It was a banner night for Northeast Georgia-area girls basketball teams in Tuesday night's opening round of the Georgia High School Association playoffs.
Twelve teams, including Lakeview Academy in the GIAA, advanced to the second round, with some huge upsets as well. The Rabun County boys also advanced as part of a doubleheader in Tiger.
Gainesville, the No. 4 seed from Region 8-6A, knocked off Region 7-6A champion Sprayberry, 70-66, in Marietta. Keidra Young had 37 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, to fuel the upset win. In fact, the Lady Red Elephants were one of three Region 8-6A teams to advance through. Region 8-6A champion North Forsyth beat Pope 67-57, while Habersham Central beat Lassiter 53-40.
In Class 7A, Buford demolished Duluth, 83-28, for their first-ever playoff win in the state's largest classification. Ava Grace Watson scored 16 points, and Betty Nguyen scored 15 for the Lady Wolves.
Dawson County went on the road and beat Hart County, 41-34, with Emma Grace McCarron leading the way with 11 points. The Lady Tigers are one of three Region 7-3A teams to advance as well. Lumpkin County also advanced with a 72-47 thumping of Oconee County. White County took No. 1-ranked Hebron Christian deep into the fourth, cutting a big lead to just 6 points but eventually fell 68-53.
Region 8-4A had two teams make it to the second round. Region champion Chestatee, paced by 22 points from Riley Black, 13 from Caroline Bull, and 12 from Addison Boyd, hammered Central-Carrollton, 61-25, while East Forsyth made it to the Sweet 16 with a 76-72 win over Sonoraville. East Hall narrowly missed out on an upset of Region 7-4A champ Northwest Whitfield, missing a 3-pointer at the buzzer in a 58-56 loss on the road. Maleah Harrison poured in 21 points for the Lady Vikings despite playing with three fouls after the game's first three minutes. North Hall dropped a 48-40 decision to Heritage-Catoosa.
In the Class 2A playoffs, Region 8-2A champion Banks County routed North Murray, 60-27, behind 21 points from Reese Murphy to advance to the Sweet 16 for a second straight season. Union County, however, lost 59-38 to Murray County.
Rabun County, the Class 2A state runner-up in 2022, got its Class A Division 1 playoffs off to a good start with a 74-37 win over Pepperell. Lucy Hood had a huge night with 25 points, 8 assists, and 4 steals. She also reached the 1,000-point plateau for the Lady Wildcats. Ellie Southards added 13 points, and Trea Blalock and Mili Watts had 12 each for Rabun County. The Rabun County boys held off Trion, 54-42, behind 25 points from Willie Goodwyn to advance.
In Class A Division 2, Towns County held off Christian Heritage, 49-38, for their first playoff win since 2021.
And Lakeview Academy walloped Valwood, 81-18, in the GIAA playoffs. Taliah Gaither had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Jia Tharpe had 16 points for the Lady Lions.
In Class 5A, the Jefferson girls fell 53-44 to Cartersville at The Arena. Skyler Brady led the Lady Dragons with 17 points, and Eve Knight had 12.
BOYS STATE TOURNAMENT SCORES, Tuesday, Feb. 21
Class A Division 1
Rabun County 54, Trion 42
GIRLS STATE TOURNAMENT SCORES, Tuesday, Feb. 21
Class 7A
Buford 83, Duluth 28
Class 6A
Gainesville 70, Sprayberry 66
Habersham Central 53, Lassiter 40
North Forsyth 67, Pope 57
Class 5A
Cartersville 53, Jefferson 44
Class 4A
Northwest Whitfield 58, East Hall 56
Chestatee 61, Central-Carrollton 25
East Forsyth 76, Sonoraville 72
Heritage-Catoosa 48, North Hall 40
Class 3A
Hebron Christian 68, White County 53
Dawson County 41, Hart County 34
Lumpkin County 72, Oconee County 47
Class 2A
Murray County 59, Union County 38
Banks County 60, North Murray 27
Class A Division 1
Rabun County 74, Pepperell 37
Class A Division 2
Towns County 49, Christian Heritage 38
GIAA Class 3A
Lakeview Academy 81, Valwood 18
GIRLS STATE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE, Wednesday, Feb. 22
Class 5A
Flowery Branch (R8, S3) at Hiram (R5, S2), 6 p.m. (AM 550 & FM 102.9 WDUN)
Class 2A
East Jackson (R8, S3) at Model (R7, S2)
BOYS STATE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE, Wednesday, Feb. 22
Class 7A
Berkmar (R7, S4) at Buford R8, S1), 6 p.m.
Class 6A
North Forsyth (R8, S4) at Blessed Trinity (R7, S1), 7 p.m.
Habersham Central (R8, S3) at Pope (R7, S2), 7 p.m.
Class 5A
Cass (R7, S3) at Jefferson (R8, S2), 7 p.m.
Class 3A
Hebron Christian (R7, S4) at White County (R8, S1), 6 p.m.
Class 2A
Murray County (R7, S3) at Union County (R8, S2), 6:30 p.m.
Banks County (R8, S3) at North Murray (R7, S2)
Class A Division 2
Towns County (R8, S4) at Greenforest Christian (R7, S1), 7 p.m.
GIAA Class 3A
Lakeview Academy at Brookwood, 6 p.m.
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