Area High School Girls Basketball District Semifinals Set

The Gainesville area’s high school girls basketball district tournaments are underway. Nine team’s seasons remain alive in hopes of advancing to the Florida High School Athletic Association playoffs. A district tournament preview can be found here.

Gainesville

The Gainesville Hurricanes ended their regular season 11-8, including a 2-0 mark in district play. They secured the second seed in the Class 5A-District 2 tournament and earned a first-round bye. Gainesville will face Tallahassee Leon (11-14) in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Hurricanes are aiming for redemption after falling short in last year’s district finals.

Buchholz

The Buchholz Bobcats are slated as the fourth seed in the 6A-District 3 tournament and defeated the Palm-Coast based Matanzas Pirates 67-35 on Tuesday. Buchholz (9-12) has won three of its last four games. The Bobcats play at top seed Tocoi Creek (15-7) at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Eastside

Having earned a first-round bye, the second seed Eastside Rams are set to host three seed North Marion (13-13) in the 4A-District 5 semifinals on Thursday. The Rams (10-10) ended their regular season strong with a 53-43 win against Fort White.

P.K. Yonge

Despite a 5-19 record the P.K. Yonge Blue Wave entered the 2A-District 2  tournament as the three seed and received a first-round bye. The Blue Wave will visit Gainesville neighbor and second seed Oak Hall (10-5) on Thursday.

Oak Hall

Ending their season with an impressive 46-15 win against Cedar Key, the Oak Hall Eagles entered the 2A-District 2 tournament as the two seed with a first-round bye. The Eagles will host the P.K. Yonge. Oak Hall is seeking redemption for last years tournament where it fell short to Countryside Christian 34-29 in the finals.

Saint Francis

Joining the Blue Wave and Eagles in the 2A-District 2 semifinals are the Saint Francis Catholic Wolves. They’re the four seed and defeated St. Joseph Academy of St. Augustine 39-23 Tuesday. The Wolves (3-15) will visit one-seed Ocala Trinity Catholic (15-9) on Thursday.

Newberry

The Newberry Panthers entered the 3A-District 3 tournament as the top seed and received a first-round bye. The Panthers finished their season 3-0 in their district. Newberry (14-6) looks to capitalize in this year’s tournament after losing in the region semifinals last year. The Panthers host four seed Baldwin (13-10) at 6 p.m. Thursday. Baldwin ousted five seed Keystone Heights 46-35 in the first round Tuesday.

Hawthorne

Aiming to defend their state championship title, the Hawthorne Hornets (12-3) entered the Class Rural District 7 tournament as the three seed. They defeated Cedar Key in a stunning 90-12 win to push them to the semifinals. The Hornets play at two seed Williston (17-2) on Thursday.

Williston

After receiving a first-round bye, the two seed Williston Red Devils look to host Hawthorne (12-3) in the Class Rural District 7 semifinals on Thursday. The Red Devils (17-2) ended their regular season on an eight-game winning streak.