And then there were eight.
Four boys and four girls teams will meet at Georgia Southern's satellite campus in Savannah on Saturday hoping to advance to the championship games that will be played Thursday at the Macon Centreplex (6 p.m. for the girls, 8 p.m. for the boys).
Several storylines are worth noting on the boys' side. Dawson County, which first played in the state tournament in 1955, is making its semifinal debut. The Tigers are led by 6-foot-5 senior Luke Chism, 5-11 senior Trey Pruitt and 6-1 senior Ahmad Kamara. Dawson, the No. 1 seed from Region 7, outlasted At-large seed Franklin County 58-56 in the quarterfinals.
Dawson will meet Hart County, the Region 8 No. 3 seed, at 4 p.m. Saturday. Hart has survived close games throughout the tournament. It outlasted Pace Academy 54-50 in the first round, then had to go to overtime to get past North Murray 56-54. In the quarterfinals, Hart defeated Johnson-Savannah 67-63. Hart's Shone Webb, a 6-3 sophomore guard, Rex McCord, a 6-1 senior forward, and Elijah Robinson, a 5-11 senior point guard, provide offensive production for the Bulldogs.
Morgan County will meet Windsor Forest at 8 p.m. Saturday. The Bulldogs are led by a trio of guards that could rival any in the state. The dynamic group of seniors features guard Tyrin Lawrence, who scored 31 points in Morgan's 62-52 victory against Tattnall County in the quarterfinals. Alec Woodward, a 6-foot-2 guard, can score from anywhere and spreads the floor. The 5-6 Stevin Greene went viral for an alley-oop dunk against Hart County earlier in the year. Windsor Forest is led by 6-3 senior Zimbabwe Fields, who averages 19.2 points and 6.2 rebounds. Shamar Normar, a 5-10 sophomore, averages 16.1 points.
On the girls side, Beach will face Hart County at 2 p.m. Saturday. Beach's three leading scorers – Jaida Burgess, Madison Evans and Kaila Rougier – could cause trouble for Hart. Beach, a quarterfinalist last year, is on a 12-game winning streak with tournament victories against Brantley County (60-23), Central-Macon (50-28) and Dawson County (64-51). Hart County is trying to get back to the dominance it enjoyed during the late 1980s and early '90s, when it won six consecutive AAA titles from 1989-94. Hart earned its semifinal berth with a 59-51 victory against Tattnall County. Senior guards A'cira Teasley and Torrion Starks lead Hart's group of four seniors.
Johnson-Savannah will meet Sonoraville at 6 p.m. Saturday. The Atomsmashers are back in a familiar place after winning their first-ever state title last year with a 62-50 victory against Greater Atlanta Christian. The Lady Atomsmashers feature three guards who can take over a game. Antalazia Baker leads with 15.6 points per game. Senior J'Mya Cutter is a speedy guard who is averaging 15.1 points. Jasmine Thompson contributes 13.6 points per game. Sonoraville is riding momentum after its 75-51 quarterfinal victory against Rutland, the first quarterfinal appearance in program history. Alexa Geary led with 18 points, and Maliyah Parks scored 16 points. Grace Darnell added 11.
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