With the holiday tournaments finished and all seven of the regions we cover at AccessWDUN now officially underway, there are a few early surprises, both good and not-so-good, as well as some things that were expected, as girls teams enter the final, and most crucial, month of the regular season.
TO BE EXPECTED: No. 1 Buford, the reigning Class 5A state champion, is once again rolling. The Lady Wolves (14-0, 2-0 Region 8-5A) are one of just three teams in Class 5A still undefeated, with only Kell (16-0) possessing more wins. They will travel to Cedar Shoals (7-9, 1-1 Region 8-5A) and Loganville (12-4, 2-0 Region 8-5A) the top teams behind them in the region standings, this week with a chance to take early control in the region for the top spot.
-- Also, No. 3 Jefferson (14-3, 5-0 Region 8-3A) has dominated the first half of the schedule. The Lady Dragons own the most overall wins in Class 3A and all three of their losses have been to Class 7A teams (two to North Forsyth, one to Tift County).
-- Rabun County is once again dominating in Class 2A and 8-2A. The third-ranked Lady Wildcats (15-0, 5-0 Region 8-2A) are the only undefeated left in all of Class 2A and lead the classification in wins. They held off No. 8 Union County (11-3, 3-1 Region 8-2A) last week in the opening skirmish for first place in the region.
ON THE MOVE: White. County. The Lady Warriors (11-5, 4-1 Region 7-4A) are red-hot having won nine straight and 10 of their last 12 games overall. They also find themselves in a surprising tie for second place with Flowery Branch (10-6, 4-1 Region 7-4A) and both teams are one game behind Marist in the standings, and they face each other on Tuesday in Cleveland for sole possession of second place and a possible tie for first.
-- Lakeview Academy (12-5, 1-0 Region 8-A) is coming off its first-ever Lanierland tournament final and opened region play with a win last week. The Lady Lions can make a bigger push this week against two winning teams in Commerce and Tallulah Falls.
-- Union County has not made the playoffs since 2016 but currently is tied for second in Region 8-2A and is in the top 10 in wins.
-- Region 7-3A: In a year considered a possible rebuild for most of the seven teams coming into the season, four are ranked by Kyle Sandy in the top 10 at the midpoint of the season and five -- Dawson County, Greater Atlanta Christian, Fannin County, North Hall, East Hall -- are within two games of each other in the region standings.
ON THE CUSP: Gainesville (6-9, 1-1 Region 8-6A) is still in a rebuild mode but had a recent three-game win streak, including a pair of wins in Lanierland, snapped by No. 4 Dacula.
-- Chestatee (9-8, 3-3 Region 7-4A) is right in the middle of a tough region battle and has won 5 of its last 7 overall
-- Banks County (7-9, 3-2 Region 8-2A) is in a rebuild mode with an inexperienced squad but seven of the Lady Leopards losses have been to teams with a winning record and four by 3-points or less.
-- Habersham Central (8-7, 0-1 Region 8-6A) already has surpassed its win total from all of last season (5). The Lady Raiders still face a tough region schedule but they may be ready to make a playoff push for the first time since 2017.
CAUSE FOR CONCERN? Flowery Branch, which has made the state quarterfinals or better each of the past four seasons, including three semifinals and one state championship game appearance, is battling a plethora of injuries, which comes on the heels of having a pair of talented freshmen dismissed from the team. The Lady Falcons (10-6, 4-1 Region 7-4A) are down to just 7 players and had their four-year run as Lanierland championships ended in the semifinals last week. They still have a solid starting group behind Ashlee Locke but have little margin for error as they try to repeat as region champs.
