Thursday March 28th, 2024 6:44AM

Girls basketball: Jan. 28 notebook

By Jeff Hart Sports Reporter

With just four days left in the regular season, more than a dozen girls teams are still well within shot of positioning themselves for playoff spots as they get set for the all-important region tournaments.

Jefferson in Region 8-3A already has secured a No. 1 seed and automatic berth while Buford in Region 8-5A can do the same with a win over Loganville on Tuesday.

Lakeview Academy in Region 8-A also could clinch an automatic berth but has to beat both Athens Academy and No. 4 Hebron Christian this week.

(See below for the full schedule for area teams and the radio broadcast schedule:)

(Click here for a look at the key girls contests on Tuesday around the northeast Georgia area.)

Here is a region-by-region breakdown of where things stand heading into Tuesday’s action:

REGION 8-6A:
Gainesville and Habersham Central are fighting to stay out of the bottom tier and avoid No. 3 Dacula. The two teams are tied for fourth going into Tuesday’s action. The Lady Raiders (11-11, 3-5 Region 8-6A) travel to Dacula on Tuesday and the Lady Red Elephants (8-14, 3-5 Region 8-6A) can jump over Habersham with a win over Winder-Barrow and a Habersham loss.

REGION 8-5A
Buford (22-1, 8-0 Region 8-5A) can claim the automatic berth on Tuesday but will have to hold off Loganville (18-5, 7-1 Region 8-5A) at home. The Lady Red Devils pushed the Lady Wolves in a close 49-42 loss in their first meeting.

REGION 7-4A
Defending champion Flowery Branch (15-9, 8-3 Region 7-4A) sits in third behind undefeated Marist (21-1, 10-0 Region 7-4A) and White County (16-7, 8-2 Region 7-4A). Chestatee (13-11, 5-6 Region 7-4A) has climbed into fourth and is finding its groove having won 6 of its last 9 games.

REGION 7-3A
If the region tournament is as good and unpredictable as the regular season, it could be the best tournament in the state. Three teams are ranked in the top 10, depending on which poll you follow, and five teams have won 13 or more games and have winning records. GAC (12-11, 8-2 Region 7-3A) currently leads North Hall (16-7,7-3 Region 7-3A) by a game and Dawson County (13-9, 6-4 Region 7-3A) by two games. But fifth place Lumpkin County (14-9, 5-6 Region 7-3A) beat GAC by 32 points last week. And, sixth-place East Hall (8-14, 3-7 Region 7-3A) has won 3 of its last 5, including a 39-37 win over Lumpkin County.

Buckle up. It’s going to be a fun, fast ride.

REGION 8-3A
Jefferson (19-4, 10-0 Region 8-3A) already has clinched the No. 1 seed and automatic berth into the state tournament. The Lady Dragons are ranked No. 2 in Class 3A. Hart County (12-11, 7-3 Region 8-3A) is the only other team in the region with a winning record. Jackson County (5-18, 3-7 Region 8-3A) and East Jackson (10-13, 3-7 Region 8-3A) both are riding four-game losing streaks heading into the final week.

REGION 8-2A
Rabun County (21-1, 11-1 Region 8-2A) and Putnam County (20-2, 11-1 Region 8-2A) share the top spot and are ranked in the top five in Class 2A heading into the final week. They will meet on Friday in Tiger in what is expected to be a battle to decide things. The Lady War Eagles, however, knocked off Rabun County 58-54 earlier in the season in Eatonton. Union County sits third (17-6, 8-4 Region 8-2A) and all four region losses have been to Rabun and Putnam. A young and rebuilding Banks County (10-13, 6-6 Region 8-2A) is currently fifth in the standings but has won 2 of its last 3 and travels to Union County on Tuesday with a chance to make a statement just before the tournament.

REGION 8-A
As mentioned above, Lakeview Academy (17-6, 7-0 Region 8-A) and Hebron Christian (24-0, 8-0 Region 8-A) could meet on Friday in Gainesville for the top seed in the tournament. But Lakeview first will have to get by third place Athens Academy (14-8, 6-1 Region 8-A) on Tuesday in Athens. Hebron will be a tough task no matter the circumstances as they lead a stout Class A Private in wins. Hebron has only had two games, a 51-48 win over Northwest Guilford out of Greensboro, N.C., and a 60-47 win over Class 7A Shiloh, decided by less than 22 points.

STREAK BUSTING IN A GOOD WAY

Johnson finally snapped its long region losing streak beating Walnut Grove 43-34 last week. The Lady Knights had lost 42 straight region contests going back to 2015. The win also ended a 16-game losing streak and it was their first-ever Region 8-5A win since joining the region.

