The 2023-24 GHSA Basketball season is heating up and this past weekend saw one of the most notable results so far. In Region 5 girls action, Stockbridge picked up a road 75-55 win over Luella on Saturday. Luella swept the region with a 14-0 record last year and now Stockbridge is at the top with a 4-0 region start and 7-game active win-streak. That victory was preceded by a 60-56 win over Galloway—which is highly ranked in the loaded Class A Division I poll. Stockbridge’s success has been driven by the exceptional production of Prairie View A&M-signee Carrington Wilson—who stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, seven assists, seven steals and six rebounds in the win over Galloway.
The result is the Lady Tigers propelling in recent polls and entering the new year as one of Class 4A’s strongest contenders. At the top of the girls poll is Baldwin and the Braves scored an emphatic 59-45 win over Holy Innocents’ in the Sandy’s Spiel Showcase to earn the top spot. Baldwin previously fell to Class 7A Norcross in the inaugural Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Basketball Invitational and have responded strong. In the win over the Golden Bears’ Mount St. Mary’s signee Madison Ruff led with 18 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals and Janaye Walker dominated with 17 points and 15 rebounds. The Baldwin defense also managed to hold Stanford-commit Hailee Swain to just four points in the win. Baldwin is 8-2 with its only losses coming to St. Francis and Norcross. The Braves followed those two losses with a 64-14 win over Howard, the 14-point win over Holy Innocents’ and then road wins over Swainsboro (55-45) and Spalding (73-46). Baldwin’s next major matchup will be on Jan. 2 at home against Griffin in a key region showdown and rematch of last year’s state finals.
On the boys side, No. 1 ranked Pace Academy has cruised to a 7-0 start with a 3-0 Region 5 record. Pace Academy headlined a Region 5 field last year that was the deepest in all of Class 4A in terms of ranked opponents, but this year the Knights have looked like clear favorites with a whopping 527-345 advantage against its first five opponent (26 ppg). The biggest difference this year is that there are new contenders emerging that look to challenge the defending state champs this year. North Oconee is picking up signature wins and its latest came in a massive 79-45 win over No. 5 ranked Madison County. The Titans caught fire from beyond the arc in the win over Madison County with 11-of-18 shooting and also defeated Class 6A powerhouse Jonesboro 75-59 with a 26-point performance from Byrd Carter. The storyline to watch surrounding both teams is the emergence of Seckinger, which served North Oconee its only loss of the season on Dec. 8 with a 63-61 win. Seckinger lost to Madison County before defeating North Oconee and it looks like these three teams will be destined for high-stakes rematches in the Region 8 tournament with one-loss Walnut Grove and upset-minded teams like Cedar Shoals, Cherokee Bluff, East Hall, North Hall, East Forsyth and Chestatee.
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