The proverbial monkey is off the back for the Banks County Leopards. A 61-58 final score glowed off the scoreboard, and the final buzzer ended a four-year streak of falling in the Sweet 16. This time, the #6-ranked Leopards (25-4) got over the hump behind a complete team effort against #5-ranked Butler (19-7). Banks County never trailed in the contest,

It took all of three quarters, and a few moments in the fourth for Banks County to completely dash any hopes of the visiting Bulldogs of claiming a first round win. The Leopards (24-4) went on an insurmountable run in the final quarter of the GHSA Class 2A first round playoff game on the way to a 71-45 win. It

Nothing’s a given, especially come playoff time. The #2-seed Lady Leopards are playing at a high level at the perfect time, evidenced by Friday’s 56-53 win over visiting South Atlanta in the first round of the state playoffs. The win for Banks County (15-15) gets the program into the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in the past 6 seasons.