Last week was a big week for area high school basketball teams.

A total of four boys teams advanced to this Saturday’s region final, including Newberry (3A), Eastside (4A), Columbia (Lake City) (5A) and Buchholz (6A), while the Newberry girls stayed alive and will play at Bolles (Jacksonville) in Friday’s Class 3A-Region 1 Final.

Meanwhile, three area teams will play in the final four on Tuesday (Williston girls and boys and the Trenton boys).

After a one-year hiatus, there will be an area girls team in the FHSAA Rural state semifinals, which will be held at the University of North Florida (UNF) in Jacksonville.

Top seed Williston (20-2) will play No. 4 seed Blountstown (25-2) at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

For the first time since 2021, Wildwood is absent from the state semifinals. Last year, the Wildcats (25-0) went undefeated and won the Rural state title.

However, the Lady Red Devils (20-2) advanced to their first final four in program history with a 61-52 win at home against the Wildcats in the Rural-Region 4 Final. They also defeated Wildwood, 72-62, at Bronson High School on Feb. 6 to win the Rural-District 7 title.

Head coach Willie Powers II, who stepped down from P.K. Yonge after 21 seasons and took over for Williston in 2024, is seeking his third state title all-time.

“I felt like I was an old horse thrown out to pasture,” he said following Friday’s win in the region final. “I was brought here and felt rejuvenated, and now I’m running the quarter mile. Sometimes you want to be wanted and not tolerated, and I felt wanted here and it means a lot.”

Senior Ashlyn Young, a Daytona State commit, leads Williston with 12.5 points, 3.3 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 4.0 steals per game. She was out with an injury for eight games but returned against Wildwood in the district championship game.

Sophomore Kierce Solomon (10.1 ppg, 3.5 apg, 2.3 spg), freshman Janiyah Span (11.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg), and junior Tiona Wilkinson (10.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.2 blocks, and 2 spg) have helped lead the Red Devils on a 16-game winning streak.

The game will be broadcast online (audio only), courtesy of Lane’s Yardware, at Mainstreet Daily News with Marty Pallman (Play-by-play) and coach Mac McCray (Color) calling the action.

It’s the second straight final four appearance for Blountstown, which is led by junior Cyianna Smith (13.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg).

The winner advances to Friday’s state title game against either No. 2 seed Jay (24-4) or No. 3 seed Hilliard (24-5).

The Trenton boys advanced to their first final four in program history with a 67-51 win at home against Hilliard on Saturday in the Rural-Region 3 Final.

Junior Mason VunCannon, who leads the team in scoring at 17 ppg, along with 6 rpg and 3 apg, was a 2nd team all area selection last season. He went over 1,000 career points this season.

He is one of four players averaging in double figures, along with junior Tyler Bullis (12 ppg), senior Nate Ridgell (11 ppg), and junior Marc Micale (10 ppg), who is considered the best athlete on the team.

The Tigers will play Williston, which defeated Wildwood, 56-52, on the road in the Region-4 Final, at 6 p.m. on Tuesday in the Rural state semifinals. Wildwood knocked off defending state champion Hawthorne, 64-41, in the Region 4 Semifinals.

Audio coverage of the game will also be available with Pallman, McCray, and Trenton football coach and former girls basketball coach Bryant Frye calling the action.

While it’s the first state semifinal for Trenton, it marks the third trip in four years for Willison, which won back-to-back state titles in 2023, their first in program history, and 2024.

The Red Devils (20-7) are led by guards Traeston Armstrong, a senior, and sophomore Jacques “Jac” Edwards Jr., along with junior forward Jaden Magee.

This will be the first meeting of the season between Trenton and Williston, which has won five in a row.

“Really well coached, Jim (Ervin) does a great job, won two state titles and was probably a point away in the regional final (last year) from winning another because I think everybody knew whoever won that regional final was going to steamroll through Lakeland,” said Trenton coach Eric Bullis, whose team has won 14 consecutive games. “They are really physical, good guard play, and really get up in you defensively, but I like the matchup for us.”

The winner will play at 8 p.m. on Friday against either top-seed Crossroad Academy (Quincy) (19-3) or No. 4-seed Ponce De Leon (23-7).

Last year, Hawthorne (20-3) defeated Crossroad Academy, 59-38, in the state title game to win its third state title in school history (1987, 2020 and 2025).