Girls basketball rankings: No. 1 Marist survives rough week for Class 4A

Marist was the only Class 4A top-six team to escape unscathed last week and comfortably held on to the No. 1 spot in this week’s Georgia high school girls basketball rankings.

The War Eagles, seeking their third state championship in five seasons, improved to 19-2 with victories over Northview and Southwest DeKalb in Region 5-4A play. Southwest DeKalb was ranked No. 6 last week but fell to No. 8 after the loss.

Kell lost to Class 3A-A Private No. 1 Hebron Christian 60-49 but remained at No. 2. Cartersville lost to Class 6A Collins Hill 62-55 and then-No. 9 Dalton 59-27, and fell from No. 3 to No. 6. Dalton moved up to No. 5. Creekside remained at No. 4 despite a 75-43 loss to Class 3A-A No. 2 St. Francis, and Starr’s Mill dropped from No. 5 to No. 7 after losing to Class 5A No. 2 Milton 49-36.

North Oconee climbed from No. 7 to No. 3 after defeating Athens Christian, Cedar Shoals and Flowery Branch.

Six of the other seven top-ranked teams also went undefeated last week. The one that didn’t — Monroe of Class 3A — dropped to No. 2 after a 46-34 loss to Class 5A Lee County. That opened the door for Luella to take over the top spot, moving up from No. 2 despite a loss of its own. Luella lost 49-47 to Class 6A No. 4 Westlake, but bounced back with a 45-41 victory over No. 8 Stephenson.

The other six teams that were undefeated last week and retained their No. 1 rankings are: North Paulding in Class 7A, River Ridge in 6A, Josey in 2A, Putnam County in A Division I, Wilcox County in A Division II and Hebron Christian in 3A-A Private.

Three new teams entered the top 10s. McEachern moved into the No. 10 spot in Class 6A despite a loss to No. 7 Hillgrove and replaced Cherokee, which dropped from No. 7 after lopsided losses to No. 8 Marietta and No. 1 North Paulding. Thomasville entered the Class A Division I rankings at No. 6 after a particularly strong week in which it beat then-No. 9 Brantley County and then-No. 6 Bacon County in Region 1-A Division I. Bacon County suffered its first loss of the season and fell to No. 7. Brantley County, which also lost to Bacon County last week, fell out of the top 10. In Class A Division II, Randolph-Clay entered the top 10 in place of Screven County, which lost to unranked Emanuel County Institute.

Bacon County’s loss leaves Bradwell Institute as the only remaining unbeaten girls team in Georgia. Bradwell Institute, ranked No. 4 in Class 5A, defeated Glynn Academy, South Effingham and Brunswick last week to improve to 23-0.

Class 6A

1. North Paulding (20-1)
2. Newton (14-4)
3. Buford (17-1)
4. Westlake (21-2)
5. Carrollton (20-2)
6. Archer (15-5)
7. Hillgrove (16-4)
8. Marietta (16-4)
9. Grayson (14-4)
10. McEachern (14-5)

Class 5A

1. River Ridge (14-6)
2. Milton (15-3)
3. Creekview (18-2)
4. Bradwell Institute (23-0)
5. Woodward Academy (17-4)
6. Hughes (14-3)
7. New Manchester (16-4)
8. Alexander (15-5)
9. Coffee (17-2)
10. Sequoyah (12-8)

Class 4A

1. Marist (19-2)
2. Kell (15-5)
3. North Oconee (15-6)
4. Creekside (12-8)
5. Dalton (16-3)
6. Cartersville (15-4)
7. Starr’s Mill (17-2)
8. Southwest DeKalb (16-4)
9. Jones County (17-4)
10. Warner Robins (18-3)

Class 3A

1. Luella (13-4)
2. Monroe (19-3)
3. Sandy Creek (11-6)
4. Oconee County (17-2)
5. Jenkins (15-4)
6. Heritage-Ringgold (16-4)
7. Cherokee Bluff (10-9)
8. Stephenson (13-3)
9. Ridgeland (16-3)
10. White County (14-5)