While the overall state of girls basketball may be in trouble as far as numbers, that has not stopped northeast Georgia area programs from producing some of the best teams in the state.
Over the past two seasons, four girls teams have played for GHSA state titles -- Lumpkin County twice, Rabun County in 2022, Banks County in 2023 -- with Lumpkin County claiming its first-ever title in 2022.
In 2023, 18 teams made the GHSA playoffs. Three made the semifinals, and four others made the quarterfinals among the eight classifications last season. Lakeview Academy made the Final 4 in GIAA.
The first half of the 2023-24 season is over and most everyone is now fully invested in region play. With that and the drive toward the playoffs underway, nearly a dozen northeast Georgia area girls' teams come into Tuesday’s action ranked in the latest Sandy’s Spiel poll.
Eleven teams spanning all eight GHSA classifications currently are ranked, and that’s not including an unbeaten Lakeview Academy squad in the GIAA.
Buford in Class 7A and North Forsyth in Class 6A both are ranked third. In some polls, the Lady Raiders are ranked No. 1.
Three area teams in Region 8-4A -- Cherokee Bluff (6th), Chestatee (8th), and East Forsyth (10th) -- are ranked, with the Lady Broncos taking the spot held by North Hall last week. Two area teams in Region 7-3A -- White County (5th) and Dawson County (6th) -- are in the top 10.
Banks County, which finished as the Class 2A state runner-up last year, sits sixth in the latest poll. Jefferson is sixth in Class 5A; Rabun County is 4th in Class A Division 1; and Towns County is 7th in Class A Division 2.
For the Lady Leopards (12-4, 2-0 Region 8-2A), injuries and sickness contributed to a slow start. But they are healthy again and riding a five-game win streak.
But longtime Banks County coach Steve Shedd is more worried about where they end up than their current positioning in the polls.
“Rankings are fun and great to have conversations about, but the only thing that truly matters is where you finish in the region and where you finish in the state at the end of the season,” he said. “We are playing really good basketball right now. We have had to fight our way through...up to this point, but we are finally playing at the high level we were this summer.”
They have a huge showdown Tuesday night with Union County (9-7, 2-0 Region 8-2A) for first place in the region standings.
White County (14-2, 2-1 Region 7-3A) has a monster road test on Tuesday, heading to No. 3 Pickens (16-0, 3-0 Region 7-3A) with a possible share of first place on the line in 7-3A.
Much like Shedd, first-year Lady Warriors’ coach Zuquinnta Moss isn’t focused on rankings.
“(The rankings) don’t mean anything to us,” Moss said. “We’re just focused on the game in front of us. One game at a time.”
The Lady Warriors' only in-state blemish came in a road loss against No.2 Wesleyan last month to open region play. A win Tuesday would put them no worse than second place, with both Wesleyan and Pickens set to return to Cleveland later in the season.
“We are playing pretty solid, but we are still learning and growing every day,” Moss said.
No. 8 Chestatee (12-4, 4-0 Region 8-4A North) and No.6 Cherokee Bluff (13-2, 4-0 Region 8-4A North) meet at the Lynn Cottrell Complex on Tuesday with first place on the line in Region 8-4A North and the chance to put even more distance between them and the rest of the field.
Both teams were hoping for better finishes than third (Chestatee) and fifth (Bluff) in the recent Lanierland tournament. But both teams have picked it up since then, with the Lady War Eagles winning three straight and the Lady Bears four in a row.
Chestatee coach Sutton Shirley said they see the rankings but try not to focus on that. Shirley was more concerned with his teams’ sometimes pedestrian showings.
“Over the past two years, we’ve been ranked more often than we haven’t, but it’s nice to be respected by people around the state,” Shirley said. “We have looked really good at times, and have looked very average at other times. We’re on a winning streak right now, but we haven’t played a team as talented as Cherokee Bluff in that run. We’ll have a better idea where we stand (after tonight).”
In other key matchups on Tuesday on the girls side, East Forsyth (8-7, 3-2 Region 8-4A North) plays host to North Hall (10-5, 2-2 Region 8-4A North) in a battle for third place in the subregion.
In Region 8-7A, Buford (12-1, 1-0 Region 8-7A) heads to rival and eighth-ranked Mill Creek (10-3, 1-0 Region 8-7A) as both teams are tied with No. 9 Dacula atop the standings.
In Region 7-3A, Dawson County (9-6, 2-1 Region 7-3A) plays host to arch-rival Lumpkin County (5-10, 1-3 Region 7-3A), looking to keep pace among the top four.
(See the entire schedule for Tuesday below.)
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL SCHEDULE FOR Tuesday, Jan. 9
Buford at Mill Creek, 6 p.m.*
Cherokee Bluff at Chestatee, 6 p.m.*
East Hall at Johnson, 6 p.m.*
Flowery Branch at Loganville, 6 p.m.*
Gainesville at Apalachee, 6 p.m.*
Heritage-Conyers at Jefferson, 6 p.m.*
Jasper County at East Jackson, 6 p.m.
Lakeview Academy girls at Oglethorpe County, 7 p.m.
Lanier at Jackson County, 6 p.m.*
Lumpkin County at Dawson County, 6 p.m.*
North Forsyth at Shiloh, 6 p.m.*
North Hall at East Forsyth, 6 p.m.*
Peachtree Academy at Lanier Christian Academy, 6:30 p.m.*
Rabun County at Commerce, 6 p.m.* (CANCELED)
Towns County at Swain County (NC), 6 p.m..*
Union County at Banks County, 6 p.m.*
White County at Pickens, 6 p.m.*
(* -- denotes region contest)
http://accesswdun.com/article/2024/1/1222103/girls-basketball-state-rankings-littered-with-area-teams