The high school basketball’s postseason begins in earnest on Monday as region tournaments kick off on the Georgia side of the CSRA and the South Carolina High School League starts its state tournament action.
Before we get to it, here’s how we’re ranking the top 10 girls and boys teams in the area, regardless of classification. Watch for region tournament and state tournament schedules to post later Monday.
CSRA GIRLS TOP 10
1. Josey (23-2, 14-0)
Since the 2015-16 season, Josey’s been one of the most stalwart programs in Class AA. During that time, the Lady Eagles never finished lower than third place in region standings, including the 2021 season when coach Jawan Bailey led Josey to its first state title (Class AA) since winning the Class AAA crown in 1998. But after a Region 4-AA finale win against Glenn Hills on senior night, current Josey head coach Nichelle Chapman has accomplished something that even those past championship squads did not — an undefeated regular season region record.
2. Cross Creek (20-4, 10-0)
Speaking of championship pedigree, Cross Creek’s regular season region crown was made possible by a hungry senior class led by one of the best point guards in the state, regardless of classification, in Michaela Bogans. The Morgan State-bound senior is playing her best ball of the season at the right time while averaging 17 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals per game. Her senior counterpart Tahjae Hawes (16.9 ppg, 7 rpg) isn’t far behind. After a 47-45 non-region loss against Grovetown just before Christmas, the Lady Razorbacks won their last 14 games of the regular season. Bogans has said multiple times throughout the season that she wants desperately to leave Cross Creek the same way she came — as a state champion.
3. North Augusta (21-5, 8-0)
Fresh off last seasons South Carolina High School League Class AAAA state title, and the departure of certain standouts such as P’eris Smith, now a freshman at Campbell University, some may have wondered if it would be a rebuilding year of sorts for the Lady Yellow Jackets. But North Augusta captured another region crown after finishing the regular season with a 69-44 win over Aiken Thursday, making this season look more like a reload. That’s 11 straight wins, most of which coming in blowout fashion. The crazy part is the team’s highest scorers are freshman Ashley Walker and sophomore Celena Grant, which means the Jackets are set to be state title contenders once again this year and for the next several seasons to come.
4. Silver Bluff (20-1, 8-0)
On Dec. 1, Silver Bluff fell in heartbreaking fashion to Richmond Academy, 54-51. It was the Lady Bulldogs’ first loss of the season, and would be the last. Five-foot-10 senior Krystal John on and 5-foot-5 senior Ahminah Taylor have been ultra impressive in helping Silver Bluff look the part of being the best Class AA squad in South Carolina.
5. Thomson (21-3, 12-2)
Much has been made of the success of the Thomson boys basketball team this season, but the girls squad may have just as good a chance of bringing a basketball state championship trophy back to McDuffie County. Junior Jada Kendrick has been dominant and well-rounded with her 18.5 points and nine boards per contest. She’s also dishing out 2.5 assists and recording four steals a night. Two of Thomson’s three losses came at the hands of Region 4-AA top seed Josey. Those were classic contests, with Josey winning the first matchup 57-56 back on Jan. 12 then the second 53-50 at Thomson. That latter win clinched home court for Josey during the region tournament. Safe to say it’s prudent to expect those two teams to see each other again in the next few days — and maybe in March.
6. Lakeside (20-5, 9-3)
Arguably no team in the CSRA has made a more impressive one-season turnaround than the Lady Panthers. From last year’s 14-11 overall finish and 6-6 Region 2-AAAAAA mark that caused Lakeside to barely sneak into the postseason to this year’s 20-win squad that wouldn’t surprise anyone if it made a championship run during the region tournament. Given the three region losses by a combined point differential of 12 points — two of those came in narrow setbacks to region-leading Glynn Academy — Lakeside looks just as dangerous in the postseason as any team in the area. It will take a six-game winning streak into Monday’s 7:30 p.m. region tournament game against crosstown rival Evans.
