Habersham Central kept their state championship hopes alive Friday night with dominant first-round playoff victories against Northside. The Lady Raiders secured a 38-27 win in their 5A matchup, while the boys cruised to a 66-43 victory.
Playing in front of an energized hometown crowd, the dual-region champion Raiders had plenty of support. Earlier in the day, the HCHS student body and the Band of Blue fired up the teams with a spirited hallway rally, setting the stage for an exciting night of basketball.
Next up for the Raiders, both teams face Brunswick at home on Saturday, Feb. 22. The girls game begins at 6 p.m., followed by the boys at 7:30 p.m.
The White County Lady Warriors will also be in action Friday as they go up against the Baldwin Braves from Milledgeville. On Feb. 18, the Lady Warriors trounced the Bainbridge Lady Bearcats, 74-34, to advance to the Sweet 16.
Georgia HS State Brackets – Girls
Georgia HS State Brackets – Boys
Sweet 16
The Raiders were among 17 Northeast Georgia area teams that made the playoffs. Fourteen of those teams are still dancing! Here are the Sweet 16 matchups.
GIRLS
CLASS 5A
#1 Habersham Central (14-11) vs #2 Brunswick (21-7)
CLASS 3A
#9 Jefferson (22-5) @ #8 Jenkins (18-8)
#10 White County (22-7) @ #7 Baldwin (22-6)
CLASS 2A
#16 Union County (19-11) @ #1 Murray County (27-1)
CLASS 1A DI
#2 Banks County (22-5) vs #15 Washington County (19-8)
#23 Rabun County (13-12) @ #7 Worth County (16-8)
GIAA 3A
#9 Tallulah Falls (9-15) @ Athens Christian (21-4) (ELITE 8)
BOYS
CLASS 5A
#1 Habersham Central (24-3) vs #2 Brunswick (22-4)
CLASS 3A
#15 Jefferson (18-7) vs #31 Peach County (11-15)
CLASS 2A
#6 Union County (23-5) vs #11 Westside-Macon (18-9)
CLASS 1A DI
#2 Rabun County (23-5) vs #15 BEST Academy (21-7)
#11 Commerce (19-9) @ #6 Putnam County (26-2)
#17 Banks County (16-11) @ #1 Southwest Macon (24-2)
GIAA 3A
#8 Tallulah Falls (16-11) @ #1 St. Anne-Pacelli (25-0)
Brian Carter of BLITZ Sports and Jaymi Crawford of WRWH Radio contributed to this report
