This year’s Class 4A semifinals may be the most intriguing overall field of teams seen within the classification in decades, and the justification for making that claim is how elusive state championships have been for all of the remaining programs. Out of the eight total boys and girls teams that have made it to this year’s Final Four, there are four teams looking for first-ever state titles and the most recent championship won by any of the schools that has previously won a state title was the Westover boys’ state crown in 2001.
Marist is the only school with its boys and girls team still in the playoffs and the boys are looking for their first state title since 2000, while the girls join the Luella girls, the Spencer boys and the McDonough boys in search of a first-ever. As for the remaining two semifinalists not previously mentioned, the Baldwin girls are looking for their first state title since 1988 and the Pickens girls are in the hunt for their first title since 1974.
CLASS 4A GIRLS SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 4
At Ft. Valley State University
R5 #1 Luella vs. R4 #1 Baldwin 2 pm
R6 #1 Marist vs. R7 #2 Pickens 6 pm
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Top-seeded Marist held its opponent to fewer than 20 points for the second-straight round and seventh time this season, while extending its win-streak to 14 games with Tuesday’s 36-16 win over Heritage-Catoosa. Avery Fantucci led the War Eagles’ offensively with 21 points and teammate Lauren Kim finished with eight points. Marist will take on Pickens in the semifinals and the Dragons just completed their second-straight big fourth quarter comeback against Jefferson (51-50). Pickens trailed 47-35 with 6:54 left and sparked a 16-3 scoring run to stun top-seeded Jefferson. Pickens previously trailed Dougherty 38-24 in the fourth quarter before scoring the 48-44 victory in the second round.
Luella and Baldwin will faceoff in a rematch of Luella’s 55-54 win on Nov. 16. Baldwin has gone 26-1 ever since. Luella on the other hand remains undefeated within Class 4A and is coming off a 78-61 victory over Carver-Columbus. When the team’s last met, Baldwin freshman Janaye Walker (19) and Luella junior Arianna Dyson (17) both had big nights and both teams finished 11-of-21 at the foul line. Walker’s postseason varsity debut began with a 19-point outing against Stephenson that included 9-of-11 shooting and a team-high 12 rebounds. Baldwin freshman Kassidy Neal also notched a double-double in her playoff debut with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
CLASS 4A BOYS SEMIFINALS
Friday, March 4
At Ft. Valley State University
R2 #1 Spencer vs. R6 #1 Marist 4 pm
R5 #2 McDonough vs. R1 #1 Westover 8 pm
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Spencer enters the semifinals with a 28-2 overall record and has not lost a single game within Class 4A this season. The Greenwave’s only two losses came to East Coweta and Dutchtown in November and they have dominated the first three rounds of the postseason with sizeable victories over Spalding (81-42), North Oconee (62-35) and Dougherty (56-34). Spencer will take on a Marist team that scored a 56-47 win over Monroe in the quarterfinals. The War Eagles led 42-32 heading into the fourth quarter and got a team-high 16 points from Quinn Damm.
Top seeds Westover and Jefferson both entered their quarterfinal matchup battle tested, but Westover was able to dominate early and cruise to victory. The Patriots jumped out to a 21-10 lead in the first quarter and they went into the half with a 37-19 lead. Jefferson outscored Westover 36-26 in the second half, but were unable to close the gap. Effrin Smith led the Patriots with 15 points, Keshay Walton finished with 14 and nine different players scored in the win. The Patriots will take on No. 1 ranked McDonough—who is back in the semifinals for the second-straight season after a 53-48 road win over top-seeded and No. 8 ranked Druid Hills. Keenan Gray (15), Avante Nichols (13) and Amon McDowell (12) finished in double-figures.
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