Class AAAAAA
Norcross and Southwest DeKalb, the reigning girls state champions in AAAAAA and AAAAA, will play each other Saturday in the 2:30 p.m. game of the “Girls Night Out” event at Brookwood.
Norcross ranks No. 8 in AAAAAA despite the graduation of all-class player of the year Diamond DeShields, who plays at North Carolina. Southwest DeKalb is No. 2 in AAAAA.
These schools have won seven of the past 10 state titles in the two highest classifications.
Archer’s girls (16-1), ranked No. 2, will play the 7 p.m. game against Shades Valley (12-3) of Birmingham, the No. 8 team in Alabama’s highest class.
Here are other things to watch this weekend in AAAAAA and the other classifications:
- The basketball coaches at Pebblebrook and South Cobb will be barefooted for their Friday night games at Pebblebrook. The barefoot game is designed to bring awareness to a non-profit group called Samaritan's Feet, which has provided more than 4 million shoes to impoverished children since 2003. Fans attending are encouraged to donate $1 and to wear mismatched shoes.
- North Gwinnett's boys, ranked No. 2, will be in Punta Gorda, Fla., this weekend for the Wally Keller Classic. Friday's opponent, Palmetto, ranks No. 7 in one Florida Class 7A poll. Saturday's opponent, Gibbs of St. Petersburg, ranks No. 5 in 5A.
- Newnan (14-2, 2-0) got a big Region 3 victory Tuesday against 10th-ranked Douglas County, winning 56-53 on the road. On Friday, the Cougars have a home game against fourth-ranked Westlake (16-1, 3-0). Newnan guard Doniel Dean is a three-year starter, and 6-foot-7 senior forward Immanuel Griggs is one of the state's top power forwards.
- McEachern's girls, ranked No. 1, will be in Brooklyn to play New York's No. 1-ranked team, Nazareth Regional, in the Rose Classic Super Jam. Nazareth's Bianca Cuevas has signed with South Carolina. McEachern's point guard, Te'a Cooper, has signed with North Carolina.
Class AAAAA
- Two of the top boys teams in AAAAA will meet with Region 6 bragging rights on the line when top-ranked Miller Grove travels to No. 3 Tucker on Friday night. The game could provide insight into which team might be considered the favorite heading into the state tournament next month and is significant because DeKalb schools have won eight consecutive championships in the second-highest classification, including the past five by Miller Grove. "They're having a tremendous season," Miller Grove coach Sharman White said of Tucker. "They've got a good group of guys, with some veterans. They've gotten solid play from positions one through five, and they're going to be well-coached." After playing the Tigers, Miller Grove will head to Dayton, Ohio, to participate in the Flyin' To The Hoop Invitational. The Wolverines will take on Roselle Catholic of New Jersey at 1:15 p.m. Monday.
- The Osborne girls team, which has won 11 of 12 games since a 1-4 start, will travel to New York this weekend to participate in the Rose Classic, hosted by Brooklyn's Nazareth High. The Cardinals will face Mary Louis (N.Y.) on Friday and Archbishop Malloy (N.Y.) on Saturday.
Class AAAA
- The top-ranked and undefeated Redan girls host Washington on Friday, before traveling to Columbia on Saturday for a game that most believe will decide Region 6. In the first game against Columbia, Redan jumped to a 22-point halftime lead, but had to hold on in the second half for a 75-74 victory. Redan (16-0) is the only undefeated AAAA team, according to the GHSA region standings. Columbus and Cross Creek each have one loss.
- The top-ranked Columbia boys host Therrell. The Eagles won three consecutive state titles (2010-12) and are in the mix again. Columbia (12-1) has won four consecutive games, since suffering its only loss to Tucker (No. 3 in AAAAA) in a holiday tournament.
- Defending-champion Eagle's Landing, under first-year coach Eric Wortham, has won six consecutive games and is in control of Region 4 at 9-0 and 13-3 overall. The Eagles host Stockbridge on Friday.
