With the major upset residing in the AAAAA bracket, which saw regional 4th seed Cherokee hedge out regional 1st seed Roswell by a score of 47-42. Cherokee, who is paced by Sharon Swanson 09, has played an impressive schedule this season, facing off against teams such as perennial power Malcolm X Shabazz (Newark, NJ). The experience no doubt helped them face off against a young Roswell team.
The AAA bracket was the site of a series of 4 over 1 upsets with the headliner being Vanderbilt bound Elan Brown's Woodward Academy team knocked off by Richmond Hill. In addition the AAA bracket saw Hart Co. over Gainesville and Chestatee over Franklin Co. Looking forward the second round will provide the state with some great basketball on Tuesday March 3rd.
Moving into the second round of the tournament, fans around the state of Georgia had the privilege to see a number of great matchups throughout the state. With weather interfering slightly, fans benefited the most with the chance to see games on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Usually, state playoff games are played on the same day throughout the state.
The AAAAA bracket saw a number of highly recruited players face off against each other in match ups that were vey position friendly. Savannah Beach High School and University of South Carolina bound Monique Willis faced off with Douglass High School out of the Atlanta area and their heavily recruited junior guard Kaleedah Miller 5’11” G 2010. Willis was able to get the best of Miller and advance to the quarter finals. On the other side of the bracket, the number #1 in AAAAA for the state of Georgia, Parkview (Lilburn, GA) faced off against Milton High School (Milton, GA). Parkview is lead by 5' 11" 2010 wing Lauren Coleman, while Kristina Puthoff-King 5' 11" G 2010 and Tori Waldner C 2011 pace Milton.
While Parkview's combination of talent and execution was difficult for Milton's more open style of play to keep up with. Milton played Parkview tough throughout the first half thanks in part to great outside shooting from Waldner who stands at 6' 2". The second half belonged to Parkview who showed the ability to slow the game down, run offense and get great looks a the basket. Parkview guard 5’7” SG 2011 Katie Carroll was able to knock down open jumper after open jumper all night to help Parkview edge out Milton 59-47.
Down in the southern part of the state, the AAAA bracket saw a one point game between two of the regions more talked about players with Alexis Burke 5' 11" W 2010 of Bainbridge Harlem’s Eboni Wells 6' 3" C 2011. The older Burke was able to advance into the state quarter finals hedging out Bainbridge 58-57. SW DeKalb and Marist are still alive in AAAA.
With the AAA quarter-final completed, Carrolton is looking like the odds on favorite for this seasons AAA state title. Last week I thought Franklin County would stand in their way on their road to the final four, but Franklin County was upset at home in the first round. Now it is looking like the winner of a possible Baldwin, Dunwoody match up will battle Carrolton for the AAA final.
AA is shaping up as a showdown in Macon where AA favorite Buford High School will match up against Model High School (Rome, GA) who is undefeated so far this season. Buford's lone loss was to Marist who is still alive in the AAA state tournament. The smart money in the A bracket is one perennial state power Wesleyan High School (Norcross Ga.) Wesleyan was dominant at the AA level competing year in and year out for state titles. Now that they have moved down to the A level, they should cruise straight to Macon where they can keep with tradition and sing under the bleachers once again.
With two rounds completed, the GA high school basketball state tournament is well under way. With teams like West Lake, Duluth, Carrollton, Model, Wesleyan and Parkview still alive and with some of the state’s best players still competing for a chance to cut down the nets, with players such as Jen Heider, 6’3” C Marist High School, Alexis Burke and Kayla Lewis 5’10” SG SW DeKalb, Andraya Carter 5’8” PG Buford and 6” PF Moneisha Simmons from Millcreek High School. The players and the teams are ripe and ready to compete for a state championship. In the state of GA, with the talent and the teams that are still alive in our tournament, things are beginning to look very exciting for the GHSA state championships.