Girls
Class AAAAAAA
North Forsyth 68, Hillgrove 63
Class AAAAAA
Lovejoy 68, Winder-Barrow 67 (OT)
No. 1 Lovejoy held off No. 2 Winder-Barrow in overtime behind 33 points from sophomore guard Genesis Bryant, who also had six steals and three assists. Host Winder-Barrow fell short despite a triple-double from Connecticut signee Olivia Nelson-Ododa, who had 24 points, 19 rebounds, 10 blocks and three assists. Fellow Lovejoy sophomore Anaya Boyd scored 20 points to go with seven rebounds and four steals. Winder-Barrow’s Chellia Watson had 18 points and five rebounds, and teammate Latrice Perkins contributed 11 points.
Northview 71, Coffee 67
Host Northview held off Coffee despite missing 13 free throws in the fourth quarter, which it entered leading 47-35. Junior post player Ashlee Austin led all scorers with 24 points to go with 15 rebounds, and hit one of two free throws with a second remaining to give Northview its four-point margin. Freshman guard Eden Sample had 17 points, six rebounds and three steals, and sophomore point guard Asjah Inniss had nine points, 8 rebounds and three assists. Jade Buchanan contributed four points and three steals in big minutes off the bench for Northview. Yasha Merritt led Coffee with 20 points, and teammate Kenyira Davis had 17 points.
Class AAAAA
Buford 50, Eagle’s Landing 37
Buford took a 35-16 halftime lead after outscoring visiting Eagle’s Landing 22-7 in the second quarter. Tory Ozment connected on three 3-pointers in the opening half and led Buford with a game-high 19 points to go with her nine rebounds and three steals. The Wolves took a 40-22 lead into the final frame.
Flowery Branch 70, Dutchtown 56
Host Flowery Branch trailed 17-16 at the end of the first quarter and took a 31-28 deficit into the half. Alabama signee Taniyah Worth scored 20 of the Falcons’ 28 first-half points. Flowery Branch outscored Dutchtown 23-7 in the third quarter and took a commanding 51-38 lead into the final frame. Worth finished with a game-high 34 points and added 12 rebounds and six assists. Flowery Branch’s Ashlee Locke and Lexie Sengkhammee each finished with 10 points.
Villa Rica 61, Fayette County 44
Host Villa Rica’s 19-12 lead at the end of the first quarter shrank to 31-30 at the half before the Wildcats poured on a 30-14 scoring advantage in the second half. Deasia Merrill finished with 22 points and 16 rebounds, Kyndal Coleman chipped in 13 points and nine rebounds and Jaila Orozco added 17 points and eight rebounds to pace Villa Rica.
Class AAAA
Americus-Sumter 42, Marist 37
Visiting Americus-Sumter jumped out to a 19-9 halftime and held off Marist in a second half that combined for nearly twice as many points. Americus-Sumter senior Jykiera Long finished with a game-high 19 points, while Diarra Odon led opposing Marist with a team-high 15 points. Long’s teammates Deasia Ford and Shidajah Johnson contributed 12 points and nine points, respectively. Marist’s Eva Wartz finished with nine points.
Henry County 58, Jefferson 50
Host Jefferson was locked with Henry County 12-12 at the end of the first quarter and took a 28-27 lead into the half. The Lady Warhawks piled on a 22-13 scoring advantage in the third quarter. Henry County’s Brooke Moore and Jefferson’s Jazmin Allen dueled evenly, tying for a game-high of 22 points.
Spalding 55, Madison County 53
Host Spalding led 15-8 at the end of the first quarter and took a 26-21 halftime lead. Madison County got going in the third quarter, and a 10-2 Red Raiders run put the visitors up 31-28 midway through the quarter. Spalding appeared to have regained control of the game in the fourth quarter and held a 49-43 lead with 2:48 left. That lead disappeared with 8.7 seconds left when Madison County’s A’Bryanna Maxwell completed the comeback with a pair of free throws to put the Red Raiders up 53-52. But Kiana Banks made the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer on the other end to send Spalding to the semifinals.
Class AAA
Franklin County 53, Peach County 44
Franklin County led from the opening tip and pushed the lead to 9-4 at the end of the first quarter. Peach County fought back into the game and led at the half, 19-18, before Franklin opened the lead in the final quarter after only leading by three points, 36-33, at the end of the third. Bailee Breedlove led the Lady Lions with 16 points, Mya Jones added 15 points and teammate Maddie Morehead scored 14 points. The Lady Lions moved to 30-0 on the season with the victory.
