SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. — Three county-area teams competed at the Winter Classic at Social Circle this past weekend as the Eastside Eagles and the hosting Social Circle Redskins came away with wins.
This is the second consecutive season that Social Circle has hosted its Winter Classic. This year, it was held on Friday, Dec. 27 with almost every team then playing at another event at Morgan County High School on Saturday, Dec. 28.
Lady Eagles fall to Oconee County
The Eastside Lady Eagles fell to Oconee County 46-57 Friday in their opening match at the Winter Classic at Social Circle High School.
The Lady Eagles and Lady Warriors tipped off in the morning slate of the tournament as the game between the two plus-.500 teams proved to be a close one in the first half.
Multiple Eastside players started the game off hot for head coach Gladys King.
Senior Jaylin Smith was the main contributor early and proved to be the focal point for the Lady Eagles’ offensive attack in the game.
The game became scrappy in the opening quarter, but key plays from Smith and Morgan Sandema allowed Eastside to keep pace.
For Oconee County, shot opportunities were there.
The Lady Warriors found open shots for Julie Azeltine and Eliza Oechsle countless times in the opening frame. The pair combined for 12 points in the first eight minutes of the contest.
Although the Lady Eagles controlled the game in the first part of the quarter, Oconee County’s pace allowed them to break through at the end of the frame to make it a one-point difference ahead of the second quarter.
When it came time for the next quarter, Oconee County’s shooting slowly began to make the difference.
Oconee County limited good shot opportunities for Eastside in the second half, which led to the Lady Eagles scoring only six points in the third frame.
By the end of the quarter, Oconee County led 45-28.
Eastside pulled within 10 points in the final quarter, but could not get any closer in the final eight minutes.
Five different Oconee County players scored in the final quarter as the Lady Warriors came away with a 57-46 win on day one of the Winter Classic.
Smith’s 23 points led the way for the Lady Eagles while Jarilix Riveria and Morgan Sandema finished with nine and eight points, respectively.
On the next day following the loss to Oconee County, the Lady Eagles bounced back with a win over Wheeler at Morgan County High School 46-44.
This puts Eastside at 8-6 ahead of their first game in 2025 against Walnut Grove Tuesday, Jan. 7.
Social Circle takes down Washington on home court
The hosting Lady Redskins came away with a 37-31 win over Washington in their first game of the event on Friday.
Although the Lady Bulldogs kept it close, strong performances from Jada Hyman and Marissa Morrell pushed Social Circle over Washington.
Right when the game began, the day belonged to Hyman and Morrell.
While Hyman used her athleticism and speed to score on the inside, Morrell was finding multiple opportunities on the perimeter. This led to the two combining for all of Social Circle’s 12 points in the opening frame.
The Lady Redskins carried that momentum into the second quarter and eventually into halftime with a 18-12 lead.
In the second half, Washington found success with the help of senior Makiya Chandler.
Chandler, who stands at 6-feet tall, used her size to create problems for the Lady Redskins in the paint.
Washington opened the third quarter with a 7-0 run to take a 19-18 lead over the Lady Redskins.
However, that would serve as Washington’s only lead of the game as Social Circle quickly took it back and never gave it away.
Eight points in the frame for Morrell allowed Social Circle to lead 27-21 heading into the final quarter.
Despite nine points from Chandler in the fourth frame, Hyman and sophomore Brielle Price scored on crucial baskets late to give Social Circle the win.
Morrell and Hyman led Social Circle with 16 and 13 points respectively. Along with her 13 points, Hyman led the Lady Redskins with eight rebounds and five assists.
On the ensuing day, the Lady Redskins stayed in their winning ways with a 37-34 victory over Winder-Barrow at Morgan County High School.
In the Lady Redskins win over the Lady Bulldoggs, Hyman produced another strong outing with 24 points, six rebounds and eight steals.
Back-to-back wins for the Lady Redskins has them at 8-4 ahead of their matchup with Brookwood on Friday, Jan. 3.
Redskins’ boys team defeats Chestatee
Social Circle’s boys basketball team got back in the win column Friday afternoon with a home win over Chestatee.
Facing a one-win War Eagles squad, Social Circle began the game with one of its best offensive starts of the season.
The Redskins led 19-8 at the end of the opening frame despite falling in a 0-4 hole to begin the contest.
Seniors Derrick White and Jameccus Hardge led the way offensively, but it was a strong opening frame from Hardge on both ends that gave the Redskins momentum.
Social Circle continued to score at will in the second frame as more players began to get involved on the floor.
For Chestatee, the one bright spot came from 6-foot-5 center Ethan Dunn, who was giving the Redskins trouble on the inside.
Dunn ended his day with 21 points to lead any player from the game.
Social Circle led 38-22 going into halftime and led throughout the third frame, but the War Eagles began to find success late into the contest.
On the back of 17 combined points from Dunn and Cort Hagerman, Chestatee came within four points of Social Circle in the final minutes.
However, baskets from White, Hardge and Tykeieryon Green gave the Redskins enough room to capture the win.
White and Green led the way for Social Circle with 19 and 14 points respectively. Hardge accounted for nine rebounds to go along with his nine points.
After ending their two-game skid with a win over Chestatee, Social Circle acquired a two-game win streak the next day with a 53-45 victory over Oconee County at Morgan County High School.
Green had another strong game for Social Circle as the senior tallied a team-leading 14 points. Sophomore Le’Son Nelson followed with 12 points to go with eight rebounds.
The wins for Social Circle move it to .500 with a 6-6 record ahead of its game with Brookwood on Friday, Jan. 3.
