This Friday on Feb. 4, there will be a heavyweight clash between the Marist War Eagles and Arabia Mountain Rams’ girls basketball teams. Both teams have been mainstays in the Class 4A poll this season and as of this week, Marist sits at No. 4 in the Class 4A poll and Arabia Mountain lands at No. 7, according to the Score Atlanta poll.
Marist has compiled an 18-3 record this season, with a 9-0 record in Region 6 and no losses within the classification. This year’s squad is also undefeated at home and has only been defeated once on the road and then twice in a Thanksgiving Week tournament. They average nearly 50 points a game and on their current six-game win streak they’ve only allowed an absurd 24 points a game—marking the best defensive stretch of this year’s run. They’ve forced opponents to score under 30 points on eight different occasions and posted a 57-14 win over Mays in their latest outing.
Marist is led by head coach Kim Hixon and the team has the discipline and dedication to make a deep run in this years’ playoffs—while taking on a tough schedule that includes top teams across the different classifications. The War Eagles opened up the season with a statement win against Class A Private No. 9 ranked Trinity Christian in a double overtime thriller and have continued to battle a gauntlet of tough opponents.
Hixon revealed what skills she likes her team to have as the regular season winds down and the postseason quickly approaches. Going into the playoffs, it’s win or go home so Hixon’s team must adopt that mindset to be ready for anything and everything.
“Having a championship mindset in every game is what it is all about,” said Hixon. “When we talk about January, February, we have to be completely different than we were in October and November. Everything we do, we talk about preparing to win 32 minutes to play another 32 minutes, so that starts now before the playoffs and we try to bring that into practice and the games right now.”
In their previous contest, Marist was able to defeat Arabia Mountain in a 42-36 barn burner. Hixon knows how good Arabia Mountain’s team is and is preparing her team accordingly.
“Toughness is what we’ll need,” said Hixon. “We’re playing 2 or 3 games a week. Mental toughness is big and so is physicality. Our team is pretty tough; we’ve had to overcome some injuries and sickness and things like that and overall, those things are going to help us down the stretch, in our region and when we get in state playoffs just being tougher than other teams.”
Arabia Mountain is 15-4 on the season and 7-1 in the region with the sole loss coming against Marist. The game will determine the seeding in region play and the Rams and War Eagles may have to meet again shortly in the battle for Region 6.
Boys Basketball: Pebblebrook vs McEachern
A ‘clash of the titans’ matchup will take place on Feb. 1st, with a little less than two weeks left in the regular season as these two top-ranked teams need every win they can get to achieve their desired playoff seeding.
Pebblebrook is the number one team in the 7A division with a record of 18-2. They have yet to lose against a team in or from the state of Georgia, they’re currently on an outstanding 11-game winning streak. They have zero intention of ending that streak headed into the postseason as one of the hottest teams in the state. Pebblebrook is dangerous not only in the state, but also nationally as they ranked nationally at No. 17, according to MaxPreps. During this 11-game streak of wins, Pebblebrook has won each game by an average of 15 points.
Loaded with upperclassmen, this Pebblebrook roster is complete with players who can do a little bit of everything at a high level, which sets them apart from the majority of the teams they’ve faced this year. This team is thirsty for a championship after coming up short last year in the state semifinals against Milton.
McEachern currently ranks No. 8 in Class 7A. Their record sits at 13-7 and they will be looking to have a statement win over the state’s top-ranked team to help propel them into the playoffs.
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