The first round is in the books and the Sweet 16 will essentially be a Sweet 15 on the girls side as Starr’s Mill has already advanced to the Elite Eight following the viral incident in the Wayne County Spalding game that forced the first dual forfeit in the 102-year history of the GHSA. Here’s how the first round shook out on the girls side, Starr’s Mill used a dominant performance to defeat Westover. After a back-and-forth first quarter that saw Starr’s Mill take only a 17-13 lead into the second quarter. However, the second quarter was very different with the Panthers playing amazing defense, holding Westover to only seven points while scoring 21 of their own, taking a 38-20 lead into the half. The third quarter was more of the same, with Starr’s Mill outscoring Westover 23-9 before slowing down in the fourth, winning 66-34.
Kayla Williams scored 18 points with 13 rebounds, two block and two steals to lead Luella past Walnut Grove 55-51. Miliani Smith scored 18 points with five rebounds, two steals and two assists and Angels Thomas tallied 13 points with three rebounds and three steals. Kameah Hill finished with six points but had 11 rebounds and two steals. Southwest DeKalb won a 71-68 thriller over third seeded Northwest Whitfield. The game started out close from the beginning, with the Panthers leading Northwest Whitfield 17-15 at the end of the first quarter. The Bruins got hot from three in the first half, led by Kennedy Baker who had 12 points and three 3-pointers in the first half. Northwest Whitfield seemingly took control of the game in the third quarter, finishing the period up 52-46. However, the Panthers rallied in the fourth sparked by Janiyah McKoy’s nine points, two steals, and two assists. Southwest DeKalb fought back to win 71-68.
Kayla Williams scored 18 points with 13 rebounds, two block and two steals to lead Luella past Walnut Grove 55-51. Miliani Smith scored 18 points with five rebounds, two steals and two assists and Angels Thomas tallied 13 points with three rebounds and three steals. Kameah Hill finished with six points but had 11 rebounds and two steals.
The most dominant win came in Baldwin’s 84-5 rout over Southeast Bulloch. No. 1 ranked Baldwin picked up its 21st-straight with a 79-point route over the Jackets. Kassidy Neal led the Bravettes with 18 points, five rebounds, six steals and three assists. Madison Ruff finished with 13 points, six steals, four rebounds and three assists. Suri Clark added 10 points, two rebounds and three rebounds. Janaye Walker and Jasmine Williams each finished with seven points. Burke County escaped an upset minded West Laurens team with a last second shot that gave the Bears the 41-40 win. The first quarter saw the Bears dominate, jumping out to a 9-1 lead and not allowing a West Laurens field goal, keeping a nine-point lead until the half. The Raiders would cut the lead to six by the end of the third before tying the game with 4:32 remaining. Down by one with 20.4 seconds remaining, the Bears scored a tough layup with 13 seconds left, giving them the 41-40 victory. Stockbridge defeated fourth seeded Cherokee Bluff 73-49 in a statement win on the way to the second round. The Tigers were led by three double-digit scorers, with Jayla Fulks scoring 13 points, India McIntosh scoring 14 points, and CJ Wilson scoring 23 points to go along with five rebounds and six assists in their dominant first round win.
On the boys side, the biggest result of the first round came with No. 4 seed Westover knocking off last year’s state runner-up Fayette County 63-60. Visiting Westover snapped top-seeded Fayette County’s 10-game win-streak in a stunning first-round upset over last year’s state runner-up. The Patriots trailed 13-6 after the first quarter and 27-24 heading into the half. Westover outscored the Tigers 22-21 in the third quarter to shrink the deficit to 49-45 heading into the final frame. The Patriots stifled Fayette County with a 19-12 fourth quarter. Bryson Carter gave Westover its first lead of the game (54-52) and gave Westover its 63-60 lead with a late field goal before Fayette County’s Christian McAllister’s attempt to tie the game was no good. No. 1 ranked McDonough jumped out a 49-12 halftime lead and was led by a game-high 25 points by Zion Greene in an 84-53 win over North Hall. Zaiden Greene (13), Nigel Thomas (13) and Keenan Gray (13) also notched double-figures for the Warhawks. North Hall was led by Cole Hulsey’s team-high nine points.
No. 3 ranked North Oconee led 28-23 before outscoring visiting Lovett 43-26 in the second half for a 71-49 win. Justin Wise led the Titans with a team-high 19 points and senior Evan Mongromery hauled in a game-high 14 rebounds to go with a career-high 17 points. North Oconee’s scoring was also fueled by Byrd Carter (13), Justin Payne (12) and sophomore Khamari Brooks (8). Lovett’s Kingston Whitty finished with a game-high 23 points in the defeat. No. 1 seed Holy Innocents’ was led past Cedartown 84-37 by senior Will Hopkins’ game-high 18 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore Devin Hutcherson netted 16 points to go with his eight rebounds, junior Caleb Wilson finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and three blocks and junior Clark Thurman added 12 points.
Class 4A Second Round Pairings
Girls
R4 #3 Trinity Christian at R2 #1 Baldwin
R6 #2 Southwest DeKalb at R5 #1 Stockbridge
R4 #2 Fayette County at R3 #1 Burke County
R7 #2 Heritage-Catoosa at R8 #1 Chestatee
R8 #2 North Oconee at R7 #1 Sonoraville
R4 #1 Starr’s Mill (Forfeit victory, advances)
R5 #2 Luella at R6 #1 Holy Innocents’
R2 #2 Griffin at R1 #1 Hardaway
Boys
R4 #3 Riverdale at R2 #1 Baldwin
R6 #2 Westminster at R5 #1 McDonough
R1 #3 Cairo at R3 #1 New Hampstead
R7 #2 Central-Carroll at R8 #1 North Oconee
R8 #2 Seckinger at R7 #1 Sonoraville
R1 #4 Westover at R3 #2 Benedictine
R5 #2 Pace Academy at R6 #1 Holy Innocents’
R4 #4 Whitewater at R2 #2 Spalding
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