Sports beat: Defending Class 1A champ Hawthorne rolls

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

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