7. Butler (16-9, 10-4)
The Lady Bulldogs have had a solid two-year run, including top-3 region finishes and state tournament appearances. That’s saying something given how stacked their region has been, especially this season with Thomson and Josey — two legitimate state title contenders — sharing space with them. Still, Butler has held its own as the unquestioned third best team in Region 4-AA, and the Lady Bulldogs boast one of the highest scoring players in the CSRA also in junior Brayla Harris. The 5-foot-7 combo guard averages 20.1 points per contest to go along with 5.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and more than three steals each time out. Having that kid of a scorer on your roster makes you a tough out any night, especially if Harris gets hot like she did when she poured in 31 in a lopsided win against Westside or when she scored 22 in Butler’s 42-39 loss to Josey on Jan. 30.
8. Westminster (17-4, 5-2)
Speaking of high-scoring guards, Westminster’s India Williams is one of the top scorers in the area already as a sophomore. The 5-foot-9 guard has scored almost 24 points per game for the Wildcats, and she’s already eclipsed the 1,000 career points milestone despite her short time on the court. Williams is joined with junior Jaliyah Terry (16 ppg) to make up one of the most potent backcourts in the CSRA.
9. Augusta Christian (19-7, 3-4)
It’s been a bit of an up-and-down season for the Lady Lions who started the season on the high note of a six-game winning streak. A late November loss to Lakeside ended that, but Augusta Christian ripped seven more consecutive victories before hitting a three-game skid after the Christmas break. Then in mid-January, the Lady Lions dropped two 20-point losses to Heathwood Hall Episcopal and Hammond, the top two teams in their region. They closed out regular season play strong, winning four of its last five with the only loss coming last Thursday to Hammond. The Lions have generally played solid defense this season, but lack a bit of scoring punch. But hitting the 70-point mark in two of its last five games of the season could be a sign that Augusta Christian’s offense is peaking at the right time.
10. Warren County (18-5, 9-3)
Warren County’s 18 wins are the most since the 2012-13 season when that Screaming Eagles bunch finished 17-9 (including the postseason). After that campaign, Warren County suffered through nine straight losing seasons before a 15-10 mark and Class A state tournament berth last year. This young squad has matured and features a pair of sophomores in Courtney Bray (19.1 ppg) and Jailee Allen (16.4 ppg) who lead Warren’s scoring charge. Winners of the last four games of the season, Warren County defeated those opponents by an average margin of defeat of 25 points per game.
Just Missed: Burke County, Richmond Academy, Aiken, Alleluia, Washington County.
CSRA BOYS TOP 10
1. Westside (21-4, 12-2)
Many may say that Thomson should be at the No. 1 spot with Westside trailing at No. 2 by virtue of the Bulldogs having fewer losses and split the two-game regular season series with the Patriots. But Westside is the defending state champion two times over, and haven’t done much to show that it can’t contend for a three-peat this season. Despite losing close to 70% of its offense from the last two title squads, this young Patriot bunch has been buoyed by the stellar play of senior point guard Demarco Middleton who has upgraded his game in a major way from scoring to vocality. Having former Thomson standout Lavonta Ivery as a backcourt mate helps. So too does the emergence of junior Jarious Adkinson.
2. Thomson (20-2, 12-2)
For as good a season as Thomson has had this year, it can’t be overlooked that the Bulldogs went 0-2 down the stretch against the other two best teams in the region. That includes Friday’s regular season finale thud — a 72-53 loss at Butler. But this could be Thomson’s best chance to win a state title, given that it’s already proven itself capable of taking down Westside. Also, the Class AA slate outside of Region 4-AA is solid with teams like perennial power Columbia and Toombs County, but not overwhelming. Jahkiaus Jones and Daquon Young, both seniors, have been pushing this team all season long with few showing the ability to provide an answer for their prowess. That should continue for much, if not all, of the postseason.
3. Butler (19-5, 11-3)
When we talk about surprise teams of the season, Butler may be at the top of the list — not because it hasn’t been a good program. On the contrary, the Bulldogs are actually one of the most consistent hoops programs in the CSRA. But much of that comes from coaching continuity. Cervantes Boddy was there for over a decade, contending for state championships literally from the start of his tenure. He stepped aside after last season to make way for first-time varsity head coach and long-time Boddy disciple Chaz Clark. Usually those kinds of coaching shifts — no matter how smooth — create a little “drop off” factor in the program’s success. Not so with this one. Butler’s probably considered a major Class AA and Region 4-AA tournament sleeper because it has knocked off both Westside and Thomson at least once in the regular season, with a somewhat surprisingly lopsided win against the other Bulldogs Friday. Both of those wins came in the final week of the regular season which means Butler might be peaking at the right time.
