Big basketball match right before Christmas break

The basketball season will slow down a bit over the holidays but there is a great game on tap right before the break. McIntosh will host Sandy Creek on Saturday (4:30 and 6 p.m.). Both games should be competitive but the girls game has the potential to be great.

The Lady Chiefs (10-1) have won seven games in a row and the narrowest margin of victory in that span was 12 points (43-31 over Drew). Last week McIntosh defeated Union Grove (65-30), Drew and Collins Hill (68-35). Against Collins Hill, Gabby Seiler had 27 points and seven assists, while Cassidy Williams chipped in 12 points and Amanda Lindsey added 11 points. In the win over Drew, Seiler had 28 points, six steals, five rebounds and five assists.

Sandy Creek (6-1) has won six games in a row and the narrowest margin of victory in the winning streak is 13 points (57-44 over Evans). Last week, the Lady Patriots defeated Hapeville Charter (53-15) and Morrow (62-26).

Jasmine Jones led the Lady Patriots with 15 points against Hapeville Charter, while Safiya Martin added 14 points and seven rebounds and Courtney Street added 10 points and 10 deflections. Against Morrow, Recee Walker had 27 points, while Martin added 14 points and 12 rebounds.

McIntosh has won the last four match-ups in this series going back to 2009 but before that it was all Sandy Creek.

On the boys side, Sandy Creek (3-2) has won two in a row, while McIntosh (7-5) stopped a two-game losing skid and has also won two in a row.

Taking a look at other local teams, Starr’s Mill’s boys (7-5) beat Forest Park last week 52-43 before losing a hard-fought battle to Mt. Zion Jonesboro 76-65. They bounced back the next day and beat Lovett 46-36.

The Lady Panthers (7-2) lost to Forest Park 41-38 in the final seconds but bounced back to beat Mt. Zion, Jonesboro 69-41 on Friday. Both Starr’s Mill teams will play in a tournament in Florida after Christmas.

Whitewater’s boys and girls will play in the Lanier Christmas Tournament next week. The girls (6-4) beat Mt. Zion, Jonesboro 31-29 last Tuesday and outlasted Mundy’s Mill 29-27 in overtime on Friday. Kaelyn Dugger had 14 points, 11 rebound and five steals in the win and also hit the game winning shot. Danielle Ross added six points and nine rebounds. The boys (6-5) lost to both teams, 87-65 to Mt. Zion and 57-46 to Mundy’s Mill.

Landmark Christian’s boys (5-2) lost to Greenforest Christian 65-41 last Tuesday but beat Osborne 98-76 on Friday. They will play in a tournament in Florida this week. Justin Ross had 12 points in the loss to Greenforest and 20 points against Osborne. Landmark’s girls (4-5) lost to Greenforest 55-32 and Strong Rock Christian on Saturday 32-23.