Three classifications have new No. 1 teams in this week’s high school girls basketball rankings, and for two of those classes it means a new team at the top for the fourth consecutive week.
Hebron Christian (16-2) jumped two places to No. 1 in Class A Private on the strength of victories over Class 7A No. 8 Norcross and Class 5A No. 5 Southwest DeKalb last week. Hebron Christian took the place of Eagle’s Landing Christian, which was elevated to No. 1 last week but held the spot for just seven days after losing three consecutive games. Ironically, Eagle’s Landing Christian handed Hebron Christian one of its two losses, a 51-50 decision when the teams met on Dec. 8. ELCA dropped to No. 6 this week.
St. Francis, which remained No. 2, held the No. 1 spot after the first week of the new year but gave way to Mount Paran Christian, which held the spot for one week before giving way to ELCA.
In Class 3A, Upson-Lee moved up two places to the top after previous No. 1 Johnson-Savannah lost to Class 2A No. 5 Woodville-Tompkins. Upson-Lee (14-0) is the only remaining undefeated team in Class 3A and posted victories last week against Crisp County, No. 10 Americus-Sumter and Central-Macon.
Johnson, which dropped to No. 3, has surrendered the No. 1 ranking twice in 2021. It was No. 1 on Jan. 4, was replaced by Coahulla Creek on Jan. 11 and then regained it last week.
The other change at the top came in Class 5A, where Woodward Academy climbed two spots from No. 3 after knocking off previous No. 1 Forest Park 57-51 on Friday night. Forest Park, which also lost to Class 6A No. 1 Westlake last week, was the Class 6A champion last season but dropped to 5A during reclassification. The Panthers fell to the No. 2 spot.
The other five No. 1 teams remained the same. They are Collins Hill in Class 7A, Westlake in 6A, Luella in 4A, Early County in 2A and Lake Oconee Academy in A Public.
Eight new teams moved into the top 10s. Norcross and Brookwood replaced Tift County and Woodstock in Class 7A; River Ridge replaced Brunswick in 6A; Pickens replaced McDonough in 4A; Westminster replaced Gilmer in 3A; Lamar County and Butler replaced Northeast-Macon and Banks County in 2A; and Brooks County replaced Pelham in Class A Public.
Class 7A
1. Collins Hill (14-1)
2. Campbell (8-1)
3. McEachern (7-4)
4. Cherokee (18-3)
5. North Paulding (15-3)
6. Parkview (12-4)
7. Marietta (11-5)
8. Norcross (13-6)
9. North Forsyth (15-3)
10. Brookwood (10-5)
Class 6A
1. Westlake (12-0)
2. Buford (15-0)
3. Carrollton (17-1)
4. Lovejoy (14-5)
5. Hughes (15-4)
6. Sprayberry (14-3)
7. Kell (16-3)
8. Statesboro (13-0)
9. Rockdale County (13-3)
10. River Ridge (16-3)
Class 5A
1. Woodward Academy (8-1)
2. Forest Park (13-4)
3. Jackson-Atlanta (11-2)
4. Cass (17-0)
5. Southwest DeKalb (11-3)
6. St. Pius (12-1)
7. Warner Robins (12-3)
8. Hiram (9-3)
9. New Manchester (15-3)
10. Loganville (17-3)
Class 4A
1. Luella (18-2)
2. Jefferson (14-3)
3. Carver-Columbus (6-2)
4. Baldwin (9-0)
5. Spalding (12-3)
6. Arabia Mountain (7-0)
7. Marist (12-3)
8. Troup (7-4)
9. Cairo (10-0)
10. Pickens (10-3)
Class 3A
1. Upson-Lee (14-0)
2. Cross Creek (7-2)
3. Johnson-Savannah (8-2)
4. Lumpkin County (15-4)
5. Sonoraville (13-4)
6. Coahulla Creek (15-2)
7. Greater Atlanta Christian (5-4)
8. Beach (8-3)
9. Westminster (5-1)
10. Americus-Sumter (9-3)
Class 2A
1. Early County (7-0)
2. Elbert County (14-2)
3. East Laurens (10-2)
4. Rabun County (13-4)
5. Woodville-Tompkins (11-3)
6. Lamar County (13-4)
7. Washington County (7-1)
8. Heard County (14-3)
9. Fannin County (12-4)
10. Butler (9-3)
Class A Private
1. Hebron Christian (16-2)
2. St. Francis (10-2)
3. Holy Innocents’ (4-4)
4. Mount Paran Christian (17-3)
5. Greenforest (6-4)
6. Eagle’s Landing Christian (11-3)
7. Wesleyan (6-2)
8. Galloway (13-1)
9. Calvary Day (12-1)
10. Savannah Country Day (15-1)
Class A Public
1. Lake Oconee Academy (14-0)
2. Clinch County (11-1)
3. Dublin (16-2)
4. Calhoun County (3-1)
5. Greenville (4-0)
6. Georgia Military (8-1)
7. Trion (13-3)
8. Brooks County (8-4)
9. Turner County (11-4)
10. Wilcox County (4-1)
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