Here’s a look back at some of the top stories from the week in Class AAAAA basketball:
*Hot at the right time: No girls team in AAAAA had a better week than Grovetown. The Warriors upset fifth-ranked Cross Creek 52-50 on Tuesday and then beat No. 8 Greenbrier 61-46 on Friday to remain in the hunt for the top seed in 2-AAAAA Division A. Three Grovetown players – Naomi Hughes (16 points, 12 rebounds), Leah Ferguson (14, 14) and Kwajelin Farrar (11, 13) – had double-doubles against Greenbrier, according to the Augusta Chronicle. The victory was career win No. 100 for Grovetown's Jaime Echols.
*Facing adversity: The seventh-ranked Northside-Columbus boys team snapped a three-game losing streak with a 75-64 victory over Shaw on Friday, but the Patriots likely will be without one of their key contributors for the remainder of the season. According to a report in the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, senior guard Matt Richardson has been released from the program for disciplinary reasons. Richardson was the team's second-leading scorer at 14.8 points per game and averaged 5.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 5.3 steals. Northside is 13-5 overall and 5-2 in 1-AAAAA, just behind leaders LaGrange and Harris County, which have one loss each in region play.
*Rolling in region: The No. 3-ranked Sequoyah girls team is somewhat quietly putting together one of the best seasons in Class AAAAA. The Chiefs improved to 9-0 in 7-AAAAA Division A with a 49-35 victory Friday at Cass and were 19-2 heading into a Cherokee County showdown with Class AAAAAA No. 10 Woodstock (20-0) on Saturday. Sequoyah has just one player (Kelley Hartman, 13.2 points) scoring in double figures, but the Chiefs are giving up only 32.5 points per game and have held 10 opponents to 30 points or less.
*Fighting for second: The sixth-ranked Allatoona boys team (18-2, 13-0) has all but wrapped up the regular-season title in 5-AAAAA, but the battle for second place is a tight one. South Paulding, Paulding County, Lithia Springs, Alexander, Hiram and New Manchester were bunched within three games of each other going into Saturday's games. New Manchester, Hiram and Paulding County have a game remaining against Allatoona over the final two weeks of the regular season. On the girls' side in 5-AAAAA, Hiram (18-2, 13-0) holds a comfortable lead in first place.
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