Then there were two northeast Georgia basketball teams left.
On semifinals Saturday, only two area teams, Jefferson boys (Class 3A) and Buford girls (Class 5A), advanced to the Georgia High School Association state finals next week in Macon.
The North Hall girls lackluster offensive performance doomed them from the start in a 52-31 loss to third-ranked Beach in the Class 3A tournament at Valdosta State University. Beach will play Greater Atlanta Christian, who beat No. 1 Johnson-Savannah on a last-second shot on Saturday.
In Class 5A girls, Tate Walters' huge day on the court helped lift the Buford girls (30-1, Region 8-5A No. 1 seed) into their fourth straight Class 5A state championship game.
And the Lady Wolves' intense defense solidified the 52-30 win over Woodland in the semifinals of the Georgia High School Association's Class 5A semifinals on Saturday at Fort Valley State University. They'll play Kell on Friday in the title game at the Macon Centreplex. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
Walters poured in 23 points and 7 rebounds, while Blair Wallis added 11 points, 9 from the 3-point line in the win.
It's the 10th time since 2009 the No. 1-ranked Lady Wolves will play for the GHSA state title -- they've won seven titles in that time span across three different classifications.
The Lady Wolves stingy defense forced Woodland into 38 turnovers but didn't take over the game until midway through the second quarter with a 14-2 run, taking a 26-16 advantage into the break.
In Class 3A, The Jefferson boys (22-7, Region 8-3A No. 1 seed) had three players in double-figures with Kam Robinson and Owen Parker leading with 16 points each. Jacob Radaker added 15 points to help the Dragons to their first-ever state championship game berth with a 66-58 win over Central-Macon at Valdosta State University.
The Dragons led from the tip,14-8 after the first quarter and 28-21 at halftime, but Central-Macon rallied back with a 22-point third-quarter performance to tie the game 42-42.
Jefferson outpaced Central-Macon, 24-16, in the final frame to secure the Class 3A title berth against No. 1-ranked Pace Academy on Thursday. Game time is set for 8 p.m.
