No. 1 teams hold spots; 11 new teams in top 10s

Rankings solidified heading into state playoffs tonight.

The eight No. 1 girls bas- ketball teams in last week’s rankings won their region tournament championships and held their positions heading into the state play- offs, which begin tonight.

Only two top-ranked teams faced challenges in their region tournament finals. In Class 7A, Brook- wood held off No. 6 Archer 63-60 to win Region 4. The victory was Brookwood’s third of the year against Archer but was the closest of the three games. The Broncos won the two regular-season meetings 70-49 and 65-53.

River Ridge of Class 6A rallied for a 66-62 victory over Woodstock in Region 6. The Knights trailed 47-45 entering the fourth quarter but outscored Woodstock 21-15 in the final eight minutes. Region 6 player of the year Mataya Gayle scored 27 points, and Karson Martin had 30 for Woodstock. River Ridge won the two reg- ular-season meetings 72-47 and 77-55. The Knights are 22-5 heading into the state playoffs but are undefeated against Georgia teams.

Lake Oconee Academy of Class A Division II cruised past No. 7 Towns County 60-21 in the Region 8 final, but the Titans got their tournament test in the semifinals, outlasting Greene County 53-44. Lake Oconee Academy was the Class A Public champion in 2022.

The other five No. 1-ranked teams won their 12 combined region tournament games by an average of 39 points.

Eleven new teams earned their way into the top 10s this week, the most in any week since the beginning of the year. Mceachern and Pebblebrook replaced Grayson and Cherokee in Class 7A; Ware County replaced Statesboro in 5A; Chestatee and Trinity Christian replaced Walnut Grove and North Hall in 4A; Calvary Day and Mary Persons replaced Pickens and Hart County in 3A; Athens Academy replaced Fannin County in 2A; Pelham replaced Bacon County in Class A Division I; and Macon County and Early County replaced Manchester and Schley County in Class A Division II.

Three of the teams that fell out of the rankings — Walnut Grove, Pickens and Manchester — lost in their region tournament quarterfinals and failed to advance to the state tournament.