THE HOT HAND

-- Jefferson sophomore Deshona Gaither and junior Livi Blackstock both averaged 19.0 ppg last week in wins over Morgan County and East Jackson.

-- Rabun County senior Destiny Deetz averaged 12.6 ppg in three wins over Elbert County, Putnam County, and Monticello last week.

-- Dawson County junior Maddie Anglin averaged 15.0 ppg and senior Marlie Townley averaged 14.5 ppg in two games last week, a loss to North Hall and a win over Lumpkin County.

-- Cherokee Bluff senior Madi Phillips pulled down her 500th career rebound last week in a close loss to No. 5 GAC. She also had 12 points for a double-double.

-- Flowery Branch junior Ashlee Locke had a double-double against Denmark (17 points, 15 rebounds) and averaged 14 ppg in a pair of region games last week.

-- Chestatee’s Maggie McNair (senior) and Emma Eastwood (junior) both averaged 13.0 ppg in a pair of Region 7-4A games, a win over West Hall and a close 2-point loss to second place White County.

-- Buford’s Ashyia Willis and Tate Walters both had a pair of double-figure games last week. Willis averaged 11.5 ppg and Walters 10.0 ppg for an offense where nearly a dozen players see significant action every contest.

-- Lanier Christian’s Faith Wasden averaged 13.0 ppg over the Lady Lightning’s last three games through Monday.

THE RANKINGS ⬆️⬇️

Six teams continue to be ranked over three classifications in either the ajc.com poll or Kyle Sandy’s rankings. 

-- Buford in Class 5A is still the overwhelming No. 1 pick in both polls. The Lady Wolves are 22-1 overall, 8-0 in Region 8-5A with their only loss coming to Class A Private powerhouse Wesleyan. They can wrap up the Region 8-5A regular season title and automatic berth into the state playoffs with a win over Loganville on Tuesday.

-- Three teams have cracked the top 10 in Class 3A in the AJC poll while two teams have been ranked by Kyle Sandy.

-- Jefferson (19-4, 10-0 Region 8-3A) has already clinched the No. 1 seed from Region 8-3A and is 2nd in both polls. The Lady Dragons’ four losses have come to ranked teams (North Forsyth and Tift County in Class 7A and Buford in Class 5A) outside of the classification. They have steamrolled everyone else with their average win by nearly 20 points.

-- North Hall (16-7, 7-3 Region 7-3A) comes in seventh in the AJC poll and sixth by Kyle Sandy. The Lady Trojans sit second in the region with a chance to still snag the top seed over the final week but will need some help.

-- Dawson County (13-9, 6-4 Region 7-3A) is third in the region and sixth in the AJC poll and not ranked by Kyle Sandy for the first time in more than a month. The Lady Tigers have been on a roller coaster ride for most of the season but also still have an outside chance of taking the No. 1 seed if they can win out and get help.

-- A pair of Region 8-2A area teams in Rabun County and Union County have been in both polls for most of the season. Rabun County (21-1, 11-1 Region 8-2A) is tied for first with Putnam County atop the region and is third in the AJC poll and fifth in Kyle Sandy. Union County (17-6, 8-4 Region 8-2A) sits third in the region and seventh in the AJC and 10th in the Kyle Sandy poll.

SCHEDULE

Tuesday, Jan. 28
Banks County at Union County*
Chestatee at Blessed Trinity*
Dawson County at Cherokee Bluff* -- WDUN AM 550/FM 102.9
East Hall at Greater Atlanta Christian*
East Jackson at Jackson County*
Gainesville at Winder-Barrow* -- 94.5 FM The Lake
Hart County at Jefferson*
Johnson at Cedar Shoals*
Lakeview Academy at Athens Academy*
Loganville at Buford*
Marist at West Hall*
North Hall at Lumpkin County*
Providence Christian at Commerce*
Rabun County at Social Circle*
Towns County at Tallulah Falls*
White County at Denmark*

Friday, Jan. 31 (End of regular season)
Buford at Clarke Central*
Cherokee Bluff at North Hall*
Dawson County at East Hall*
Gainesville at Lanier* -- 94.5 FM The Lake
Hebron Christian at Lakeview Academy*
Jackson County at Jefferson*
Loganville at Johnson*
Monroe Area at East Jackson*
Putnam County at Rabun County*
Riverside Military at Commerce*
Social Circle at Banks County*
Towns County at Athens Christian*
Union County at Oglethorpe County*
West Hall at Blessed Trinity*
White County at Flowery Branch* -- WDUN AM 550/FM 102.9

(* -- denotes region contest)

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