Eight northeast Georgia area girls teams will try to keep their title hopes alive on Friday in the second round of the Georgia High School Association and quarterfinals of the GIAA playoffs.
And if the saying, ‘There’s no place like home!’ is true, six of the eight looks to be in prime position to move on, including six region champions -- Buford in Class 7A, North Forsyth in Class 6A, Jefferson in Class 5A, Chestatee in Class 4A, and Banks County in Class 2A-- with only Dawson County in Class 3A facing a true road game. White County also will be at home in Class 3A despite being a No. 3 seed.
Rabun County in Class A Division 1 will also be at home but will be playing a doubleheader with the boys on Saturday. They all have plenty to play for as the coin toss for the quarterfinal round landed in their favor and all, except White County, will be at home in the Elite 8 round if they can win this weekend..
Lakeview Academy in Class 3A GIAA is the No. 1 overall seed and will play a neutral-site game at Tattnall Square in Macon for a spot in the Final Four.
One of the more interesting matchups will have Cartersville traveling to take on Jefferson in a Class 5A rematch of a first-round showdown in 2023 -- a 53-44 upset win for the Lady Hurricanes at The Arena.
Jefferson coach Greg Brown is not taking anything for granted.
"We have a very tough opponent coming to our place,” Brown said. “We know we are going to have to bring great energy and focus."
The Lady Dragons (25-3) come in riding an 11-game win streak and are looking for their seventh trip to the Elite 8 in seven years. Cartersville (16-12) is looking for its first trip to the quarterfinals since 2011.
Another intriguing matchup has North Forsyth playing host to Sequoyah in Coal Mountain. The Lady Raiders (26-0) are one of just two unbeaten teams left in the entire GHSA and have been ranked No. 2 for most of the season in Class 6A.
However, they were in the exact same spot last year and dropped a 59-46 decision to the Lady Chiefs. In fact, North Forsyth is still looking for their first win over Sequoyah (19-9) since 2013 (0-3 in that span).
Lady Raiders coach Brad Kudlas knows the challenges.
“Sequoyah is a very well-coached team. Coach (Chris) Yarbrough does a tremendous job of preparing his girls every year, and this season is no different,” Kudlas said. “At this point in the tournament, everyone still playing has good reasons for being here.
“We are going to have to play a complete game in order to win. Our defensive effort has to be strong, we have to communicate well, and we have to limit the good looks for their shooters. Of course, it will help if we have a great shooting night as well.”
Buford is playing host to North Gwinnett in Class 7A. The Lady Wolves (25-3) should be a prohibitive favorite at The Buford Arena against their nearby rivals. The Lady Bulldogs (16-13) were just 1-2 vs. Region 8-7A during the regular season but have won 6 of their last 8 games overall.
Buford coach Gene Durden said his group, which advanced to the 7A semifinals in 2023, is peaking at the right time but is only focused on Friday.
“We are playing well coming off winning the region tournament and getting a double-digit win in the first round,” he said. “But now we need to take it one game at a time and hopefully continue to play our style of ball. (North Gwinnett) can shoot it well, so we must defend and make it a pressure-packed game.”
Rabun County is just two years removed from playing for a Class 2A state title. However, they were knocked off in the second round in 2023.
The Lady Wildcats (22-6) have won five straight, including a win over then-No. 3 Athens Christian in the Region 8-A D1 finals. Mount Pisgah (16-12) has not advanced past the second round since 2015.
Longtime coach DeeDee Dillard brings an experienced group into their showdown on Saturday.
"We played well in the first round, and fortunately, everyone got to play and experience a state playoff atmosphere, which will hopefully help us down the road,” Dillard said after a 31-point win over Jasper County in the first round. "Mount Pisgah is a very good team, and we will have to have a stellar defensive performance as well as a good shooting night to pull off a win."
(Below is the full schedule of playoff games on Friday for teams in the AccessWDUN coverage area.)
2nd ROUND BASKETBALL SCHEDULE, Friday, Feb. 23
GIRLS
CLASS 7A
North Gwinnett (Region 7, Seed 2) at Buford (R8, S1), 6 p.m. -- WDUN AM 550/102.9 FM
CLASS 6A
Sequoyah (R6, S3) at North Forsyth (R8, S1), 6 p.m.
CLASS 5A
Cartersville at Jefferson (R8, S1), 6 p.m.
CLASS 4A
Heritage-Catoosa (R7, S2) at Chestatee (R8, S1), 6:30 p.m. -- 94.5 FM The Lake
CLASS 3A
Dawson County (R7, S4) at Hart County (R8, S3), 6 p.m.
Franklin County (R8, S4) at White County (R7, S3), 6 p.m.
CLASS 2A
Model (R7, S2) at Banks County (R8, S1), 7 p.m.
GIAA CLASS 3A QUARTERFINALS (at Tattnall Square, Macon)
Lakeview Academy (1) vs. Brookwood (8), 7:30 p.m.
