It was a historic two days for northeast Georgia basketball teams in the quarterfinals of the GHSA basketball playoffs. Now, six area teams will try to climb the next-to-last step in their quest for a state title in the semifinal round on Saturday at venues around the state.
Three programs -- the Flowery Branch girls in Class AAAAA, the Lakeview Academy boys in Class A, the Rabun County girls in Class AA -- advanced to the semiinals for the first time ever. The Lakeview Academy girls earned their first trip back to the semifinals since 2005.
Meanwhile, the Buford girls and boys both notched berths in the Class AAAAA Final Four. For the Lady Wolves, it was their fourth consecutive trip and eighth time in the past nine seasons. It is the first semifinals for the Buford boys since falling in the 2014 Class AAA finals.
All six will face stiff opposition as they try to advance to next week's finals, which will be held over a four-day period at Stegeman Coliseum at the University of Georgia and at McTavish Pavilion at Georgia Tech. The first two days will be in Athens and the final two in Atlanta.
For a look at all of the day's contests involving area teams, simply scroll down. And be sure to check back with AccessWDUN once the action has ended for game stories and video highlights. You can also check for scores and highlights on our Twitter feed: @AccessNGASports throughout the night.
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS
SATURDAY
(Games listed by classification and by tipoff time)
CLASS AAAAA (at Columbus State College)
Region 8-AAAAA has proved its mettle so far in the playoffs. Two of the teams on the girls side -- Buford and Flowery Branch -- and two teams on the boys side -- Buford and Cedar Shoals -- all made the Final Four. ... On the girls side, Buford and Flowery Branch both face intriguing matchups. The Lady Falcons take on defending AAAAA champs Southwest DeKalb while Buford gets Griffin, which owns the most wins in AAAAA (29) and win percentage (.966). The Lady Falcons, however, are the only team left that has already beaten TWO region champions (Statesboro and Carrollton) in the tournament. The Lady Wolves are No. 1 in scoring and scoring defense in AAAAA. ... On the boys side, Buord and Cedar Shoals were ranked Nos. 1 and 2 most of the season but the Wolves have handed the Jaguars three of their four losses. Miller Grove is the defending AAAAA state champion and has won seven titles in the past eight years.
FLOWERY BRANCH GIRLS vs. SOUTHWEST DEKALB
-- WHEN: 2 p.m.
-- RADIO: WDUN AM 550
-- FLOWERY BRANCH (24-6): Defeated Carrollton 61-46 in quarterfinals
-- SOUTHWEST DEKALB (26-4): Defeated Eagles Landing 71-56 in qurterfinals
-- NOTABLE: Experience certainly should be on the Lady Panthers' side. The Lady Falcons are into the semifinals for the first time in program history while SWD has won five titles since 2008. ... SWD also has won 16 straight coming into the semifinals. The Lady Panthers' margin of victory in the playoffs has been by 25 points. ... SWD offers a pair of very tough matchups with 5-foot-10 forward Jada Walton (13.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg, Texas A&M signee) and 6-3 center Ogheneruona Uwusiaba (11.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg, Central Florida signee). However, only two other Lady Panthers average more than 7 points a game. ... The Lady Falcons will need balance from inside players Julianne Sutton and Janoah Williams and some outside shooting from Lexi Sengkhemmee, Caroline Wysocki, and the versatile Taniyah Worth. ... Defensively, the Lady Falcons may be playing their best right now, allowing just 38 ppg in the playoffs, including vs. region champions Statesboro and Carrollton.
BUFORD GIRLS vs. GRIFFIN
-- WHEN: 6 p.m.
-- RADIO: WDUN AM 550/102.9 FM
-- BUFORD (27-2): Defeated Warner Robins 77-56 in the quarterfinals
-- GRIFFIN (28-1): Defeated Jackson-Atlanta 66-49 in the quarterfinals
-- NOTABLE: Both teams come in as perhaps the two most dominant teams in Class AAAAA. The Lady Bears have won 8 straight and their only loss was to Columbia, which lost to Warner Robins in the second round. Buford has won 7 straight since losing to Wesleyan. The Lady Wolves’ only two losses came against Class A Private superpowers St. Francis and Wesleyan. ... The key matchup will be the Buford defense trying to slow down Griffin star Andeija Puckett (17.1 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 3.2 bpg, Cincinnati signee). Also, rebounding will be important as the Lady Bears out-rebound the opposition by an average of almost 10 boards per game. ... Buford features G Tory Ozment (13.4 ppg, 3.8 apg), G Audrey Weiner (10.0 ppg), Marissa Bruce (9.4 ppg), P Jessica Nelson (7.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg), G Rachel Dobbs (7.0 ppg), P Snoody Johnson (4.6 apg -- leads team), and P Zikaya Wright (6.1 rpg -- leads team).
BUFORD BOYS vs. FAYETTE COUNTY
-- WHEN: 8 p.m.
-- RADIO: WDUN AM 550/102.9 FM
-- BUFORD (27-2): Defeated Warner Robins 94-72 in the quarterfinals
-- FAYETTE COUNTY (23-7): Defeated Carver-Atlanta 65-52 in the quarterfinals
-- NOTABLE: The Wolves are trying to get back to the title game for the first time since 2014 but they are still looking for their first-ever state title. ... Buford got its scare out of the way in the second round needing a buzzer-beating, game-winning shot from Alex Jones to beat New Hampstead. The Wolves responded with a destruction of Region 1 champ Warner Robins on Tuesday, leading by 33 points at halftime. ... Buford also has won 16 straight. ... Region 3 champ Fayette County has won 5 straight and has won all three playoff games by double-digits. ... Both teams are similar, featuring balanced offenses. Buford has Jones, David Viti, Marcus Watson, and Donell Nixon, who all have led the team in scoring at times during the season. The Tigers have 5 players, four seniors, that average 9 points or more led by 6-8 center Noah Gurley, who averages 18.7 ppg and 7.1 rpg. Sr. 5-11 guard Austin Nesmith is averaging 14.2 ppg and 6.2 apg.
