Here are ten girls teams – five public, five private – to watch this season.
PRIVATE
Eagle's Landing Christian Academy. The Chargers began the season 0-2, dropping two out of three games in a Thanksgiving holiday tournament in Tennessee. But they are currently on a six-game winning streak and are undefeated in Georgia. ELCA is led by senior G Lyndsey Darden and junior G Bryanna Beard.
Holy Innocents'. Coming off of a 29-2 campaign last season, when the Bears advanced to the state title game, the Bears are struggling a bit out of the gate with a record of 5-4 thus far. That is understandable when you consider G Kaila Hubbard is at UGA now and F Kennedy Suttle is at Penn. On the bright side, all four losses are to teams from larger classifications. Juniors Ellie Crosswell, Ansley Diaz and Jada Farrell are leading the way this year.
Paideia. After seven consecutive seasons of failing to make it past the second round of the state playoffs, the Cobras advanced to the quarterfinals last season, finishing 21-10. This season they were 9-0 before losing to Lakeview Academy (9-2) Thursday night, 47-45, as their fourth quarter comeback effort fell short. Paideia is led by an outstanding backcourt tandem – senior Kai Carter, who has signed with UNC-Asheville, and junior Christina Walker.
St. Francis. The Knights finished 26-5 last season and advanced to the Final Four, where they were defeated by eventual champion Wesleyan. This season St. Francis has started 6-2 with both losses coming to out-of-state teams (Hoover of Birmingham and Bishop McNamara near Washington, D.C.) ranked in the top 20 nationally by MaxPreps. The Knights are led by five players averaging double figures – sophomore G Mia Moore (15 ppg), junior G Amirah Abdur-Rahim (13), junior G Chandler Davis (11), junior F Jordan Isaacs (10) and junior F Kennedi Philson (10).
Wesleyan. The Wolves have gotten off to a torrid start as they go after their third consecutive state title. Wesleyan is 10-0 with the closest margin of victory being an 11-point win (60-49) over Class AAAAAA Stephenson. Wesleyan is led by G Callie Weaver, the lone senior on the team, and junior F Avyonce "A.C." Carter.
PUBLIC
Calhoun County. The Cougars finished 18-11 last season and advanced to the quarterfinals for the second time in the past three seasons. Thus far they are 9-1 with the only loss coming at the hands of Class AA Early County (53-36). Calhoun County's 9 wins have been blowouts with an average score being 57-15.
Georgia Military Academy. The Bulldogs finished 24-4 last season but bowed out in the quarterfinals for the third year in a row. This year they are off to a 6-1 start, with sophomore G Deandria Stephens and senior G Cire Foston leading the way.
Marion County. Does head coach Fran McPherson have the Eagles on track to win the state title? It sure looks that way. After arriving in 2015, she led Marion County to the second round of the playoffs in 2016, the quarterfinals in 2017 and runners up last season. And so far this season the Eagles are undefeated (6-0) and avenged last year's loss in the finals to Greenville (71-70).
Telfair County. After trips to the finals in 2017 and the Final Four last season, the Trojans are off to a fast start at 8-2, with their only losses coming at the hands of two teams that will vie for the Class AA title – Dodge County and Fitzgerald. Telfair County is led by a couple of lightning-quick diminutive senior guards, India Wells (5-3) and Brandy Mackey (5-2).
Wheeler County. Over the last three seasons, the Bulldogs have advanced to the semifinals twice and the quarterfinal last year. This season they are once again a title contender thanks largely to the effort of three juniors – G Keonya Mincey, G Sameria Bryant and G/F Lela Wright.
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