FWB girls hoops heads into title game

By ADAM PRUIETT

adamp@nwfdailynews.com

FORT WALTON BEACH — The Fort Walton Beach and Pine Forest girls’ basketball teams didn’t leave much room for guesswork Friday night in the District 1-5A tournament semifinals.

The two teams moved into the finals after the Vikings followed the Eagles’ 73-46 victory over Choctawhatchee with a 60-29 win over Niceville.

Tournament host Fort Walton Beach (24-4) will be seeking its seventh straight district title when it welcomes Pine Forest at 7 tonight. The teams split during the regular season, each winning at home, and both have sealed regional tournament bids.

“Most importantly, we’ve got to play our type of basketball and not theirs,” Fort Walton Beach coach Holly McDaniel said. “We can’t get caught up in their athletic ability, and more than anything we’ve got to put a body on somebody. We’re not going to be out jumping anybody … It’s going to be a battle.”

Top-seeded Fort Walton Beach came out slow against fourth-seeded Niceville, but the Vikings methodically built a 23-11 lead with 2:27 left in the second quarter before breaking the game open with a 12-2 run. Kiara Parker followed Tandria Milton’s traditional three-point play with a 3-pointer and then turned a steal into a basket for a 35-13 halftime lead.

Milton had a big first half for the Vikings, outscoring Niceville 14-13 by herself over the first two quarters. Milton led a balanced Fort Walton Beach attack with 15 points, LeEra Lewis added 13, Parker chipped in 11 and Priscilla Isaacs had 10.

Jasmine Jacquay was the high scorer for the Eagles with seven points. Niceville, which finished the season 13-12, committed 22 turnovers and was plagued by fouls.

“Having to play them three times this year obviously was tough,” Niceville coach Babita Artabasy said. “We were hoping to step it up a little more, but some calls didn’t go our way.”

In the first game, third-seeded Choctawhatchee couldn’t overcome 25 turnovers and a tremendous performance from Pine Forest’s Mary Nixon, who pumped in 31 points. Nixon had 22 points before halftime, including 13 in the first quarter as the second-seeded Eagles led 18-10.

Pine Forest’s full-court pressure and smothering man-to-man gave Choctawhatchee fits, but the Indians were able to counter for a while by attacking in transition. Christen Cardreon scored 11 of her 17 points before intermission, mostly through opportunities in transition.

Leading 28-23 in the second quarter, Pine Forest started to pull away with an 8-2 run heading into halftime. The Eagles scored the first two buckets of the third quarter and their lead never dipped below 13 thereafter.

The Indians, who got 12 rebounds from Valerie Dixon, finished the year 20-7.

“We had a great year,” Choctawhatchee coach Don Brown said. “I’m proud of each and every one of them … They’ve been a team all year.”

Choctaw 10 15 10 11 — 46

Pine Forest 18 18 14 23 — 73

CHOCTAW (46)

D.J. Taylor 5, Rahshaneek McCorvey 4, Fran Bowman 5, Christen Cardreon 17, Valerie Dixon 6, Kiersten Denny 5, Christine Redding 2, Branita Malone 2. Totals: 13 1 17-30 46.

PINE FOREST (73)

Nixon 31, Rush 12, Jones 15, Butler 2, Melis 2, Adams 5, Burgess 2. Totals: 20 2 27-40 73.

NICEVILLE 5 8 6 10 — 29

FWB 12 23 20 5 — 60

NICEVILLE (29)

Ijanae Holman 2, Donielle Campbell 5, Sharome Strutchen 4, Katie Haemmerle 2, Amber Wall 3, Arianna Roper 3, Jasmine Jacquay 7, Kaitlin Davis 2, Pearl Thomas 1. Totals: 8 0 13-23 29.

FWB (60)

Kristin Rogers 2, Priscilla Isaacs 10, Shamonta Roof 3, Tandria Milton 15, Kiara Parker 11, Kiani Parker 2, Brittani Stephenson 2, LeEra Lewis 13, Kiara Turner 2. Totals: 16 4 16-35 60.