Girls Basketball Playoff Update

By Clint Cox

All three of the Jackson County girls basketball squads won thrilling victories on Tuesday night and in doing so advanced to the Regional Finals for their respective classifications. Each of the teams is just one win away from a trip to Lakeland for the FHSAA Final Four Championships.

In Class 3A action the Marianna Lady Bulldogs posted a 44-34 win over the Lady Crusaders of Pensacola Catholic last Thursday night. They advanced to the Regional Semi-Finals on Tuesday night and played host to Walton County. After jumping out to a big early lead Marianna fought off the Lady Braves to pull out a 53-46 victory. Marianna led 29-14 at the half but Walton began chipping away at the lead in the third quarter. Going into the final quarter Marianna’s lead had dwindled to five points. Twice during the final quarter Walton cut Marianna’s lead to 3 points. But each time the Lady Bulldogs responded and pulled away for the 7 point win. Niesha Butler led the way with 15 points while Derrika Fitzgerald added 11 and Janae Godwin chipped in 9. Marianna, 19-7, will now hit the road for a Regional Final contest in Jacksonville against Ribault, 22-5, on Saturday night.

In Class 2A the Cottondale Lady Hornets notched a 46-21 win over Baker in first round action. Cottondale held a slim 20-18 lead at the half but exploded in the third quarter by outscoring Baker 12-0 and taking a 32-18 lead into the final quarter. Shaunte Forward led with 19 points while Shay Wright and Kiki Paul added 9 each. With that win Cottondale played host to Ponce De Leon this past Tuesday night in second round action and squeaked out a thrilling 59-55 victory. The Lady Hornets, 20-5, will now travel on Saturday night to Port St. Joe, 21-8, for the Regional Finals.

In Class 1A the Graceville Lady Tigers beat Rocky Bayou Christian School (Niceville) 69-52 in the first round. Kayla Walker hit seven 3 pointers to lead the Lady Tigers with 21 points. Ashley Hogans added 18 and Jessica McClendon chipped in 12. On Tuesday night the Lady Tigers played host to Paxon and notched an exciting 45-43 win over the Lady Bobcats. With that win Graceville improved to 24-2 on the season and will travel on Saturday to Tallahassee to take on FAMU in Regional Final action.