Johnson-Savannah 52, Lovett 46
Last year’s state runner-up Johnson-Savannah advanced to the semifinal game at Armstrong Atlantic after defeating Lovett 52-46. The Lady Atom Smashers took a 17-8 lead after the first quarter, but a sluggish second quarter let Lovett back into the game. Leading 24-16 at the break, Johnson pushed the lead to 31-22 after the third quarter. Lovett outscored Johnson 24-21 in the final frame but came up short.
Class AA
Josey 57, Douglass 39
Josey's Tykedra Rolland led with 18 points as the Lady Eagles moved past Douglass, earning a semifinal berth. Teammate RhyKeria Rolland added 16 points in the win. Eboni Clark and Ebony Chisolm each helped with nine points. Douglass was led by Nekiyah Thompson, who scored 15 points. Ashley McKee added seven points, and teammates Kayla Pruitt and Ikenya King each scored four points for the Lady Astros.
Model 79, Dodge County 63
Model relied on 51 points from teammates Libby Upton and Victaria Saxton to move past Dodge County. Upton had 27 points, and Sexton added 24 points. Saxton also had 29 rebounds and 10 blocks to give her a triple-double. Megan Kent helped with 10 points, and teammate Moe Welch scored eight points for Model. Destance Wright of Dodge led all scorers with 41 points, going 24-of-28 from the free-throw line. Wright scored 22 of her 41 points in the fourth quarter.
Class A-Private
Holy Innocents’ 86, Christian Heritage 49
The Golden Bears went up 24-15 in the first quarter and would maintain a steady lead for the remainder of the game. Kennedy Suttle of Holy Innocents’ had 18 points, eight rebounds and six steals. University of Georgia signee Kaila Hubbard produced as well with 13 points, five assists and seven steals for the Lady Golden Bears. Freshman Jillian Hollingshead, a 6-foot-3 post player, had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead her team to the semifinals.
St. Francis 89, Paideia 41
At the end of the first quarter, host St. Francis led 39-12. The second-ranked Lady Knights’ offense was led by junior point guard Kennedy Powell, who had 15 points. Sophomore forward Amirah Abdur-Rahim scored 14 points, and junior forward Jordan Isaacs had 13 points. St. Francis will face No. 6 Wesleyan in the semifinals.
Stratford Academy 44, Prince Avenue 34
Stratford Academy led early, going up 14-5 after the first quarter. With less than five minutes remaining in the first half, Carey Woodcock’s basket increased Stratford’s lead to 21-12. Sophomore shooting guard Mary Elaine Mitchell finished out the half by hitting a three-pointer, putting Stratford Academy up 24-16. With 3:35 left in the third, Nadia Reese drove into traffic and made a contested shot to increase Stratford’s lead to 30-24, and the Eaglettes were able to expand the lead in the fourth quarter for the home win. Stratford will meet No. 1 Holy Innocents’ in the semifinals.
Wesleyan 60, Calvary Day 20
The Lady Wolves came out strong defensively during their win over Calvary Day, going ahead 36-11 at halftime. The second half played out similarly, with visiting Wesleyan hitting the 60-point mark in the fourth quarter to power over Calvary Day for a 40-point win. Amaya Register and Sutton West were responsible for much of the team’s offense. Register ended the game with 15 points, four assists and four steals, while West had 14 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.
Class A-Public
Terrell County 44, Wilcox County 24
After taking the lead in the first quarter, Terrell County kept Wilcox County scoreless in the second quarter. Senior Ticobia Whitting came alive in the second half, scoring six points in back-to-back quarters to give her 16 points. Senior Jamiya McDaniel hit four three-pointers in a 19-point performance.
Boys
Class AAAAAA
Gainesville 111, Lakeside-Evans 63
No. 1 Gainesville led 27-15 after the first quarter and 62-38 at halftime. Xavier Bledson led the Red Elephants with 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting, 3-of-6 from three, and added four assists. Kajuan Hale had 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting to go with four steals, and KJ Buffen contributed 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Gainesville shot 42-of-72 (58 percent) from the field as a team. Jarrel Rosser had eight points, Jashad Dabney had seven points and Gainesville had three players score six points.
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