CLASS AA (at Georgia College, Milledgeville)
In the girls bracket, No. 1 Laney and No. 2 Rabun County are still on a collision course and both have rolled into the semifinals. Rabun County won its first three games by 70 points combined (23.3 ppg) while Laney won its three games by 96 points (32 ppg). ... Bleckley County is the surprise team, riding a six-game win streak into the semifinals after sitting at just 14-11 on the season.
RABUN COUNTY vs. BLECKLEY COUNTY
-- WHEN: 6 p.m.
-- RABUN COUNTY (28-2): Defeated Fitzgerald 70-54 in the quarterfinals
-- BLECKLEY COUNTY (20-11): Defeated Hapeville Charter 54-45 in the quarterfinals
-- NOTABLE: Rabun County has lived up to its regular season high ranking through the playoffs. The Lady Wildcats routed their first three opponents by an average of 23.3 ppg. They made history in advancing to their first-ever state semifinal and now look to make their first championship game. ... Bleckley County, meanwhile, has shown a penchant for winning close games. They won their first three playoff contests by a total of 19 points (6.3 ppg). ... The Rabun County defense will be the key. The Lady Wildcats average more than 19 steals a game, including swiping a whopping 34 in their win over Fitzgerald that led to 24 points. ... The Lady Royals are led by Sr. center Jahnaria Brown (17.2 ppg, 8.7 rpg) ... The Lady Wildcats are paced by Sr. Savanna Scott (13.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.1 spg, 2.4 apg, North Georgia-commit); Georgia Stockton (12.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.4 spg, 2.2 apg), Brooke Henricks (12.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 3.5 spg, 2.1 apg), Tessa Matheson (9.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.3 spg), and Hallie Reeves (8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 4.8 spg, 2.9 apg).
CLASS A PRIVATE (at Cobb Civic Center)
Three of the top four boys seeds (Greenforest, St. Francis, Lakeview Academy) and three of the top four girls seeds (St. Francis, Wesleyan, Lakeview Academy) advanced to the semifinals. ... The St. Francis girls and Greenforest boys are the defending champions and have dominated the first three rounds. The St. Francis girls own three of the last four state titles while Greenforest and St. Francis have split the last four boys titles. ... The Lady Lions are the Cinderella of the girls' Final Four. The other three teams -- St. Francis, Wesleyan, Holy Innocents’ -- have won 10 combined championships since 2009, including St. Francis (Class A Private) and Holy Innocents’ (Class AA) both winning titles in 2016. ... The Lakeview boys, making their first-ever trip to the Final Four, lost just 67-64 to St. Francis during the regular season.
LAKEVIEW ACADEMY GIRLS vs. WESLEYAN
-- WHEN: 6 p.m.
-- RADIO: 1240 AM ESPN Radio
-- LAKEVIEW ACADEMY GIRLS (26-4): Defeated Darlington 72-54 in the quarterfinals
-- WESLEYAN (26-4): Defeated Prince Avenue 63-31 in the quarterfinals
-- NOTABLE: The Lady Lions are in the Final Four for the first time since 2005, while Wesleyan has won six state titles since 2009. ... Against Lakeview the Lady Wolves are taking on their third consecutive Region 8-A team. Wesleyan Sr. G/F Mikayla Coombs was named a McDonald’s All-American earlier in the season. ... Lakeview Sr. Hanna Grogan (23.8 ppg, 41% 3-pointers, Emmanuel College-signee) is the school’s all-time leading scorer -- boys and girls combined. Sr. Christen Copeland (8.2 ppg, 6.4 apg, Georgia College-signee), and Sr. Ryann Moody (7.4 ppg, Brenau-signee) offer some balance for the Lady Lions. Moody had a season-high 18 points against Darlington. ... Lakeview Academy is looking for its first-ever championship game appearance.
LAKEVIEW ACADEMY BOYS vs. SOUTHWEST ATLANTA CHRISTIAN
-- WHEN: 8 p.m.
-- RADIO: 1240 AM ESPN Radio
-- LAKEVIEW ACADEMY BOYS (25-5): Defeated Athens Christian 63-55 in the quarterfinals
-- SOUTHWEST ATLANTA CHRISTIAN (22-8): Defeated North Cobb Christian 64-53 in the quarterfinals
-- NOTABLE: Of the four semifinalists, Lakeview owns the longest current win streak at 13. The Lions' last loss was 74-61 to Class AAAAAAA No. 1 and state semifinalist McEachern. They face a tough task in the Warriors, who feature seven players that are 6-2 or taller, led by Sr. G/F and Florida-signee Deaundrae Ballard (27.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg). ... The smaller Lions will have to look to the outside play of Region 8-A Player of the Year Drew Cottrell as well as Tre Gober, and Griffin Sewell. ... Lakeview, which is in its first-ever semifinal, is also looking for its first-ever state championship game appearance. ... The Warriors won Class A titles in 2004 and 2006. ... The key for Lakeview may be its own offensive production. The Lions are shooting just under 50 percent for the season and 39 percent from 3-point range. Sr. Tre Gober (16 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.5 apg), Jr. Drew Cottrell (16 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.5 apg, 2 spg, 50% 3-pt FG), and Sr. Josh Randolph (12 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 3 apg, 53% FG, Piedmont College-signee) give the Lions plenty of options. Jack Blackburn and Ryan Lackey average nearly 8 assists combined. Griffin Sewell also has 3-point range and could play a key role off the bench for Lakeview.