4. Cross Creek (16-9, 8-2)
It’s been a bit of a topsy-turvy season for the Razorbacks, but if the CSRA and the state of Georgia has learned anything over the last four years it is to never count out a Lawrence Kelly-coached team. The roster this year has been young, littered with a few unproven players on the varsity level. And that showed in spots this season. But so too did the potential. Cross Creek went 7-3 in its last 10 games of the season, including a four-game winning streak in the middle of January and a two-game streak to close out the regular season. Kyle Clark, Jaden Priester and Quaver Henry have been stable, solid performers. Freshmen like Frashad Tisby and Derrick Shine have shown excellence in spurts. The Razorbacks will be stiffly challenged though in the Region 4-AAA tournament by top-10 ranked Salem (No. 10) and Richmond Academy (No.7).
5. Richmond Academy (18-5, 7-3)
Speaking of Richmond Academy and surprise teams for the 2023-24 season, the Musketeers have emerged as one of the area’s best feel-good basketball stories. Let’s put it into perspective. Between the 2019-20 and 2022-23 seasons, ARC won a total of 19 games. This season’s team needs just one more win to match, in one season, the program’s total number of wins in the last four seasons combined. Cross Creek bested them twice in the regular season in two closely contested ball games. But anyone will tell you it’s hard to beat a solid team three times in one season. Like Butler in Region 4-AA, don’t be surprised to see Richmond emerging as the sleeper champion in Region 4-AAA’s tournament.
6. North Augusta (19-7, 8-0)
The first glimpse of the Yellow Jackets we got was early in the season when it looked like North Augusta would pull off the upset of top-ranked Westside. Since then, North Augusta has proven throughout the season that it is as tough of a team to beat as any other squad in the CSRA. One point loss to Westside. One point win to Cross Creek. Undefeated Region 4-AAAA season with a region crown. A 7-game winning streak to end the regular season. It all spells good momentum for win North Augusta opens SCHSL state tournament play by hosting Berea (8-15) Wednesday.
7. Grovetown (16-9, 10-2)
It seems like early on, people forgot about Grovetown. And knowing coach Darren Douglas, that was probably fine with him. After starting the season 1-4 and void of some of the star power the previous two or three Grovetown squads were accustomed to, it would’ve felt comfortable to write the Warriors off, but things started to shift for Grovetown after a 52-44 Dec. 2 loss to Butler. By the end of December, the Warriors were beginning a nine-game win streak, also winning 12 of the last 14 with losses only to Region 2-AAAAAA foes Glynn Academy (21-4, 10-2) and Effingham County (12-11, 7-5). Grovetown finished on top of the region’s regular season standings along with Glynn Academy. Given the overall balance of this region’s teams, it ought to be one of the more entertaining region tournaments involving area teams this week.
8. Thurmond (20-6, 7-1)
Seniors Quan Edmond and Roosevelt Walker have helped make the Rebels a solid squad and tough out in the SCHSL Class AA state tournament. Fox Creek found a way to grab the region crown after knocking off the Rebels 62-46 on the last game of the regular season. Thurmond will have a chance to bounce back from that in Tuesday’s first round state tournament game against Eau Claire (8-16) at 7 p.m. at Thurmond.
9. Warren County (19-5, 11-3)
When you win 14 out of the last 15 games of the regular season, you should absolutely be considered a favorite in both region and state tournament action. That’s quite a ways from when the Screaming Devils dropped three straight — two in region — during the middle of December. That stat seemed to shift the way Warren County treated the rest of the season, though. It’s a young team that’s going into the postseason now, with a freshman, a sophomore and a couple of juniors lead the charge scoring wise. According to the Maxpreps.com roster, there’s just one senior on the entire team. So however far the Devils go this postseason, count on the potential for more in the next couple of years.
10. Augusta Christian (19-7, 5-1)
Westside isn’t the only team in the area looking for a three-peat. The Lions start SCISA Region 1-AAAA’s tournament against Heathwood Hall Episcopal Church (7-16) Monday at 7:30 p.m. Consider it the first step in Augusta Christian’s quest for a third straight SCISA Class AAAA crown.
Just Missed: Burke County, Augusta Prep, Fox Creek, Lakeside
