Girls basketball rankings: Three new teams enter top 10s this week

Josey and Thomson have spent most of the past two seasons jockeying for the top two spots in the Class 2A high school girls basketball rankings.

Josey gained the upper hand last week with a 47-44 home victory over then-No. 1 Thomson, taking sole possession of first place in Region 4-2A and moving up one spot to No. 1 in the Class 2A rankings. Thomson dropped to No. 2. The teams will meet again on Feb. 3 at Thomson in the final week of the regular season.

Josey was No. 1 and Thomson No. 2 at the end of the regular season last year, and they went on to face each other in the Class 2A quarterfinals. Josey won that game 48-43 before losing to eventual champion Hardaway in the semifinals.

The other seven No. 1-ranked teams held on to their top spots. They are North Paulding of Class 6A, River Ridge of 5A, Marist of 4A, Monroe of 3A, Putnam County of Class A Division I, Wilcox County of Class A Division II and Hebron Christian of 3A-A Private.

Three new teams entered the top 10s this week.

Defending state champion Cherokee Bluff moved to No. 9 in Class 3A despite a 9-9 record after knocking off previous No. 9 Jefferson 64-44. Cherokee Bluff is in second place in Region 8, one game behind fourth-ranked Oconee County.

In Class 2A, Union County moved in at No. 6 after a 47-41 victory over Sonoraville, which fell two spots to No. 7. Sumter County dropped out of the rankings from its No. 10 spot despite three victories last week.

Banks County is the new No. 10 team in Class A Division I after its 57-44 victory over then-No. 3 Elbert County, which also lost to Commerce last week and fell out of the top 10.

Athens Academy (15-1) suffered its first loss of the season Tuesday when it fell to Class A Division I No. 4 Rabun County 51-48. The Spartans dropped one spot to No. 6 in the Class 3A-A Private rankings. Athens Academy’s loss left only two unbeaten Georgia teams — No. 4 Bradwell Institute (20-0) of Class 5A and No. 6 Bacon County (18-0) of Class A Division I.

Class 6A

1. North Paulding (18-1)
2. Newton (11-4)
3. Buford (15-1)
4. Westlake (18-2)
5. Carrollton (19-2)
6. Archer (14-5)
7. Cherokee (11-7)
8. Hillgrove (14-4)
9. Grayson (13-4)
10. Marietta (13-4)

Class 5A

1. River Ridge (11-6)
2. Milton (12-3)
3. Creekview (16-2)
4. Bradwell Institute (20-0)
5. Woodward Academy (15-4)
6. Hughes (12-3)
7. New Manchester (14-4)
8. Alexander (14-4)
9. Coffee (15-2)
10. Sequoyah (11-7)

Class 4A

1. Marist (17-2)
2. Kell (14-4)
3. Cartersville (14-2)
4. Creekside (11-7)
5. Starr’s Mill (14-1)
6. Southwest DeKalb (14-3)
7. North Oconee (12-6)
8. Jones County (15-4)
9. Dalton (13-3)
10. Warner Robins (16-3)