The Cass girls are finally getting their time to shine.
The Colonels have labored for the past four seasons in one of the most difficult leagues for girls basketball in the state – regardless of the classification. Case in point, two years ago all four of the league’s representatives to the state playoffs reached the Sweet 16.
This year Region 7 has changed. Carrollton and Kell moved up to Class 6A and Villa Rica was shifted to another region. Suddenly Cass became the region favorites and the Colonels have not backed away from the challenge.
Cass started the season with 17 straight wins and continues to build of momentum as they head into the final month of the season. The Colonels are ranked No. 5 in Class 5A.
“It was like a perfect storm,” said Cass coach Burt Jackson. “Those four years in that region made us tough. The fact that we only had one senior last year and that we were able to hold our own … I believed we had a chance to be special.”
The Colonels have two big-time scorers in Claire Davis and Londaisha Smith, who each scored their 1,000th career point this season. Davis, a first-team all-region choice a year ago, is a 6-foot-2 junior post who averages 13 points. Smith is a 5-9 senior wing who averages 17.8 points and 7.8 steals.
Davis is averaging six fewer points than last year, but the drop in production is misleading. She faces a double-team almost every possession and rarely plays in the fourth quarter when the game gets out of hand.
“Claire is a real matchup problem,” Jackson said. “She’s quicker than most posts, so she can step out and make the jumper, and if you put a smaller player on her, she’ll just post them up.”
Jackson called Smith, “The most underrated 2021 player in North Georgia.” She currently has three offers on the table. Smith has been the MVP of two tournaments.
Other top players on the team are 5-11 junior Justice Bennett, junior point guard Haley Johnson, senior Ariana Hames and senior Gracie Elkins, who transferred in from Kell. Johnson has made five all-tournament teams and Hames has been named to four.
The strength for Cass is its depth. The Colonels have 11 players who have scored in double figures this season and Jackson believes there are at least seven girls on the roster who can play at the college level.
Cass has been tested; it has played 29 games against ranked teams over the last four years. The Colonels were 17-9 a year ago and did not lose a non-region game. They defeated No. 10 Hiram 55-48 last week, overcoming a 12-point halftime deficit.
The Colonels won a big road game on Tuesday, beating Calhoun 67-47. Their rematch with Hiram will be Feb. 2 on the road.
Starr’s Mill’s Hester joins 1,000 club
Jaclyn Hester scored 20 points against McIntosh and surpassed 1,000 points for her career. Hester, a 6-foot-1 junior guard, is the fifth player in school history to reach the milestone.
