The Hawthorne girls basketball team got off to a fast start against visiting Fort Meade and cruised to a 66-13 win in an FHSAA Class 1A Regional Semifinal.
The defending 1A state champions used a full court press to race to a 29-1 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Hawthorne, which improved to 18-4, will travel to Class 1A No. 2 Wildwood on Tuesday night for the region finals with a berth in the state semifinals on the line.
Wildwood eliminated Williston, 67-19, in the other regional semifinal. The Lady Wildcats (18-3) forced 24 turnovers in the first half and led 48-9 at the half to ensure a running clock in the second half.
Class 4A – Bradford’s season came to an end with a 48-40 loss to The Villages. The Tornadoes finish the season with a record of 12-11.
Regional Quarterfinals
6A-Region 1
Navarre 71, Columbia (Lake City) 42
Buchholz (Gainesville) 37, Milton 21
4A-Region 2
The Villages 48, Bradford (Starke) 40
3A-Region 1
Master’s Academy (Oviedo) 59, P.K Yonge (Gainesville) 37
Regional Semifinals
1A-Region 3
Branford 2, Madison County 0 (forfeit)
Trenton 2, Hamilton County (Jasper) 0 (forfeit)
1A-Region 4
Hawthorne 66, Fort Meade 13
Wildwood 67, Williston 19
This news brief is brought to you by Radiant Credit Union, giving youth the power to shine. Radiant is federally insured by the NCUA.