Let’s take a look at some of the top AA boys and girls games taking place this weekend.
We'll start at the top, on the girls' side, with the No. 1 Laney Lady Wildcats (14-0, 4-0 Region 4-AA).Will they lose a game this season? If they're going to, it could come on Saturday against the No. 7 Josey Lady Eagles (15-1, 5-0) one of their stiffest challenges remaining in the regular season.
The Lady Eagles hold a 1/2 game-lead over Laney in the standings despite the two teams having already played. The Lady Wildcats beat Josey 70-57 on Dec. 23, but that came during a Christmas tournament at Paine College and didn't count toward the region standings.
Though Laney won by 13 in December, it's evident the Lady Eagles have closed the competitive gap since last season, when Laney swept them 3-0 with blowout wins of 74-32, 72-35 and 76-33 in the region championship.
Josey is led by the Rolland twins, junior forwards Rhykeria (10.9 points) and Tykedra (15.8 points), the team's top scorers. Laney is led by seniors De'sha Benjamin (26 points) and Jhessyka Williams (17.7).
On Tuesday, the No. 9 Washington County Lady Golden Hawks (11-3, 5-0 3-AA) pulled off a 71-52 win over No. 2 Dodge County (13-2, 3-2), further cementing their hold on first place. But they have another challenge on Friday when they travel to the Southwest Lady Patriots (8-5, 4-1), who are in second place.
Southwest's lone region loss was to the Lady Golden Hawks, 61-57 on Dec. 12 at Washington County, so they'll be looking for revenge at home and a win would mean a tie at the top of the 3-AA standings. The Lady Pats are challenging the region despite having no double-digit scorers. Their leading scorer is sophomore Shygeria Williams (9.6 points).
The No. 6 Banks County Lady Leopards (14-3, 4-0 7-AA) are another team coming off a win over a team ranked higher than them. On Tuesday, they knocked off the No. 4 Rabun County Lady Wildcats on the road, 59-49 to stay in sole possession of first place. On Friday, they will again fight to stay in first, this time against the No. 3 Putnam County Lady War Eagles (13-1, 3-1).
Last season the Lady Leopards and Lady War Eagles played three times, with the Lady War Eagles winning the season series 2-1, including a 57-46 win in the region semifinals.
The Rabun County girls (12-3, 1-2) must rebound from its loss to Banks County because it plays the No. 6 Elbert County Lady Blue Devils (10-6, 3-1) on the road Saturday. Should the Lady Wildcats lose again, they'd drop to 1-3 in league play and could be in jeopardy of losing their spot in the rankings.
Other games to keep an eye on:
- No. 5 Swainsboro girls (12-2, 7-0 2-AA) at Metter (11-4, 5-2) on Saturday
- No. 9 Swainsboro boys (11-3, 7-0 2-AA) vs. Metter (11-4, 5-2) on Saturday
- No. 4 Dublin boys (11-2, 1-1 3-AA) vs. Northeast (13-6, 5-2) on Friday
- No. 3 Washington County (9-4, 3-2 3-AA) boys vs. Northeast (13-6, 5-2) on Saturday
All stats and records are sourced from MaxPreps. Follow the AJC's Class AA coverage on Twitter.
Credit: Adam Krohn
Credit: Adam Krohn
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