- Williston defeated Wildwood 72-62 to win the Rural-District 7 girls basketball title on Feb. 6 at Bronson High School.
- Freshman Janiyah Span scored 18 points and junior Tiona Wilkinson added 14 to lead Williston's offense.
- Williston built a 20-point lead in the third quarter and withstood a fourth-quarter rally by Wildwood, led by Zoey Brown's 30 points.
- Williston coach Willie Powers credited the team's increased intensity and mindset for overcoming last year's loss to Wildwood.
A year ago, the road to the final four in Lakeland for the Williston Red Devils girls basketball team was blocked by the Wildwood Wildcats in the district championship game and the regional final.
But on Friday night at Bronson High School, the Red Devils got one part of their revenge, holding off the Wildcats, 72-62, to win the Rural-District 7 tournament.
Behind 18 points from freshman Janiyah Span and 14 from junior Tiona Wilkinson, Williston moved ahead for good in the second quarter. The Red Devils took a 20-point lead in the third quarter and held off a furious rally by the defending state champions in the fourth quarter.
“I think we played with more intensity,” Williston coach Willie Powers said. “We played like we knew we could win. Last year against them, I don’t think we thought we could win, so getting that mindset that we could play with them helps a lot.”
The game had the feel and intensity of a state championship game. Coming into the contest, Williston was ranked No. 1 in the Rural Class and Wildwood was No. 2, according to the Florida High School Athletics Association and MaxPreps.
The first quarter was back-and-forth as Williston (18-2) moved out to a 17-12 lead.
The two teams went back-and-forth in the second quarter before the Red Devils went ahead 35-28 at halftime. Senior Baylee Cribbs scored eight of her 10 points in that quarter and sophomore Kierce Solomon helped lead the Williston attack in the opening half.
Junior Ashlyn Young, who had missed the last seven games with an Achilles injury, wasn’t expected to play but entered the game in the second quarter. She wasn’t quite 100% and scored only five points, but Powers said Young helps his team just by being on the floor.
“She (Young) was just trying to get her rhythm back,” Powers said. “She’s the calm keeping the storm from going.”
Williston extended its lead in the third period to 58-40 by the end of the quarter. Span had eight points in the period and Wilkinson scored six points.
The fourth quarter saw Wildwood (14-5) sophomore Zoey Brown almost single-handedly lead the Wildcats back as she scored 16 of her game-high 30 points. Wildwood got as close as seven points with three minutes left, but Span hit three free throws down the stretch to clinch the win. The Red Devils were 14-of-16 from the line.
“Their press worked because we were running away from the ball instead of running to it,” Powers said. “I think we are going to go make a few adjustments because we will probably see them again.”
Williston awaits its opponent in next Friday’s region semifinal, with another possible matchup with Wildwood possibly looming after that.
Girls basketball
District Championships
Friday, Feb. 6
(Teams in bold in Mainstreet coverage area)
Rural Class-District 6
1 Fort White 64, 3 Taylor County (Perry) 30
Rural Class-District 7 at Bronson
1 Williston 72, 2 Wildwood 62
Class 3A-District 3
2 Bradford (Starke) 64, 1 Newberry 62
Class 4A-District 5
3 Eastside 33, 4 Crystal River 25
Class 5A-District 2 at higher seed
1 Gainesville 58, 2 Lincoln (Tallahassee) 48
Saturday, Feb. 7
Class 6A-District 3 at Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine)
2 Buchholz at 1 Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine), 6:30 p.m.
Boys soccer
Friday, Feb. 6
Class 6A-District 1 Regional Quarterfinals
No. 5 Buchholz 3, No. 4 Tate 2
