No. 1 Archer, No. 2 Tucker and No. 8 Douglas County each beat their main rivals last week to take command of their girls basketball region races in Class AAAAAA.
Archer (18-3, 12-0) is in great shape in Region 8 after a 43-37 victory over No. 10 Parkview (13-7, 9-2). Linsey (cq) Marchese, a 6-3 post, scored 16 points and had eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Archer was a state semifinalist last season despite losing to Parkview three times.
Tucker (18-4, 8-0) beat Newton (17-4, 6-2) 76-59. Five of Tucker’s top six players are seniors, including Kierra Johnson-Graham, who leads the team in points (11.9 per game) and rebounds (6.8). Today (Saturday), Tucker plays Class AA No. 3 Holy Innocents’ at 2:30 p.m. in the Wesleyan Winter Showcase at Wesleyan in Norcross. Holy Innocents’ center Erika Cassell, an N.C. State signee, averages a double-double of 14.2 points and 11.0 rebounds.
Douglas County (19-1, 11-0) beat Westlake (17-4, 9-2) 62-59 in Region 3. Douglas County is led by freshman Amari Robinson (16.9 points, 10.6 rebounds) and junior Arsula Clark (14.1 points, 9.1 rebounds).
No. 5 Shiloh, No. 9 Newton have roller-coaster weeks
-Newton’s boys, ranked No. 9, had their biggest victory of the season last week, then their most heart-breaking defeat. Newton beat No. 7 Tucker 58-48 on Tuesday to take first place in Region 2. J.D. Notae scored 22 points in that one. Newton would’ve been the No. 1 seed for the region tournament by winning out, but disaster struck Friday when they blew a 58-48 lead in the final four minutes and lost to Rockdale County 52-50. Rockdale is 11-10, 4-3.
-Another team on the roller coaster is fifth-ranked Shiloh. The General blew a two-game lead in Region 8 earlier this month with losses to Dacula and Central Gwinnett, righted the ship Tuesday with a 74-44 blowout of 10th-ranked Dacula, but slipped again Friday with a 62-59 loss to Brookwood (15-6, 7-5). Brookwood's Micah Kinsey had an unusual double-double of 12 assists and 11 steals, one that denied Shiloh a final shot to tie. Shiloh, Berkmar, Grayson and Dacula each have three region losses.
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