Both Social Circle basketball teams started playing their best basketball when it’s most desired — tournament season.
The girls, led by first-year head coach Gracie Brunel, beat five of seven area opponents during the regular season and opened the first round of the region tournament with a 61-24 rout of McNair on Feb. 13.
The boys, led by head coach Norman Jones, went on a five-game winning streak before falling to highly ranked Putnam County to end the regular season. They bounced back with a 51-45 win over Jasper County in the second round of the Region 4-A, Division I tournament on Feb. 12 after receiving a first-round bye as the area’s No. 4 seed.
For the Lady Redskins, play in the paint has been a big contributor to recent success.
Against the Lady Mustangs, Brunel’s team grabbed 51 total rebounds, 27 of which came as second-chance opportunities on the offensive end.
Senior Kara Taylor led the way with nine total boards, and Jermeria Cost and Kyla Head each snagged eight.
Junior guard Brielle Price was the Lady Redskins’ leading scorer with 15 points in that contest, as well. Taylor scored an additional 10 points, and the sophomore duo of A’Nyla Ward and Za’Niyah Stanley combined for 12.
A sophomore duo also came up big in the boys’ state-clinching victory.
Keanu Crump had a double-double in the Redskins’ win over the Hurricanes, scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Fellow sophomore Cayden Redd scored another 13 points on 50% shooting from beyond the arc.
They stepped up in place of the team’s captains, Tivan Branch and Leson Nelson, who were held to a combined 19 points and seven rebounds in the game.
Even though both Social Circle squads went on to lose their next region tournament matchup, their previous results were enough to get them in to the Georgia High School Association Class 1A, Division I tournament.
At the time of publication, the Redskins are the No. 38 team in their division, while the Lady Redskins are ascending from their No. 55 spot.
Brackets are scheduled to come out some time this weekend after every region tournament across the state is completed. By that time, private schools that are Class 3A and lower will be placed into their own tournament, which allows both Social Circle teams to jump up into the top 32.
Each Redskins squad hopes to avenge their respective first-round state playoff losses from a year ago. The girls fell to Model High School 64-31, and the boys got beat 70-39 by Rabun County.
The boys program, specifically, will look to end a three-year postseason drought since its infamous 30-win season in which a scoring error cost them a shot at a state title.
