Jefferson climbs to No. 1 in Class AAA

Three No. 1 teams lost last week, but only one lost the top spot in its classification in this week’s high school girls basketball state rankings.

The toughest call came in Class AAA, where Jefferson (18-2) moved up one spot and replaced Region 8 rival Morgan County (16-4) at No. 1 despite having lost to the Bulldogs 60-52 in their first head-tohead matchup Dec. 14 in Madison. That was Jefferson’s only loss against a Georgia opponent. The Dragons’ other loss came against Boyd County, the No. 5-ranked team in Kentucky, on Dec. 29 in the Pensacola Christmas Tournament.

Morgan County was elevated to the No. 1 spot last week but dropped back to No. 2 after losing to fifth-ranked Hart County 77-63 Tuesday. Morgan County and Jefferson are tied for first place in 8-AAA and will settle the score on the court today in Jefferson. The winner is almost certain to be the No. 1 seed for the upcoming region tournament and the No. 1 team in next week’s rankings.

In the Class A private-school division, Wesleyan (21-1) suffered its first loss of the season when it fell to Holy Innocents’ 68-63 Friday but remained No. 1 based on its schedule strength. The Wolves have won 11 games against teams from higher classifications, includ- ing four against ranked teams.

Holy Innocents’ schedule has been perhaps even tougher than Wesleyan’s, although the Golden Bears haven’t fared quite as well. Still, the victory against Wesleyan allowed Holy Innocents’ to climb from No. 3 to No. 2, dropping St. Francis back one spot. Those three teams will be the overwhelming favorites in the state tournament next month.

Buford (17-2) remained the No. 1 team in Class AAAAA despite losing to Westlake 58-51 Saturday. Westlake (19-0) is the top-ranked team in Class AAAAAAA and a defending state champion. Buford’s other loss came against AAAAAAA No. 10 Norcross on Dec. 14.

The other No. 1-ranked teams also remained the same: Lovejoy in AAAAAA, Carver-Columbus in AAAA, Dodge County in AA and Marion County in the Class A public-school division.

Five new teams broke into the rankings this week. West Laurens replaced Heri- tage-Ringgold in Class AAAA; Rutland replaced Coahulla Creek in AAA; Douglass replaced Woodville-Tompkins in AA, and Wilcox County and Mitchell County replaced Central-Talbotton and Bowdon in the Class A public-school division.