After some Tuesday night upsets, especially on the girls side, several regions got a midweek shakeup.
Which will make for some intriguing Friday matchups around the northeast Georgia area. In all, 30 games are on the docket -- boys and girls -- as the jockeying for region titles and tournament seeding is in full stride.
As for where things stand for our area teams, four girls teams -- Buford (8-6A), North Forsyth (6-6A), Jackson County (8-65A), and Jefferson (8-3A) -- and four boys teams -- Buford (8-6A), Habersham Central (8-65A), Cherokee Bluff (8-3A) and Rabun County 8-A D1) -- all lead their regions heading into Friday’s action.
Nearly a dozen more sit in second place or are tied for second place in their respective regions. Friday could be moving day for several teams.
FIRST PLACE SHOWDOWNS
Perhaps the two biggest showdowns of the night on Friday will have the Cherokee Bluff and Jefferson girls battling either outright first place or a share of the lead in Region 8-3A. Banks County will take on Elbert County in Region 8-A D1 for the lead.
CHEROKEE BLUFF GIRLS at JEFFERSON (REGION 8-3A): The Class 3A fifth-ranked Lady Bears (14-5, 3-1 Region 8-3A) saw their 5-game win streak and their perfect home record tarnished with a 57-51 loss to No. 11 Oconee County on Tuesday to drop them into a tie for second.
But they can get back to the top of the region if they can knock off No. 2 Jefferson (14-3, 4-0 Region 8-3A) at The Arena on Friday. Despite 31 points combined from Bristol Kersh and Claire Carlson, Bluff was held to just 3 points in the fourth quarter as the Lady Warriors (13-5, 3-1 Region 8-3A) rallied from 10 points down.
Bluff will need to find more offense than that, but has won 3 straight on the road. The Lady Dragons (14-3, 4-0 Region 8-3A) are riding an 11-game win streak, including five straight at The Arena. They are 8-2 at home on the season. On Tuesday, Forwards Anni Aldridge and Michel Robbins combined for 29 points against East Hall.
A Jefferson win would keep the Lady Dragons atop the standings with no worse than a one-game lead. However, a Bluff win and an Oconee County win over Monroe Area would create a 3-way tie for the lead almost at the halfway point.
ELBERT COUNTY GIRLS at BANKS COUNTY (REGION 8-A D1): Banks County began the season with a new coach, and the growing pains were there early with a 3-5 start. But the last loss for the Lady Leopards was at the hands of Elbert County (59-39) back on Dec. 13 to open Region 8-A D1 play. Since then, Banks County (11-5, 5-1 Region 8-A D1) has won 8 straight, averaged 63.6 ppg on offense, and climbed to 12th in the PSR rankings.
The Lady Blue Devils (16-0, 6-0 Region 8-A D1) have been as dominant as any team in the state. They are averaging 55.6 ppg on offense but are surrendering just 35.8 ppg on defense.
But this time, the Lady Leopards will get Elbert in Homer, where they are 7-1 on the season. A win for Banks County would put the two teams tied and with a split in the head-to-head tiebreaker, setting up a 5-game sprint to the No. 1 seed in the region tournament.
Below is a look at some of the other big games set for Friday that COULD have an impact on first place in several region standings:
CHEROKEE BLUFF BOYS at JEFFERSON (REGION 8-3A): The two teams met in an early-season tournament on Nov. 26, with the Bears (18-1, 4-0 Region 8-3A) rolling to a 63-35 rout. Bluff, who has won 12 straight and is ranked No. 1 in Class 3A, has improved since then, but so have the Dragons. Jefferson (11-5, 3-1 Region 8-3A) has won 8 of 10 and took No. 2 East Hall to the buzzer on Tuesday in a 57-56 loss.
The key will be an efficient Bluff offense that has 6 or 7 guys that all are capable of scoring 20 on any given night against a physical, tough Jefferson defense. A Bluff win would give them a 2-game lead over the Dragons in the standings. However, a Dragons win, coupled with an East Hall win over West Hall, would create a 3-way tie for first at the halfway point.
EAST HALL BOYS at WEST HALL (REGION 8-3A): The second-ranked Vikings (14-3, 3-1 Region 8-3A) survived a slugfest on Tuesday against Jefferson and can stay no worse than second place with a win. They can move into a 3-way tie for first at the halfway point with a win and a Jefferson win over Cherokee Bluff.
Injuries have hurt the Spartans (6-13, 0-4 Region 8-3A), who have lost six straight.
NORTH HALL GIRLS at WHITE COUNTY (REGION 6-3A): Despite battling some key injuries, the Lady Warriors (13-4, 5-1 Region 6-3A) are just one-half game behind No. 1-ranked Pickens, who was upset by Dawson County on Tuesday. White County can move into first place with a win and a Chestatee win over the Dragonettes tonight.
North Hall (6-11, 2-5 Region 6-3A) suffered its worst loss of the season on Tuesday to Chestatee (73-42) and has lost 6 of 7 overall to fall into seventh place in the standings.
PICKENS GIRLS at CHESTATEE (REGION 6-3A): The Dragonettes (15-2, 6-1 Region 6-3A) were shocked on the road on Tuesday and now face a very hot Lady War Eagles (12-5, 4-2 Region 6-3A) squad that has won four straight in the region and 9 of their last 10 overall.
Pickens beat Chestatee 58-47 back on Dec. 6 to open region play. A Chestatee win and a White County loss would put the Lady War Eagles within one-half game of first place after opening region play 0-2 and falling two games back quickly.
HABERSHAM CENTRAL BOYS at WINDER-BARROW (REGION 8-5A): The fourth-ranked Raiders (16-2, 6-0 Region 8-5A) have not played since Jan. 9 and hold a 1 1/2-game lead over the fifth-ranked Bulldoggs (16-2, 4-1 Region 8-5A). Both teams are red-hot, with the Raiders winning five straight and the Bulldoggs on an 8-game run.
Habersham Central took an 80-77 win over Winder-Barrow back on Dec. 10 to open 8-5A play. But the Bulldoggs are 9-0 at home this season as they meet in Winder on Friday.
GREENE COUNTY BOYS at TOWNS COUNTY (REGION 8-A D2): The Indians (10-8, 5-1 Region 8-A D12) are essentially tied for the region lead with Lake Oconee Academy but have two games in hand over the Titans (12-4, 4-0 Region 8-A D2). Greene County (9-7, 4-1 Region 8-A D2) is a half-game back in third.
A Towns County win and a LOA loss to Lincoln County on Friday would put the Indians in first place.
Other notable games on Friday:
Buford girls at Collins Hill: Buford (14-1, 6-1 Region 8-6A) is hitting its stride at the right time, moving back into first place after Mill Creek dropped two straight. But this one will be tough on the road. The Lady Wolves lost to Mill Creek, who lost to Collins Hill, and the Lady Wolves beat the Eagles just 50-47 last week.
