FWB girls hoops advances to regional semifinals

By ADAM PRUIETT

adamp@nwfdailynews.com

FORT WALTON BEACH — The Fort Walton Beach girls basketball team’s previous victory came in a defensive slugfest. The latest was a scorefest — except it only included the Vikings.

Fort Walton Beach coasted into the Class 5A regional semifinals Thursday by scoring more points in the first quarter than Tallahassee Lincoln had in the entire game of a 55-17 victory.

Next up for the Vikings (26-4) is a familiar opponent. They’ll welcome Pine Forest, which advanced with a 74-32 victory over Mosley, at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The Vikings defeated Pine Forest 33-31 in the District 1 tournament finals and have taken two of the three matchups between the teams this season.

“Everybody’s got to be ready to play,” Fort Walton Beach coach Holly McDaniel said.

While baskets were hard to come by against Pine Forest, the Vikings had no trouble putting points on the board against Lincoln. Behind an opportunistic press and hot 3-point shooting, Fort Walton Beach led 23-6 after the first quarter and equaled their previous game’s output midway through the second quarter.

Kristin Rogers had the hot hand early for Fort Walton Beach, sinking two 3-pointers and scoring 10 of her 13 points in the first quarter. Tandria Milton matched her with 13 points, while Kiara Parker chipped in 11.

“I was feeling my shot, and it was going in,” said Rogers, who also had seven rebounds.

Kiani Parker converted one of her three first quarter steals into a layup for a 12-2 lead, and Rogers followed one of her treys with a layup as the Vikings’ advantage grew to 23-6.

That was all the points Fort Walton Beach would require.

Things never got prettier for the Trojans. They only had one field goal during the second quarter as the Vikings’ lead swelled to 42-9 behind seven points in the period by Kiara Parker. The final score would have been more lopsided if not for a running clock in the second half.

Lincoln, the District 2 runner-up, committed over 20 turnovers and finished the season 17-10. No player had more than four points for the Trojans.

“They did a good job of putting pressure on the basketball, great job on our press — really just coming from the get-go on the press,” McDaniel said.

Lincoln 6 3 4 4 - 17

FWB 23 19 9 4 - 55

LINCOLN (17)

Whitlow 4, Middleton 4, Denmark 3, Heidel 2, Alexander 4. Totals: 7 0 3-9 17.

FWB (55)

Kristin Rogers 13, Tandria Milton 13, Tristan Harris 2, Kiara Parker 11, Kiani Parker 6, LeEra Lewis 8, Raquita Gooden 2. Totals: 17 5 6-12 55.