GHSA state basketball quarterfinals: Tuesday night recap

Girls

Woodstock 64, Newton 39

No. 10 ranked Woodstock led 15-11 after the first quarter against visiting Newton—which advanced to the Elite Eight as a No. 4 seed. Woodstock piled on a 49-28 scoring advantage after the first quarter and will visit Brookwood in the semifinals following their dramatic road win over North Forsyth.

Brookwood 44, North Forsyth 41

The Lady Broncos took a 22-21 halftime lead and scored a road victory to topple the No. 5 ranked Raiders and move within two wins of the program’s first-ever state title.

Marietta 54, Cherokee 53 OT

Marietta is Final Four-bound after holding off the host Warriors in an overtime thriller. Cherokee led by three, but missed a 1 and 1 and junior point guard Chloe Sterline forced overtime with a game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer before the Blue Devils were able to close out the victory in the extra frame.

McEachern 70, Collins Hill 61

No. 1 ranked Collins Hill and No. 2 ranked McEachern squared off in an epic showdown between two five-time state championship programs on Tuesday. Jillian Hollingshead paced McEachern to victory with a brilliant 34-point performance, Denim Deshields added 18 points and Sianny Sanchez-Oliver added 11. Eden Sample (19) and Kyra Jefferson (16) led Collins Hill with double-digit scoring.

6A

Boys

Kell 78, Westlake 68

Kell led just 35-32 at halftime but the Longhorns built a double-digit lead in the third quarter, leading by as many as 12 points in the second half, and got the home win. Scoot Henderson led the Longhorns with 25 points and Jaylen Harris added 21 points. For Westlake, Jalal McKie scored 31 points.

Girls

Westlake 55, Kell 46

Westlake stayed alive for its fourth-straight state championship and improved to 18-0 with its win at Kell in the quarterfinals. The Lions got 28 points from Taniya Latson, and Brianna Turnage added 16 points for Westlake. Crystal Henderson led Kell, which had won 16 straight games, with 16 points, and Sylvia Kahoro scored 11 points.

Lovejoy 49, Buford 42

Buford rallied from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to draw within four points, 44-40, with a minute remaining, but Lovejoy held on to win on the road and advance to the semifinals. Lovejoy got 11 points and five rebounds from Bryana Hardy, and Bryanna Preston scored 10 points and had five assists for the Wildcats. La’Nya Foster added 10 points for Lovejoy, which led 22-17 at halftime and 38-27 at the end of the third quarter.

River Ridge 74, Grovetown 57

Host River Ridge advanced to the state semifinals as Leigh Codiniera and Mataya Gayle both scored 18 points. River Ridge built a 14-4 lead after the first quarter and led 53-37 entering the fourth quarter. Also for the Knights, Caroline Cavallaro scored 16 points, Emily Paulson scored 10 points and Allie Sweet grabbed 11 rebounds.

Carrollton 49, Langston Hughes 40

Carrollton led 39-24 at halftime and won at home behind 12 points apiece from De’Mauri Flournoy and Jenee Edwards. Flournoy added six rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Edwards grabbed seven rebounds. Also for Carrollton, Kanija Daniel had 10 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists; Eghosa Obasuyi scored eight points; and Kehinde Obasuyi had seven points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals.

5A

Girls

Woodward Academy 70, Southwest DeKalb 59

The Lady War Eagles had just a one-point lead over Southwest DeKalb heading into halftime, and a 47-46 lead after three quarters of play, but managed to build on their lead to claim the elite-eight victory and earn a spot into the semifinals. This win gives Woodward Academy its nineteenth consecutive win, and will match the Lady War Eagles up against the winner of the Loganville/Griffin game.

Credit: Daniel Varnado

Credit: Daniel Varnado

Dutchtown 51, New Manchester 47

After not making the playoffs last season, the Dutchtown Lady Bulldogs earned a spot in the semifinals with a narrow victory over New Manchester, breaking the Lady Jaguars eighteen-game winning streak. Now, Dutchtown awaits the winner of the Hiram/Forest Park game.

4A

Girls

Cedar Shoals 55, Spalding 34

No. 4 ranked Cedar Shoals continued its epic playoff run with a huge road win over Spalding. The Jaguars have now defeated No. 1 Luella, Northwest Whitfield and No. 5 Spalding to set up their semifinal showdown with No. 7 Carver-Columbus.

