OAKWOOD - Johnson girls basketball coach Benji Wood is proud that his Lady Knights are undefeated heading into Saturday's 44th annual Lanierland Tournament at East Hall.
In fact, his squad is the only team left in Hall County - boys or girls - with an unblemished record.
The Lady Knights (5-0) are looking for their first Lanierland title since 1991.
Wood said this year's success began last year and really began to take form over the summer.
"The girls really worked hard over the summer to improve their skills. They felt they could be even better than last year and have come out so far and played well. I couldn't be more proud of where we are at this point," he said.
"We had high expectations coming into this season. It's early but we like where we are."
Except when it comes to his seeding at the Lanierland Tournament.
They're the No. 1 seed.
"We're good but I don't think we're better than Gainesville yet. They're the No. 1 team in the state and have an All-American and yet they're only the No. 4 seed. That doesn't seem right to me," he said.
His problem is that the two teams may be the best in the county right now but because of the seeding, which is determined by winning percentage, they will meet in the second round instead of the finals, if the Knights get thar far.
The Lady Knights play a tough North Hall team at 7 p.m. on Saturday in the opening round while Gainesville plays Lakeview Academy at 10 a.m.
"We're the No. 1 seed yet we may have the toughest draw in the tournament," Wood said. "I don't think this is the best way to seed the teams but I also don't know of a better way at this point. But the tournament is bigger than what one coach thinks. It's a great event and we need to keep it that way."
The Knights have five sophomores in the top eight rotation, and it's the youth that drives the team.
Sophmore Whitney Randolph leads the team in scoring at 20 points a game while senior Sarah Lane is averaging 17 points a game.
Senior Amanda Towe and sophmores Brooke Baker, Melissa Johnson and twins Kaylyn and Krystyn Young all see significant action.
Wood said their uptempo, pressing defense is the key.
"We average about 21 steals a game right now and the girls love to play defense," he said. "Our big weakness right now is holding on to the ball. We've been averaging about 21 turnovers. but, the last two games we've only had about 25 turnovers total so I think we're coming around at the right time."
Can Wood envision getting that trophy for the first time in 12 years?
"That would be great if we could win it, no doubt. but I think we all know that you're going to have to go through Gainesville. And no one around here has been able to do that in a while. We'll see what happens," he said.
LANIERLAND TOURNAMENT SEEDINGS AND SATURDAY'S FIRST ROUND GAMES
GIRLS'SEEDING
1 - JOHNSON
2 - EAST HALL
3 - FLOWERY BRANCH
4 - GAINESVILLE
5 - LAKEVIEW
6 - WEST HALL
7 - CHESTATEE
8 - NORTH HALL
GIRLS' GAME TIMES
10A LAKEVIEW-GAINESVILLE
1P FLOWERY BRANCH-WEST HALL
4P EAST HALL-CHESTATEE
7P JOHNSON-NORTH HALL
BOYS' SEEDING
1 - GAINESVILLE
2 - EAST HALL
3 - JOHNSON
4 - LAKEVIEW
5 - WEST HALL
6 - FLOWERY BRANCH
7 - NORTH HALL
8 - CHESTATEE
BOYS' GAME TIMES
1130A - LAKEVIEW - WEST HALL
230P - JOHNSON - FLOWERY BRANCH
530P - EAST HALL - NORTH HALL
830P - GAINESVILLE - CHESTATEE
Sunday
July 6th, 2025
3:39AM