- Alexander's boys continued their hot start Tuesday, with a 73-56 victory against Carrollton. The Cougars, who entered the rankings at No. 8 this week, are in first place in a tough Region 5 that features three ranked teams.
Class AAA
- Cedar Grove at St. Pius boys: Two of the better teams in Region 6 have their return match, this time at Cedar Grove. No. 9 Cedar Grove (9-5, 7-1) handed No. 5 St. Pius (16-2, 5-2) its first league loss Dec. 3. Cedar Grove has won two consecutive, including a gritty defensive showdown against Decatur, since stumbling through the holidays. The Saints lost twice in a loaded tournament in Albany and lost three consecutive (including to region-foe Blessed Trinity) before righting the ship. St. Pius will try to rebound from Tuesday's 41-38 loss at Blessed Trinity. The Lions won 15 consecutive games before that loss.
- Carver at Central Macon: The outcome of this game should have a huge impact on Region 2. Carver (11-4, 5-0) has won three consecutive since losing to Northside-Columbus in the Shaw Christmas Tournament. (Carver had beaten Northside a week earlier.) Central (14-3, 5-1) has won four consecutive since losing to Northeast Macon. The Chargers are undefeated on their home court. The two meet again Feb. 1 in Columbus.
- Morgan County at Hart County boys: These two teams join with Elbert County to make Region 8 one of the more hotly contested in the state. Each of the three has at least 10 victories and one region loss. No. 6-ranked Morgan County (12-4, 6-1) has played an ambitious non-league schedule that included an appearance in the Nike Christmas Tournament at Berkmar.
Class AA
- The No. 8-ranked Pelham Hornets jumped to a 1 1/2-game lead in Region 1 with a 5-0 start in league play, 10-3 overall. They seek consecutive region titles and will look to pad their lead when they host region rival Brooks County on Friday before traveling to play Cairo in a non-region matchup Saturday.
- Keep an eye on the Taylor County Vikings, who are unranked despite winning Region 4 last season. On Tuesday, they defeated region rival and No. 9-ranked Crawford County 61-55 at home to tie them atop the standings at 4-1. In fact, Region 4 is a logjam heading down the stretch, with Northeast and Lamar County a half game behind at 4-2, followed by Monticello at 3-3. The Vikings travel to Macon County for a region game Friday and to Central-Talbotton on Saturday.
- The Laney Lady Wildcats are ranked No. 3 after a 16-1 start, and they lead Region 3 by a half-game over No. 10-ranked Westside (2-0). They're eying a fourth consecutive region title and have reached the finals or semifinals in their past four postseasons. They travel to Westside (12-1 overall) on Friday to see who takes the driver's seat in the region.
Class A
- No. 3 Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy (12-4) at No. 1 St. Francis (13-1) girls: This is a rematch of last season's private-school final, won by St. Francis (62-56). The Knights' only loss this season was to nationally ranked Sparkman, the top-ranked team in Alabama, while they defeated Tucker and Stephenson, ranked first and fifth, respectively, in AAAAA. SACA's losses were to Norcross and Westlake, ranked eighth and 10th, respectively in AAAAAA, Southwest DeKalb, ranked No. 2 in AAAAA, and Buford, top-ranked in AAA.
- Towns County (10-7) at No. 4 George Walton Academy (14-1) girls: George Walton is one of the state's up-and-coming programs. The Bulldogs will look to stay on a roll when they play host to one of the better public-school programs in Class A. Led by senior guard Eryn Cochran, Towns County has failed to make the state playoffs only twice since 2000 and advanced to the public-school semifinals last season.
- No. 2 Holy Innocents' (14-0) at No. 7 Darlington (10-5) girls: This non-region contest Saturday will feature one of the better one-on-one matchups of the season, with Holy Innocents' freshman sensation Khayla Pointer going against Darlington senior Maggie Beth Atha. Both point guards lead their teams in scoring, assists and steals.
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