Newton's girls' basketball team has won its last three Region 2-AAAAAA games, as the second half of league play begins today.
The Lady Rams' only region loss was at cross-town rival Alcovy for the first 2-AAAAAA game of the year. Newton hosts Alcovy Jan. 25 for a chance at redemption after traveling to Lovejoy today. The Lady Rams have won four straight games, dating back to a 68-52 loss to Blount in the Dwight Madison Classic in Alabama Dec. 27.
The Alcovy Lady Tigers are leading Region 2-AAAAAA with an unbeaten 6-0 record. Alcovy has won four straight overall and continues region play at Druid Hills Friday.
Including a two-point win over Luella on Tuesday, Alcovy has won each of its six region matchups by an average of 22.6 points per game.
The Eastside girls' team is also unbeaten in region play with a 3-0 record. The Lady Eagles are one of three teams without a loss in league play, including Stephens County and Chestatee.
Eastside's three wins have come in its last three games, a 63-20 victory over Monroe Area, a 51-35 win at Lumpkin County and a 78-44 win at Walnut Grove.
On the boys' side, Alcovy and Newton snapped losing streaks as the second half of the region season gets underway.
Newton was 2-4 through the first go around and will now get second chances at victories as well as a chance to improve seeding for the region tournament. The Rams look to avenge a loss to Lovejoy today, before hosting Rockdale Feb. 1, and traveling to Luella and Morrow on Tuesday and Feb. 5, respectively.
"I told my guys I don't care about region standings; I want to be hot at the end of the year," Newton boys' basketball coach Rick Rasmussen said.
Alcovy begins its second half of region play with a different look as Michael Tucker returns to the Tigers for the final games of the 2012-13 season.
Alcovy went through the first part of league play with just two wins and will look to pick up victories over teams that came out winners in the season's first month and a half.
It starts by hosting Morrow Tuesday before a rematch at Newton on Jan. 25, and a chance to rebound from a 30-point loss to Lovejoy, at its place Jan. 29.
The Rams and Tigers are currently tied in region play with Lovejoy for fourth place in 2-AAAAAA, two games behind 4-2 Morrow. Luella leads the region with its only loss coming to Alcovy Tuesday. Rockdale, which has won five straight, is currently second with a 4-1 record.
Eastside boys' basketball enters the second-half of the Region 8-AAAA schedule with an unblemished record in league play before Friday's matchup against fellow 8-AAAA unbeaten Chestatee. Quindarrious Russell and Anthony Henderson come out of the first half, leading the region with 17.8 and 16 points per game, respectively.
The Eagles then host Henry County and Stephens County in back-to-back home games Saturday and Tuesday. Eastside is one of four unbeaten teams in region play, along with Lanier, Johnson and Chestatee.
