COVINGTON, Ga. — After a 2022-23 local basketball scene that was constantly making noise, four of the eight area teams saw their seasons end this week. 

Eastside Girls of Region 8-AAAAA

A promising season came to an abrupt end this week for the Eastside girls basketball team. In the quarter finals of the Region 8-AAAAA tournament, the Lady Eagles lost to Heritage 40-33 at Winder-Barrow High School. 

It was Eastside’s second consecutive loss to Heritage after defeating the Lady Patriots 65-62 in overtime on Dec. 13. 

But the Lady Eagles still had a rebound year following a down year for the program. 

They finished 13-11 overall with a 6-6 regular season region record. Eastside entered the region tournament as the No. 4 seed, as a result. 

A season ago, the Lady Eagles finished at 6-16 with a sixth place 4-10 Region 8-AAAAA record. 

Eastside picked up a few key wins, too, this year. 

The Lady Eagles won both games over in-county rival Newton as well as earning the season sweep of Social Circle. They also ended the regular season on a six-game winning streak, which included a 17-point comeback over Jefferson, a one-point victory at Flowery Branch and a 40-point triumph against Winder-Barrow. 

This go round, Eastside were led by a wide array of individuals who spanned classes. 

Sophomore Jailyn Williams led the team with 10.8 points. Freshman Donee Morain had a team-high 4.8 rebound per game average with junior Kaliel Kracht coming in a close second at 4.2. 

So, despite losing five seniors — Mehkyla White, Jasmine Featherstone, Tylah Sellars, Nadia Hills and Leila Powell — the Lady Eagles expect to return eight underclassmen. 

But the Lady Eagles’ fans will have to wait until next season to see what the young talent produces on the court moving forward. 

Newton Girls of Region 4-AAAAAAA

The Newton girls basketball team had a sizable down year compared to the program’s recent standards. The Lady Rams finished at 3-22 overall with a 0-10 record in Region 4-AAAAAAA. 

Newton’s season concluded on Tuesday afternoon in the region tournament — hosted at Newton High — when the Lady Rams lost to Grayson 62-23. 

Nevertheless, Newton had some close calls along the way. 

In eight of the team’s 22 defeats, the Lady Rams lost by 10 or fewer points, one of which was a 41-33 loss to South Gwinnett on Jan. 6. 

That was Newton’s closest loss to a region opponent as well. 

The Lady Rams’ had three wins on the year, too. They won over Cedar Grove on Dec. 17 45-20, a 59-42 victory against McDonough on Dec. 27 as well as a 40-26 victory over Community Christian on Dec. 29. 

One of the silver linings for this year’s team, however, is the amount of young talent that developed this season. 

Newton will only graduate two seniors — Derrinique White and Kourtney Sherrod — and will expect 11 players to be back next year. 

Of those 11, two players led the team in a few categories. 

First, freshman Zoey Jackson averaged a team-high 10 points and 2.7 steals per game. She also recorded the highest field goal percentage (38%) and three-point shooting percentage (26%). 

Sophomore Alissa Sandifer led the team in her own way. She averaged the most assists (2.1) and blocks (0.6) per game. Sandifer did that while registering a 70% free throw percentage, which was the highest for the Lady Rams. 

With the amount of returning production alongside a new head coach in Jawan Bailey, the Lady Rams seemed destined for a turnaround in the coming years. 

Alcovy Boys of Region 3-AAAAAA

Alcovy boys basketball’s postseason run was short lived as the Tigers suffered a 54-50 defeat against the Rockdale County Bulldogs. As a result, Alcovy was eliminated from the Region 3-AAAAAA tournament and did not qualify for the playoffs. 

The Tigers end the 2022-23 season 9-17 overall with a 6-8 record in their region slate, which placed them No. 4 in the standings. 

Alcovy defeated region opponents Rockdale County in the first matchup, swept Forest Park, beat Morrow, Lovejoy and Mundy’s Mill. 

Other notable wins include a 68-55 win over Social Circle at home on Dec. 20, a 92-67 win against Lamar County on Dec. 30 and a seven-point win at Glenns Hill New Year’s Eve. 

One of the main reasons for a brighter future with Tigers basketball is the young core that is expected to return. 

Only two seniors — Kendarrius Spear and Isaiah Wooden — will graduate from the program. However, sophomore Nick Durham is expected to return next year for his junior season. Then, there’s the two freshmen Alcovy’s coaching staff has been high on before this season commenced — Andre Jernigan and Jakori Pinelle. 

All of the players will expectedly return to help continue the Tigers program push to the state playoffs. 

Alcovy Girls of Region 3-AAAAAA

The Lady Tigers’ season conclusion was in the first round of the Region 3-AAAAAA tournament against Rockdale County. Alcovy lost 81-30 on Saturday, Feb. 11. 

Its final record was 13-12 overall with a fifth place 5-10 record in region play. 

Alcovy’s leading scorer was junior Luv Llewellyn averaging 9.7 points along with a team-high 9.3 rebounds per game. Senior Tajah Jackson averaged the most assists with 2.5 while sophomore Janae Hutcherson led the Lady Tigers with 2.6 steals per game.  

Eight seniors will graduate from the program and Llewellyn is expected to be the lone senior on next year’s squad. 

However, there are five underclassmen expected to return next season to help contribute to the Lady Tigers’ program moving forward.