Cairo 51, Pickens 49

No. 9 ranked Cairo took a 29-27 halftime lead over visiting Pickens in a battle between top seeds. The Syrupmakers held off the Dragons to improve to 17-1 on the season and will face the winner of tomorrow’s Troup at Flowery Branch game in the semis with home court already guaranteed after the GHSA’s latest coin flip.

Carver-Columbus 61, Jefferson 60

In a top-ten battle of region champions, No. 7 ranked Carver-Columbus built a 42-38 halftime lead and held off the No. 1 ranked Dragons. The Tigers are now just two wins away from winning their second state title in three years and will host No. 4 seed Cedar Shoals in the semis.

3A

Boys

Sandy Creek 68, Johnson 59

The top-ranked Patriots have beaten opponents by an average of 36 points on the season but narrowly avoided a bracket-busting upset at home against Johnson. Sandy Creek led 25-8 after the first quarter and outlasted an 18-12 run by Johnson in the fourth quarter. The Patriots await the winner of Hart County and Thomson.

Girls

Cross Creek 51, Sonoraville 47

Jordyn Dorsey led Cross Creek into the semifinals with a 28-point performance with nine crucial fourth-quarter points. Michaela Bogans scored 10 points and Jenna Wilborn scored seven points. Sonoraville’s Lindsay Bowman scored 14 points and Alexa Geary scored 12 points.

Upson-Lee 66, Stephens County 58

Top-ranked Upson-Lee is still flawless on the season and awaits the winner of Johnson-Savannah/Greater Atlanta Christian.

Lumpkin County 64, Pierce County 55

The Indians will face Cross Creek in the semifinals after moving past Pierce County

2A

Boys

Pace Academy 58, Butler 44

Pace Academy fell behind briefly in the third quarter, 32-31, before closing the quarter on a 10-0 run and taking a 41-32 lead into the fourth. Matt Cleveland helped the Knights to a home win with 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Josh Reed had 16 points and nine rebounds. Cole Middleton scored 13 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked five shots for Pace, and Madison Durr had eight assists. In the semifinals, the Knights will face the winner of Wednesday’s game between Rabun County and Thomasville.

Girls

Josey 46, Elbert County 45

Sophomore Arieonna Booker and junior Ky’Shonna Brown led Josey with 10 points apiece in the Eagles’ road win. Josey makes the state semifinals for the first time since 2018.

Fannin County 66, Early County 64

Fannin County trailed 35-24 at halftime but exploded for 42 points in the second half to defeat Early County on the road. Natalie Thomas scored 15 points to lead the Rebels, who made 12 three-pointers as a team. Also for Fannin County, Abby Ledford scored 13 points, Courtney Davis scored 12 points, and Reagan York and Becca Ledford each scored 11 points.

A Public

Boys

Towns County 61, Irwin County 55

No. 4 ranked Towns County toppled No. 3 ranked Irwin County on the road to advance to the semis and move within two victories of the program’s first state title in school history. Towns County led 48-41 entering the final frame and used clutch free-throws from Kolbi Moss to ice the game after Irwin County cut the deficit to 57-55 with 34.4 left in the fourth.

Chattahoochee County 59, Portal 45

No. 7 ranked Chattahoochee County snapped No. 9 ranked Portal’s 11-game winning streak and picked up its 13th-straight win to advance to the semis.

Girls

Clinch County 57, Lake Oconee Academy 53

No. 2 ranked Clinch County led by as much as 14 points before closing out No. 1 ranked Lake Oconee Academy at home. The Panthers advance to the semifinals for the second time in the last three years and are just two wins away from their first state crown since 1993.

A Private

Girls

St. Francis 55, ELCA 42

The St. Francis Knights managed to pull away from theELCA Chargers in the fourth quarter to advance to the Final Four for the ninth year in a row. Mia Moore (19), Erica Moon (11) and Trynce Taylor (10) paced the Knights with double-digit scoring. ELCA senior Martyna Radzicka finished with 19 points—fueled by her five three-pointers.

Hebron Christian 79, Stratford Academy 24

The final outcome was never in doubt, as the Lions led the Eagles 13-0 with 5:35 remaining in the first quarter and 28-7 going into the second quarter. The Lions led the Eagles 39-9 with 5:35 remaining in the second quarter and 52-11 at halftime. The Lions led the Eagles 66-16 going into the fourth quarter and wound up winning by a margin of 55 points.