With a talented, senior-laden lineup, Redan’s girls appear to be the team to beat in AAAA. But two-time defending state champion Columbia isn’t going to make it easy.
Redan built a 22-point halftime lead, but had to hold on for a 75-74 win over Columbia on Friday.
“We were hot in the first half,” said Redan coach Jerry Jackson. “They got hot in the second half.”
Redan (14-0, 2-0 Region 6-AAAA) is the only undefeated AAAA girls team in the state.
Columbia hosts Redan in the rematch Jan. 18
--Region 5-AAAA, the classification’s toughest region in football, also is setting up to be one of the top AAAA boys basketball regions. The region features the No. 2- and No. 3-ranked teams in Sandy Creek and Fayette County respectively. But it was unranked Alexander that sat atop the region at 3-0, after a 67-44 win over LaGrange on Friday. Sandy Creek hosted Alexander on Saturday night.
--Tylik Evans hit all five of Rutland’s 3-pointers and finished with 26 points in the Hurricanes’ win over Perry. No. 6 Rutland is tied with Veterans atop Region 2-AAAA. Veterans won at Rutland, 51-50, on Dec. 3. The second meeting is slated for Friday.
Evans hit a game-winning 3-pointer to give Rutland the region championship last season.
--The Chestatee girls, who have reached the Sweet 16 four out of the past five seasons, are poised to make another run. The War Eagles improved to 14-3 and 2-0 in Region 8-AAAA with a 55-31 win over Monroe Area on Friday.
--Veterans girls came from behind in the final minutes to hand No. 3 Mary Person its first region loss in a 38-34 upset Friday.
