The dust has settled from last week’s region basketball tournaments and the area has produced three region championship teams, a region runner-up and eight teams total headed to the state tournaments this weekend.

Fayette County’s boys won the region 2-AAAA championship by defeating McIntosh 66-45 on Friday and Westlake 72-68 on Saturday. Noel Johnson was the leading scorer in those two games for the Tigers with 18 points against McIntosh and 25 against Westlake. Cuincy Carruthers had 13 points on Friday and 10 on Saturday, while Derrick Walker added 12 and Brandon Boykin chipped in 11.

The Tigers (23-5) will host the Ware County Gators (17-9) on Saturday. Fayette County has won 11 games in a row while the Gators have lost five of their last six games. Ware County did put together an eight game winning streak this season, not losing a game in January.

The Lady Tigers (20-6) won the region championship by beating Woodward Academy 40-37 on Friday and Westlake 69-65 in four overtimes on Saturday. Tessah Holt and Kristene Walker each had 10 against Woodward. Holt led the team with 26 points against Westlake, while Sasha Sims and Walker each added 14. Saturday’s win featured a 13 point fourth quarter comeback.

Fayette County will host Effingham County’s Lady Rebels (11-7) on Friday. The Lady Tigers have won seven games in a row and have yet to lose this month. Effingham County had won eight games in a row before losing their last two games.

Landmark Christian’s Lady War Eagles won the region 5-A championship by defeating St. Francis 52-39 on Friday and Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy 51-48 on Saturday. Sisters Christian and Diamond Hunnicutt were dominant in those games. Diamond and Christian each scored 16 points in Friday’s win and Christian scored 21 and Diamond had 20 in Saturday’s win. Landmark has won 16 games in a row. They will host the Lakeview Academy Lady Lions (15-10) at 6 p.m. on Friday. Lakeview Academy has gone 6-2 over their last eight games.

Sandy Creek’s Lady Patriots (21-5) defeated Central,Carroll 48-36 on Friday but lost to Carrollton 41-33 on Saturday in the region championship game. Lynsey Paschal scored 15 points in Saturday’s loss. As the region runner-up in 6-AAA, Sandy Creek will host North Hall on Friday, the third seed from 7-AAA. Sandy Creek has won five of their last seven games, while North Hall (17-11) has gone 4-3.

The other four local teams going to the state playoffs will be on the road. Whitewater’s boys (17-11) defeated McIntosh (11-16) 54-45 in the region consolation game on Saturday, capturing the third seed. The Wildcats were led by 14 points and nine rebounds from Stephen Sargent and 12 points and eight rebounds from Zach Scurry, while Trey Scales scored 10 points and Jay Bright added nine.

The Wildcats will play at Statesboro on Saturday night, while the Chiefs will play at Richmond Academy (19-9).

The Starr’s Mill girls(11-17) fell to Westlake 31-28 on Friday and then lost to Woodward Academy 51-28 on Saturday in the region consolation game. The Lady Panthers are 2-3 over their last five games. They will travel to take on the Greenbrier Lady Wolfpack (28-0) on Friday. Greenbrier has only won two games by a margin of less than 10 points and they were both to Richmond Academy.

The Landmark Christian School varsity boys team (10-17) captured third place in the region with a 47-43 win over St. Francis. They have gone 3-2 over their last five games and will play at Tallulah Falls on Saturday. The Indians (15-13) have also gone 3-2 over their last five games.

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