By MICHAEL BOYLAN

Sports Editor

Sub-Region play begins tonight for high school basketball teams across the state. Everything up to this point has been a preview of what is to come. The McIntosh Lady Chiefs look to be one of the stronger teams in region 4-AAAA. They have played exceptionally well in their holiday tournaments, facing the top ranked team in the country, Butler, Ala., over the christmas break. The Lady Chiefs lost the game but they know that they can compete on that level. The Lady Chiefs rely heavily on their athleticism, speed and the three-pointer. If you start falling behind to McIntosh, you may never catch up. McIntosh travels to Lovejoy on Tuesday night.

The Fayette County Lady Tigers have some big players who have a habit of coming up big when it is needed most. Senior Jessica Pritchett leads the team in the post and it appears she is molding her sister, Carrie and sophomore Kara Davis in her image as well. Becca Grizzard and Abby Snauewaert contol the tempo of the game from the guard positions and if they are shooting well, the Tigers can beat anybody. They took second place in the Fayette Shoot-out last week. The Lady Tigers will face Stockbridge at Stockbridge High School on Tuesday night.

Sandy Creek is coming along for Coach Doug Crane but there are still miles to go before they sleep...so to speak. The Patriots have been working on their fundamentals and positive things are happening. Freshmen Jessica Demooney and Maya Hughes have shown a lot of poise and maturity in their play of late. Ashley Lott is playing well in the post position, scoring early and making a number of rebounds. The Patriots get better with every game and their defensive pressure has caused a number of turnovers. Sandy Creek will continue to gel as the season progresses and may be a thorn in some team's side when the tournament rolls around. Sandy Creek travels to Jonesboro on Tuesday night and plays four games in seven days.

The Starr's Mill Panthers are off to a decent start this season, despite the fact that there are no seniors on the team and this is their first season of varsity play ever. Jamie Vining is leading the Lady Panthers as a point guard and C.C. Shipmon, a transfer from Sandy Creek, is getting her share of points and rebounds as well. It will be a difficult season for Starr's Mill but they are not shirking away from the tough competition. In the end, they will be a better team based on the srength of their opponents. The Panthers travel to Woodward Academy for a battle on Friday night and then play host to Jonesboro on Saturday night.

As for the boys, the Starr's Mill Panthers are coming along well. The team is led in scoring by Brandon Alexander, who is averaging 15 points and seven rebounds over the last three games. The Panthers will need to play aggressive and unafraid if they are to be successful this season.

Sandy Creek is a very young but talented team. L.T.Lockett is an exceptional ball handler and shooter. Lockett's best attribute however is his skill at finding his teammates. Coach Rick Francis believes Lockett will only get better. There is not one opponent that Sandy Creek fears more than any other. Confidence can often be the most integral part of success. The Patriots can be explosive but they have also fallen flat several times, causing them to fall behind and lose games. Sandy Creek will mature as a team and Lockett will mature into a leader that will take the Patriots deep in years to come.

The Fayette County Tigers have been their own toughest competition this season. One night they will shoot the lights out and bury teams by dozens of points, the next night they will have every ball hit the rim and bounce out. William Moore and Andrew Doggendorf are both stepping up their play and becoming more aggressive defensively and as shooters. Coach Keith Louthan believes that his team has been very balanced scoring and has been good at beating the pressure. The Tigers must contest their opponents vision however, and they must cut down on their turnovers. The Tigers face Stockbridge on Tuesday, as they prepare to host the McIntosh Chiefs on Friday night.

As for the McIntosh Chiefs, they just keep rolling along. Michael Patrick and Jim Hanchett have got Chiefs fans super excited for sub-region play. Patrick is averaging 21 points and five rebounds a game this year and his play with Hanchett is inspiring. The Chiefs shoot well, they defend well and they play together well. McIntosh, like every team in 4-AAAA, will have to go through Griffin to reach the state tournament. The Chiefs have been preparing for that inevitable showdown all season. After a four game road trip that will take the Chiefs through Griffin, they will enjoy a seven game home stand a week before the regional tournament.

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