Area High School Girls Basketball Region Playoffs Continue

Three Gainesville area high school girls basketball teams advanced Thursday night to the Tuesday round of regional playoffs.

Gainesville

Succeeding in dominating during the district championship against the Tallahassee Lincoln Trojans (15-10) 64-41 on Feb. 8, the Gainesville Hurricanes (14-8) took control once again in the Class 5A regional quarterfinals Thursday night, beating the Trojans 66-28. The Hurricanes will stay in the Purple Palace on Tuesday at 7 p.m. to play host against the St. Johns Beachside Barracudas (14-9) in the region semifinals. This is the first time this season the two schools will meet and will battle for a spot in the region finals next Friday.

Enjoy the recap of Tuesday’s win and great photos by Megan Winslow from ⁦@NewsGainesville⁩ https://t.co/fhoLT4fWd6

— GHS Basketball (@CanesBKB) February 22, 2023

Newberry

After holding a lead in the first quarter of the Thursday night Class 3A regional quarterfinal playoff game, the Newberry Panthers (17-6) defeated the Jacksonville Andrew Jackson Tigers (16-11), 65-55. With this win against the six-seed team, the Panthers will travel to Panama City to play the Rutherford Rams (21-3) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The winner will move on to the region finals.

Hawthorne v. Williston

The three seed Hawthorne Hornets (12-5) were unable to pull off a win against the two seed Williston Red Devils (19-3) on Thusday. Having the home advantage, the Red Devils had a commanding lead of 24-12 after the first quarter and the Hornets could not catch up to lose 70-60 in Rural Class-Region 4 semifinals. Williston will play at Wildwood Wildcats (22-0) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the region finals with a state semifinal berth on the line Feb. 26.

Eastside

The Eastside Rams (12-11) fell short in the Class 4A-Region 2 quarterfinals against the Mulberry Panthers (18-2), 57-49.

Oak Hall

The eight seed Eagles (10-7) were eliminated at top seed Jacksonville Providence, 65-11, in the Class 2A Region quarterfinal.