Advertisement

Local trio of teams plays in girls basketball Elite 8 Tuesday

daniel mayes, the daily citizen, dalton, ga.
·4 min read

Feb. 27—Christian Heritage plays at Montgomery County in Class A DII quarterfinals

Just two years removed from an 0-19 season, the Christian Heritage School girls basketball team has matched the program's deepest playoff run in program history.

Like the 2018 squad, this year's Lady Lions (18-11) are in the state's Elite 8.

Now, this group will try to do what that group — or any other in school history — couldn't: Reach the state semifinals.

Standing in the way is Montgomery County. Christian Heritage plays at Montgomery County (28-1) in Mount Vernon at 6 p.m. tonight in the Class A DII quarterfinals.

Christian Heritage, with a second-seeded finish in Region 7-A DII, knocked off Macon County 57-50 at home in the first round before moving on to down Region 8 champion Lake Oconee Academy on the road in the second round.

But, Region 3 champ Montgomery County provides the biggest challenge yet. The Eagles are 28-1 on the year. A 71-45 dispatching of Charlton County in the first round was followed by a 58-43 win over Early County in the second round.

Should first-year head coach Josh Hembree and the Lady Lions pull off another road playoff win, they'd advance to the Final Four to play either Clinch County or Chattahoochee County on Friday at 1 p.m. at Fort Valley State University.

Dalton plays travels to Arabia Mountain in 5A Elite 8

In 2022, Dalton reached the state playoffs. In 2023, Dalton reached the second round. Now, in 2024, the Lady Catamounts are in the third round — the state quarterfinals, or, Elite 8.

That incremental progress over the last three seasons has left the Lady Cats in a spot they haven't been in since 2011. But, why stop there?

Dalton plays at Lithonia's Arabia Mountain tonight at 6 p.m. in the Class 5A state quarterfinals.

Dalton (20-9), the Region 7-5A champion, cruised by Northview 56-32 in the first round and defeated Creekside 70-60 in the second. Arabia Mountain is the Region 4-5A champion and won the right to host the game thanks to the GHSA's universal coin toss, which determined that the team on the bottom side of the bracket would get to host quarterfinal games in which equal seeds meet.

Arabia Mountain (26-2) went through region play undefeated, then took down Jenkins 62-42 in the first round of the 5A playoffs and Eagles Landing 58-46 in the second.

Arabia Mountain was also a state quarterfinalist last season.

With a win, Dalton would advance to the state semis to play either Midtown or Jones County on Friday at 5 p.m. at the University of West Georgia.

Murray County is at Augusta's Butler, looking for first semifinal appearance since 1966

The Murray County girls basketball program has grown accustomed lately to checking off accomplishments that haven't been seen at the program in 50-plus years.

Last season, the Lady Indians won a region title for the first time 1967. When Murray beat Union County in the 2A Sweet 16 on Friday, it marked the first time the program had clinched back-to-back appearances in the state quarterfinals since 1966 and 1967.

If Murray County can win one more game tonight, the Lady Indians will have done something no team has in the program since 1966: Reach the state semifinals. Last year's team met its end in the Elite 8. This year's hopes to take the next step.

Murray County (23-6) plays at Butler (21-9) in Augusta at 6 p.m. tonight in the Class 2A state quarterfinals. Murray, the Region 7-2A champion, will travel to Region 4-2A champ Butler because the GHSA's universal coin toss determined that teams on the bottom half of the bracket would host Elite 8 games in which similar seeds met.

In the first round, Murray's offense exploded in a 70-34 win over Washington. In the second, the Lady Indians relied on their defense in a 46-41 win over Union County. Butler beat Fitzgerald 57-42 in the first round, then took down Tattnall County 64-47 in the second.

If the Lady Indians down Butler, they'd play either Mount Paran Christian or Dodge County in the state semifinals Saturday at 5 p.m. at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville.