The Class 6A girls basketball playoffs have been a lot less volatile than the boys’ tournament, and that’s reflected in the teams that will meet in the semifinals Saturday at the University of West Georgia.
All four of the remaining girls teams came into the tournament ranked among the top eight in Class 6A. They are top-ranked and defending champion River Ridge, second-ranked and undefeated North Forsyth, No. 3 Marist and No. 8 Veterans
The boys’ semifinalists, on the other hand, include the defending state champion (Alexander), a region champion that finished second in its region during the regular season (Woodward Academy), and two unranked teams that finished in first place during the regular season but fell in the seedings after losing in their region tournaments.
The Class 6A semifinals will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday in Carrollton. The winners will meet in the finals at 5:30 p.m. (girls) and 7:30 p.m. (boys) on March 8 at the Macon Coliseum, which is hosting the championship games in all classifications over four days next week.
Here’s a look at the four Class 6A semifinals:
Girls
*Veterans vs. North Forsyth (1 p.m.): Second-ranked North Forsyth (30-0) is one of only two undefeated teams, boys or girls, in the state, along with Class 7A No. 1 Grayson. The Raiders reached the semifinals in 2018 and 2019 but have never played in a championship game. Region 8 player of the year London Weaver had 30 points in a 61-49 quarterfinal victory over No. 5 Woodward Academy. No. 8 Veterans (24-6) is the lowest-ranked team remaining and the only one in 6A that is not a No. 1 seed, although the Warhawks finished tied with Tift County for first place in Region 1 during the regular season. Veterans is making its third semifinal appearance and its first since finishing as the state runner-up in Class 4A in 2016. Gabby Minus, the Region 1 player of the year, scored 20 points in a 60-56 victory over No. 4 Hughes in the quarterfinals.
*Marist vs. River Ridge (5 p.m.): Defending state champion River Ridge is the No. 1 seed from Region 6 and has been the top-ranked team in Class 6A all season. The Knights are 26-4 overall but 17-0 against 6A teams, with none of those games decided by fewer than 10 points. They have defeated Blessed Trinity, New Manchester and Tift County in the playoffs by an average of 14 points. Allie Sweet had 24 points, 11 rebounds, five steals, three blocks and three assists in a 64-49 quarterfinal victory against Tift County. Third-ranked Marist, the Region 4 champion, is 28-1, its only loss coming against Class 2A No. 1 Mount Paran Christian on Dec. 21. The War Eagles have outscored Houston County, Lakeside-Evans and Pope by an average of 61-25 in the playoffs. Kate Harpring, the Region 4 player of the year, is ranked by ESPN as the No. 21 sophomore nationally (No. 2 in Georgia).
Boys
*Alexander vs. Woodward Academy (3 p.m.): Top-ranked Alexander defeated Grovetown 62-47 in a quarterfinal matchup of the past two Class 6A boys champions. Alexander, which won its first state last season, is trying to become the first boys team to win consecutive championships in the second-highest classification since Hughes in 2017 and 2018. The Cougars (28-2) have won 15 straight games since a 58-46 loss to Class 7A semifinalist McEachern on Jan. 6. Their 15-point win over Grovetown in the quarterfinals has been their closest playoff game. No. 5 Woodward Academy (26-5), the Region 3 champion, is in the semifinals for the first time since its 2020 team won the Class 4A championship. The War Eagles defeated Region 5 No. 4 seed Douglas County 51-42 in the quarterfinals, outscoring the Tigers 17-4 in the fourth quarter after trailing 38-34. Junior Deke Cooper had 15 points, nine rebounds, six steals and three assists.
*Jonesboro vs. Riverwood (7 p.m.): This game matches the only two unranked team, boys or girls, remaining in the Class 6A field, although both were ranked late in the regular season. Jonesboro (20-10) was the regular-season champion in Region 3 but lost to fellow semifinalist Woodward Academy in the region championship game. The Cardinals’ playoff run has been impressive, defeating Region 2 regular-season co-champion Glynn Academy in the first round and top-10 teams St. Pius and Hughes in the next two. Montez Redding, who averages just under 20 points per game, was the region player of the year. Riverwood (23-7) was a regular-season co-champion in Region 4 but fell to a No. 4 seed for state after upset losses to Marist and North Atlanta in the region tournament. The Raiders have won road games against third-ranked Lee County, Region 2 runner-up Evans and Region 6 champion Woodstock in the playoffs.
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