All eight teams that were No. 1 in last week’s high school girls basketball rankings won their region tournaments and held on to the top spots heading into the state tournament, which opens with first-round games Tuesday and Wednesday.
Five of those teams – Brookwood of Class 7A, River Ridge of 6A, Luella of 4A, Lumpkin County of 3A and Lake Oconee Academy of A Public – are seeking their first state championships.
Brookwood beat No. 3 Grayson 55-52 last week to win the 4-7A title. It was the Broncos’ second victory in three meetings between the teams over the past two weeks. It also helped Brookwood maintain the narrowest of margins in the rankings over No. 2 North Forsyth, which has won 12 consecutive games and is undefeated against Georgia opponents this season.
Class 5A Woodward Academy is the only defending state champion ranked No. 1 this week and is the favorite to win its fifth title. The War Eagles won the Region 3-5A championship Friday with a 55-33 victory over second-ranked Forest Park, which lost to Woodward in the state final last year.
Class A Private No. 1 Holy Innocents’ has won four state championships, including three in the past six seasons, and Class 2A No. 1 Fannin County won state championships in 1993 and 1999.
Class 7A
1. Brookwood (21-4)
2. North Forsyth (23-3)
3. Grayson (20-5)
4. Norcross (21-5)
5. Cherokee (21-5)
6. Harrison (23-3)
7. Archer (19-6)
8. South Forsyth (20-8)
9. West Forsyth (20-7)
10. Woodstock (18-9)
Class 6A
1. River Ridge (26-1)
2. Lovejoy (23-3)
3. Kell (24-2)
4. Hughes (22-6)
5. Brunswick (25-1)
6. Carrollton (23-4)
7. Sequoyah (20-7)
8. Buford (22-4)
9. Sprayberry (19-7)
10. Rome (23-4)
Class 5A
1. Woodward Academy (24-2)
2. Forest Park (18-6)
3. Greenbrier (24-3)
4. Warner Robins (22-5)
5. Griffin (21-6)
6. Union Grove (21-4)
7. Jackson-Atlanta (16-3)
8. Loganville (19-7)
9. McIntosh (18-6)
10. Eagle’s Landing (18-6)
Class 4A
1. Luella (23-3)
2. Carver-Columbus (23-3)
3. Jefferson (23-3)
4. Baldwin (23-2)
5. Marist (22-3)
6. Pickens (23-3)
7. Chestatee (20-8)
8. Arabia Mountain (19-6)
9. Dougherty (17-7)
10. Cedar Shoals (17-9)
Class 3A
1. Lumpkin County (25-1)
2. Cross Creek (23-1)
3. Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe (26-1)
4. Sumter County (21-6)
5. Greater Atlanta Christian (21-6)
6. East Jackson (23-3)
7. Pierce County (21-5)
8. Murray County (20-6)
9. Tattnall County (17-7)
10. East Forsyth (19-8)
Class 2A
1. Fannin County (24-2)
2. Rabun County (20-5)
3. Elbert County (23-4)
4. Northeast-Macon (20-6)
5. Swainsboro (19-2)
6. Josey (21-5)
7. Callaway (19-4)
8. Dodge County (22-3)
9. Thomasville (19-7)
10. Laney (15-7)
Class A Private
1. Holy Innocents’ (24-2)
2. Mount Paran Christian (20-4)
3. St. Francis (23-3)
4. Hebron Christian (22-5)
5. Galloway (15-9)
6. Wesleyan (13-9)
7. Trinity Christian (21-5)
8. Deerfield-Windsor (19-4)
9. Savannah Country Day (21-4)
10. Darlington (20-6)
Class A Public
1. Lake Oconee Academy (21-1)
2. Montgomery County (23-2)
3. Screven County (20-3)
4. Schley County (17-4)
5. Taylor County (19-4)
6. Mt. Zion-Carroll (21-6)
7. Claxton (15-6)
8. Clinch County (15-3)
9. Dublin (20-8)
10. Bryan County (22-5)
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