Girls basketball rankings: Little movement as regular season enters last week

All eight of the No. 1-ranked teams went undefeated last week to solidify their top spots, and there was little movement elsewhere in the high school girls basketball rankings heading into the final week of the regular season and the beginning of region tournament play.

North Paulding of Class 6A, River Ridge of 5A, Marist of 4A, Luella of 3A, Josey of 2A, Putnam County of Class A Division I, Wilcox County of Class A Division II and Hebron Christian of 3A-A Private are spending another week at No. 1, a position that most have held for the majority of the season.

Wilcox County, the defending state champion in A Division II, had perhaps the most productive week of the group, winning three games to improve to 22-1. Two of the Patriots’ victories came against top-10 opponents, beating No. 6 Macon County 65-53 and No. 10 Telfair County 75-44. Second-ranked Washington-Wilkes, the runner-up in 2025, won its only game of the week and completed the regular season 15-7.

Luella had a significant victory when it defeated No. 8 Stephenson for the second time this season, 54-49 to all but clinch first place in Region 5-3A. Freshman Imari Thompson scored 18 points to lead the Lions, and junior Naima Foster had 10 points and 14 rebounds. Luella can win the regular-season region title with one victory in its three games this week.

Josey turned back a challenge from then-No. 2 Thomson 57-44 in a Region 4-2A game. It was Josey’s second victory of the season against the Bulldogs, who dropped to No. 3 and opened the door for Columbia to move up one spot. Josey will face Butler and Thomson will meet No. 7 Laney in the region tournament semifinals Thursday.

Class 3A-A Private’s ranked teams suffered eight losses last week, but six came against higher-ranked opponents and the impact on the top 10 was limited. Greater Atlanta Christian lost to strong but unranked teams Pickens and North Hall and fell one place to No. 6, swapping places with Whitefield Academy, which moved up one spot despite a loss to No. 2 St. Francis.

No new teams moved into the top 10s this week.

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 (23-2)
2. Newton (17-4)
3. Buford (22-1)
4. Westlake (23-2)
5. Marietta (19-4)
6. Carrollton (22-3)
7. Archer (18-6)
8. Hillgrove (19-5)
9. Lowndes (19-3)
10. South Forsyth (20-4)

Class 5A

1. River Ridge (18-6)
2. Milton (20-3)
3. Bradwell Institute (24-0)
4. Woodward Academy (20-4)
5. Creekview (20-4)
6. New Manchester (20-4)
7. Hughes (18-4)
8. Morrow (18-5)
9. Coffee (23-2)
10. Alexander (19-4)

Class 4A

1. Marist (21-2)
2. Kell (18-5)
3. North Oconee (19-6)
4. Creekside (16-8)
5. Dalton (21-3)
6. Cartersville (19-4)
7. Starr’s Mill (21-2)
8. Southwest DeKalb (20-5)
9. Jones County (20-5)
10. Warner Robins (20-3)

Class 3A

1. Luella (17-4)
2. Monroe (22-3)
3. Sandy Creek (16-6)
4. Oconee County (21-2)
5. Jenkins (20-4)
6. Heritage-Ringgold (20-4)
7. Cherokee Bluff (13-10)
8. Stephenson (16-4)
9. Ridgeland (20-3)
10. White County (18-5)