Americus-Sumter, Laney move to No.1

GHSF Daily

Americus-Sumter and Laney moved into the No. 1 spots in their classifications in this week’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution high school girls basketball rankings.

Class AAAA Americus-Sumter moved up from No. 2 after a 3-0 week that included a 58-53 victory against Carver-Columbus, the previous No. 1 team, in a Region 1-AAAA game Friday. Americus-Sumter is 15-0 overall and leads the region with an 8-0 record, one game ahead of Carver, which is the defending state champion. Americus-Sumter won a state title in 2016.

Laney moved up two spots to No. 1 in Class AA after previous No. 1 Rabun County suffered its first loss, 58-54 to Putnam County on Friday. Laney is 15-2, with both losses coming against higher-classification teams. The Wildcats won state championships in 2015, 2017 and 2018. Rabun County fell to No. 3 behind Early County, which remained No. 2.

A third No. 1 team, Class AAAAAAA Westlake, lost last week but maintained its position at the top of the rankings. The Lions beat Newnan 63-31 in a Region 2-AAAAAAA game Tuesday before going 1-1 during the weekend against Nevada’s top two teams, according to MaxPreps, at the Big West Shootout in Las Vegas. The Lions lost to No. 2 Centennial 73-61 Friday before rebounding the next night with a 61-44 victory against top-ranked Spring Valley. Westlake, the two-time defending champion in the highest classification, is 16-2 overall but undefeated against Georgia opponents.

The other five top-ranked teams also remained the same. They are Lovejoy in AAAAAA, Buford in AAAAA, Johnson-Savannah in AAA, St. Francis in Class A Private and Central-Talbotton in Class A Public. Buford (17-0), a three-time defending state champion, and Americus-Sumter are the only undefeated No. 1 teams.