Northeast Georgia prep basketball fans walk with an extra spring in their step today -- and with good reason, as four area teams prep for their shot at Final Four glory on Saturday at various sites around the state.
The Buford and Flowery Branch girls in Class 5A, the North Forsyth girls in Class 7A, and the Gainesville boys in Class 6A all face huge showdowns in the semifinals, with each looking to make a bit of history in reaching next week's state championship games.
Three of the contests will play out live over the airwaves of WDUN AM 550/102.9 FM, and the Buford girls will get things started with a 2 p.m. tip off from Fort Valley State University. The Lady Wolves will take on Villa Rica in search of their second straight Class 5A title game. Buford lost in its last trip to Fort Valley, 51-44 in 2016 to eventual Class 4A champ Americus-Sumter, and will be looking to erase those fading memories today, as they target back-to-back state titles for the first time since 2010-11.
Following that, the Gainesville boys will battle Heritage, Conyers, in a 4 p.m. tip-off broadcast from the University of West Georgia in Carrollton. The Class 6A semifinalist Red Elephants are playing in their first Final Four since the 2013 Class 5A tournament and are looking to keep their hopes of a first state title since 1984 going strong.
Finally, we'll return to Fort Valley, where the Flowery Branch girls will battle Harris County at 6 p.m. in the other Class 5A semifinal. The Lady Falcons are in their second straight semifinal and looking to break through to their first-ever state championship showdown.
Should both Flowery Branch and Buford win, the two Region 8-AAAAA rivals would battle for the Class 5A crown on Thursday in Macon. It would be their fourth showdown of the season.
Also, in Class 7A, the North Forsyth girls already have made history by reaching their first-ever semifinal. The Lady Raiders will take on Westlake at 6 p.m. at the Buford City Arena. That contest can also be heard live on www.northgeorgiasportslink.com.
You can keep up with all the contests on air or via our twitter feed: @AccessNGASports.
STATE BASKETBALL SEMIFINAL SCHEDULE
Area teams in bold
SATURDAY, March 3
CLASS 7A - at Buford City Arena
6 p.m. - North Forsyth girls vs. Westlake
CLASS 6A - at University of West Georgia, Carrollton
4 p.m. - Gainesville boys vs. Heritage, Conyers -- RADIO: WDUN AM 550/102.9 FM
CLASS 5A - at Ft. Valley State University
2 p.m. - Buford girls vs. Villa Rica -- RADIO: WDUN AM 550/102.9 FM
6 p.m. - Flowery Branch girls vs. Harris County -- RADIO: WDUN AM 550/102.9 FM
