow (18.8 points) and Janay Williams (14.8 points, 15 rebounds) make up a talented twosome. Kayla Thomas and Taylor Jones are also capable of scoring on this very young team. Decatur went 22-8 a year ago and lost to Buford in the second round of the state tournament. The Bulldogs have a new coach; Sarah Coleman replaced longtime coach Bill Roberts, widely respected for his ability to squeeze the most out of his teams.
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