Excitement in the Air After Teams Advance in First Round of Playoffs

The girls basketball Regional Quarterfinals are in the book, and after the first round of the playoffs several teams are excited to move on to round two. Some compelling match-ups are on the horizon this week, including Middleburg versus Rickards, UC versus NFEI and Raines versus Ribault. Check out who advanced and who went home

7A:

Apopka 53 Bartram 46

After falling to Sandalwood in the district tournament 50-33, Bartram’s season came to an end in the first round of the state playoffs when they were downed by Apopka. Mary McMillan led the Blue Darters with 21 points, including going 10 for 12 at the charity stripe. Hilani Cantone’s 5 steals, 5 assists, and 9 rebounds led an all around effort for Apopka.

The Lady Bears ended their season with a 13-12 record, as senior Sierra Calleson led the team scoring 10ppg. Sophomore Dyllan Hanna led the team with 11 rpg this season, and the future looks bright for Coach Tim Winter and his team.

Timber Creek 48 Sandalwood 45

In two seasons as Sandalwood’s Head Coach, Chatori Major has guided her team to consecutive playoff appearance. However a deep run last year was cut short this year by injuries and a first round loss to Timber Creek. Zora Fray Chinn scored 16 points for Timber Creek including going 3 of 4 from downtown. It was a close game all the way throughout as Sandalwood took an early 16-15 point lead. Jada Jones would hit a bucket to give the Saints a 45-43 lead in the fourth quarter. However, the Wolve’s Tatiana Ortiz hit two free throws to tie the game at 45, while Savannah Henderson would hit the go ahead bucket for Timber Creek. Henderson sunk a free throw to seal the victory as TimberCreek advances to face Apopka.

For Sandalwood, their talented tandum of Amari Wright (17ppg), and Jada Jones (14ppg) kept the Lady Saints a contender without super star teammate Caitlin McGhee who suffered injuries this year. Wright’s 5.5 assists per game and 5.8 steals per game cemented her as one of the main reasons Sandalwood kept the pressure on teams. Their outlook is extremely positive with freshman phenom Jada Jones returning.

6A

Creekside 65 Columbia 50

Creekside is moving on after downing Columbia in the first round of the state playoffs. Creekside will face Mainland in the second round. Sophomore Emily McIntosh scored 24 points for the Lady Knights leading all scorers. Na’Haviya Paxton was second in scoring as she tallied 20 points for Columbia in the loss.

Creekside took care of business against Fleming Island in the district tournament 63-39, and kept it rolling against Columbia. Maddie Lippy has led the team with 12.6 ppg and junior Taylor Gardner has led the team on defense averaging 3.1 steals per contest. They’ll need to rebound better in the next round to match up with Mainland.

5A

Middleburg 49 Booker T Washington(Pensacola) 37

District champion Middleburg got 20 points from senior Britany Range and 17 points from Skylar Baltezegar, as the Lady Broncos busted the Wildcats. The tandem combined for 26 rebounds as well as Booker T had no answer for the dynamic duo. Middleburg will host Rickards in round two of the playoffs. Which is sure to be a great matchup .

Pine Forest 59 Orange Park 42

Ornage Park fell in the first round of the playoffs to Pine Forest. Pine Forest Juniors Danielle Luckey and Tynia Barnes-Malishan both scored 12 points to lead the Eagles in the contest.

Orange Park’s season comes to a close but not without oustanding performances from the 20-8 ball club. Macie Faucett led the team scorign 12 ppg while Sophomore Nia Brown’s 11 ppg and 8.1 rpg gives the Lady Raiders a bright future to look forward to next season.

St Augustine 30 Fort Walton Beach 27

The Lady Jackets survived a first round scare against Fort Walton. The low scoring affair was is not new for St Augustine as the defeated Ponte Vedra for the district title 44-37 last week. St. Augustine (19-5) will face Pine Forest (18-4) on 2/18/20.

4A

Raines 58 West Florida 43

The 27-1 Lady Vikings kept steaming forward in hopes of returning to the final 4 in consecutive years with a 15 point win in the first round of the playoffs over West Florida. The district champions defeated rival Ribault 36-33 in the tournament championship and will face them once again in the up coming second round contest. Senior Nyla Allen has led the team scoring 13.5 ppg along with junior Aliah Brown’s 12ppg. Junior Selah Reddick is the X-factor for the best team in the area, as they look to bring a championship back home to Duval.

Ribault 67 Marianna 30

The Lady Trojans seem to be getting stronger as the post season begins, blowing their first round opponent out by 37 points. Asiana Britt leads the team scoring 9.7 ppg and the the young team is extremely talented. Asia Flemming averages 9ppg and Jada Atkins is a force at both ends. Amazingly six Lady Trojans average 2.5 steals per game or higher. The Lady Trojans defense is in full effect. They’ll look forward to getting another shot at Raines, this time the loser goes home.

Bishop Kenny 55 Bay 22

Bishop Kenny absolutely destroyed Bay in their first round matchup. Maddie Miller led the team with 18 points and Jazmyn Roberts chipped in 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Next for the district champs is Pensacola, after the Lady Tigers took down Bolles in the first round of the playoffs.

Pensacola 56 Bolles 43

The Lady Bulldogs fell short in their quest for a rematch against Kenny. Kelly Stevenson’s squad ends the season 18-10, with tremendous optimism . Ashley Thompkins returns after leading the team with 11.9 ppg. However senior standout Shekinah Sanders moves on to the next level, which the Bulldogs must find a player to replace.

3A

P.K Yonge 64 Providence 46

The Providence Lady Stallions season came to an end in the first round as they fell to P.K Yonge. After narrowly defeating Episcopal in the district tournament, the Lady Stallions ran out of horse power, ending the season 19-8. The Lady Stallions were led by Ella Ortman this year who averaged 11.8 ppg as a freshman. Jocelyn Pringle (So) averaged 9.1 ppg and 7.4 rpg.

FSU 61 Episcopal 31

Episcopal and senior Niya Williams ended their season with a playoff loss to Florida State. Williams averaged 9.2 points per game this year leading the Eagles. Coach Stacey Rutenburg looks to have a great group of young women coming back next year.

2A

University Christian 77 North Florida Christian 27

University Christian jumped out to a 29-8 first quarter lead on their way to a 50 point blowout of NFC. Sophomore Brittany Long has led the Christians this year averaging 20ppg. Rhianna Youman’s 16.1ppg has also contributed to UC’s offensive output this year. Their win sets up a rematch with NFEI.

North Florida Educational Institute 67 Seven Rivers Christian 26

Jaidy Mejia (sophomore) led the Lady Eagles with 18 points and Sheyla Aguilar (junior) contributed 17 points as NFEI sent Seven rivers up the river in the first round of the playoffs. The 17-3 Eagles now face a team that has given them two of their losses this year.

Countryside Christian 41 St Johns Country Day 30

After losing to Countryside in their district title game by just two points 50-48, St. Johns Country Day fell short in their quest for revenge in the first round of the playoffs. Kelli Cunningham led Countryside with 18 points and was to much for St. Johns Country Day. Coach Yolonda Bronston hopes to get a big boost from Mary Kate Kent who averaged 12ppg as an 8th grader for her squad. Losing leading scorer Kendall Sage will be tough, but the talented program is up for the challenge.