When the calendar turns to February, the machine that is the Norcross girls basketball team is usually clicking on all cylinders and charging full-speed ahead. But the Lady Blue Devils hit a speed bump over the weekend in Class 5A action against North Gwinnett. The Lady Bulldogs traveled to Norcross and pulled off a 60-56 upset of the two-time defending state champion. That win was enough to boost them to the top spot in AJC’s weekly rankings.

In the final rankings before the region tournament, nine metro Atlanta schools are represented in the top 10. In Classes 1A-4A, the top spots were unchallenged as the top-ranked squads were undefeated over the past week.

While the regular has come to and end, the region tournament gets started this week. Look for a lot of upsets over the next week.

Class AAAAA

1. North Gwinnett (19-5)

2. Bradwell Institute (25-0)

3. North Cobb (22-3)

4. Norcross (21-3)

5. McEachern (18-5)

6. Campbell (19-6)

7. Parkview (20-4)

8. Brookwood (22-2)

9. Milton (15-4)

10. Stephenson (19-5)

Class AAAA

1. Chamblee (23-0)

2. Fayette County (20-5)

3. Douglas County (24-0)

4. Forest Park (20-5)

5. Chattahoochee (23-2)

6. Alcovy (22-2)

7. Redan (18-3)

8. McIntosh (23-3)

9. Statesboro (21-3)

10. Clarke Central (21-4)

Class AAA

1. Washington County (24-0)

2. Columbia (20-5)

3. Dalton (25-0)

4. Grovetown (23-1)

5. Westover (22-3)

6. Walnut Grove (24-1)

7. Sandy Creek (20-3)

8. Chestatee (21-4)

9. LaGrange (19-2)

10. St. Pius (20-5)

Class AA

1. Kendrick (25-0)

2. Vidalia (25-0)

3. Laney (24-1)

4. Thomasville (21-2)

5. Greater Atlanta Christian (19-6)

6. Buford (21-3)

7. Fannin County (21-1)

8. Northeast-Macon (22-3)

9. Screven County (19-3)

10. Model (21-5)

Class A

1. Wesleyan (23-2)

2. Taylor County (23-1)

3. SW Atlanta Christian (21-4)

4. Bryan County (22-3)

5. St. Francis (19-2)

6. Darlington (21-4)

7. Towns County (23-1)

8. Pace Academy (20-4)

9. Calvary Day (21-4)

10. Turner County (19-5)

Rankings by Tim Ellerbee and the AJC

Contributors: Rankings courtesy Tim Ellerbee and the AJC

Tags: Norcross, North Gwinnett, Buford, Southwest DeKalb, GAC, Wesleyan, Columbia, Bradwell Institute, high school basketball, turner county