Georgia high school girls basketball rankings: 5 new teams enter top 10s

North Paulding suffered its second loss of the season Tuesday night but held on to its No. 1 position in Class 6A in this week’s high school girls basketball rankings.

North Paulding had its 17-game winning streak snapped by then-No. 8 Marietta 50-48 in a Region 5-6A game before bouncing back three nights later with a 56-36 victory over Etowah. The Wolfpack is 21-2 overall against a schedule ranked by MaxPreps as the fifth-toughest in the classification. North Paulding is alone in first place in 5-6A with a 9-1 region record.

While North Paulding didn’t fall in the rankings, Marietta got a boost from the victory that avenged a 73-51 loss to the Wolfpack in December. The Blue Devils, who have won 10 consecutive games, climbed two spots to No. 6 in Class 6A. Marietta is 17-4 overall and in second place in the region at 7-2.

Marietta has three game remaining in the regular season, and North Paulding has two.

The other seven No. 1-ranked teams went undefeated last week and remained solidly in their top spots. They are River Ridge (16-6) in Class 5A, Marist (20-2) in 4A, Luella (15-4) in 3A, Josey (18-3) in 2A, Putnam County (16-1) in A Division I, Wilcox County (19-1) in A Division II, and Hebron Christian (19-1) in 3A-A Private. River Ridge and Wilcox County are defending state champions.

Five new teams entered the top 10s this week, the most in any week in 2026. Lowndes and South Forsyth replaced Grayson and McEachern in Class 6A; Morrow replaced Sequoyah in 5A; East Laurens defeated then No. 8 Washington County and took the Golden Hawks’ spot in A Division I; and Taylor County, which handed then-No. 2 Macon County a 60-43 loss, moved in at No. 8 and knocked Randolph-Clay out of the rankings.

Bradwell Institute remains the only unbeaten girls team in Georgia. The Tigers (23-0) did not play last week but moved up one spot to No. 3 in Class 5A after previous No. 3 Creekview lost to Sprayberry and dropped to No. 5. Bradwell Institute closes out the regular season Wednesday night with a Region 1-5A game at Statesboro.

All regions will complete regular-season and region-tournament play by Feb. 20, and the state tournament will begin Feb. 24.

Class 6A

1. North Paulding (21-2)
2. Newton (16-4)
3. Buford (19-1)
4. Westlake (22-2)
5. Carrollton (21-2)
6. Marietta (17-4)
7. Archer (17-5)
8. Hillgrove (18-4)
9. Lowndes (18-3)
10. South Forsyth (18-4)

Class 5A

1. River Ridge (16-6)
2. Milton (17-3)
3. Bradwell Institute (23-0)
4. Woodward Academy (19-4)
5. Creekview (19-3)
6. New Manchester (18-4)
7. Hughes (15-4)
8. Morrow (15-5)
9. Coffee (20-2)
10. Alexander (17-5)

Class 4A

1. Marist (20-2)
2. Kell (16-5)
3. North Oconee (17-6)
4. Creekside (14-8)
5. Dalton (18-3)
6. Cartersville (17-4)
7. Starr’s Mill (19-2)
8. Southwest DeKalb (17-4)
9. Jones County (19-5)
10. Warner Robins (19-3)

Class 3A

1. Luella (15-4)
2. Monroe (21-3)
3. Sandy Creek (13-6)
4. Oconee County (19-2)
5. Jenkins (17-4)
6. Heritage-Ringgold (18-4)
7. Cherokee Bluff (12-9)
8. Stephenson (15-3)
9. Ridgeland (18-3)
10. White County (16-5)