Unsatisfied Josey finally gets to top of poll

News that the Josey boys were finally deemed the top team in Class AA in a statewide poll caused few ripples.

"January rankings don't mean much," Josey senior Najee Tolbert said. "Nothing to brag about."

There seem to be more important tasks at hand than top billing before Groundhog Day. Namely the first regular-season and region tournament titles since 2000.

"That's big," Josey coach Sam Lilly said. "This team has been too good for too long to have gone that long without winning the whole region. That's step one for this team. A big step we need with more to come."

Josey (22-0, 13-0 Region 7-AA) throttled Oglethorpe County 94-40 on Saturday, 26 more points than the teams' first meeting.

Lilly believes the perfect start is the best in school history.

WHAT ABOUT HEPHZIBAH? The Lady Rebels also zoomed into the top spot in a Class AAA poll. Lately, they've been sending foes home wanting to bulldoze the hoop in the family driveway.

Hephzibah (23-0, 10-0 in Region 3-AAA) have victories by 32, 58, 66, 67, 60 and 23 points over the last two weeks.

LEADING THE BREAK: Laney junior Eboni Fields scored 60 points in her past three games to earn the girls player of the week honor.

The 5-foot-7 guard is over the 400-point mark this year.

Westside senior Eric Taylor is rounding into playoff form. Taylor scored 29 points in a tough win against Cross Creek and added 19 more against Monticello.

Taylor's player of the week efforts are the icing on a great month. The 6-foot-4 senior forward is averaging 20.4 points over his past five games.

NAME OF THE WEEK: Break out the Harlem Globetrotters' theme music. Aquinas freshman Georgia Brown should grow to be an area favorite for both her game and the name over the next few years. The versatile 5-foot-8 forward was good for seven points in each of her past two games.

She averages a sweet 6.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 3.1 steals.

RAPID FIRE: Hephzibah's Bryan Wilcox, who had 28 points against Butler, was a close call to Taylor. He notched six 3s in the huge win. ... Greenbrier sophomore Michelle Swiec, limited by injury against Aquinas, failed to score 10 or more points for the first time in her prep career. Greenbrier coach Garrett Black believes junior Melissa Lewis has cracked that barrier in every game of her career. ... Lincoln County senior Cordarryl Coppin scored 54 points in his last two games to raise his average to 25 ppg. ... Washington-Wilkes senior forward Denorio Quinn scored 50 points earlier this season against Oglethorpe County. Oglethorpe just beat him, 52-50. ... Greenbrier is clearly a different team with Tonka-tough Rich Poythress. He was clutch in toppling Evans earlier this week with 19 points and 14 rebounds.

Reach Jeff Sentell at (706) 823-3425 or jeff.sentell@augustachronicle.com.