Impact Report: Streaks

West Florida Baptist Academy (WFBA) held the longest winning streak in the area at seven games, with an average winning margin of over 30 points.  Pensacola Christian entered the game with a modest three-game winning streak, but also experienced a three-game losing streak earlier in the season.

The game started evenly, with WFBA leading by one point at the end of the first quarter. WFBA began the second quarter strong with a backdoor play from sophomore Ruby Gifford to seventh-grader Bryse Burkett. Pensacola Christian responded with a layup by senior Maddie Sellars, an uncontested jump shot in the paint by junior Mylee Trimble, followed by a three-pointer from Trimble, and another three-pointer by Sellars. Suddenly, WFBA found themselves down by seven points. Another three-pointer by Trimble and solid ball handling by Sellars allowed Pensacola Christian to outscore WFBA 19-8 in the second quarter, taking a 10-point lead into halftime—a deficit WFBA has likely not experienced this season.

Early in the third quarter, Sellars went down in a collision with WFBA sophomore Olivia Pearce. Despite this, Trimble, with the hot hand, extended the lead to 12 points at the start of the fourth quarter.

Late in the fourth quarter, WFBA applied full-court pressure to try to slow down Pensacola Christian but were still outscored 11-9. Seventh-grader Bryse Burkett kept the game within reach by scoring 13 points. However, the struggles of teammates Makenna Enfinger, who went 2 for 15, and Olivia Pearce, who went 4 for 15, were not enough to overcome a dominating performance by Mylee Trimble, who finished with 24 points and 17 rebounds.

As WFBA's winning streak was snapped, Escambia H.S. was starting early this season with a three-game winning streak. Following a road loss to Navarre, the Lady Gators then traveled to Elberta and then to Northview securing two road wins before hosting their home opener. The student section of baseball players came out to support their coach, Dean Tracey King. This energy did not seem to boost the Lady Gators. Elberta led the first quarter 7-6, however after a timeout with 24 seconds left, sophomore Ty'aune English hit a long three-pointer to give Escambia a 9-7 lead.

In the second quarter, Escambia increased their defensive pressure, stretching their advantage to 16-12 at halftime. Elberta managed to tie the game at 16-16 early in the third quarter, but Escambia pulled away again, closing the third quarter with a 24-18 lead. Senior Demi Liu and sophomore English secured the victory by continuously attacking the basket, scoring 25 of the Lady Gators' 31 points, including five free throw attempts each. Senior Brianna (BB) Williams contributed 4 points and led the game with 22 rebounds.

However, the winning streak was snapped seven days later with a loss to Catholic, followed by another loss to PHS. Escambia is now looking to break their two-game losing streak as they travel to Destin, who is currently on a five-game losing streak.

The PHS win at Escambia was much needed. The Lady Tigers were looking to break their two-game losing streak, which began with a emotional and physical 63-42 loss on a Friday night at the Booker T. Washington packed house. The following Thursday, they faced an undefeated 12-0 Foley (AL) team. Foley's guards started strong with an outside shooting attack, while the Lady Tigers focused on attacking the basket. Sophomore "Mae" Lewis provided a spark off the bench, creating easy baskets for freshman Mariell Jones with two assists and scoring on a put-back herself. Senior Kimiah Travis made both of her free throws, and sophomore Chioma Patterson added a layup and knocked down one from the free throw line, ending the first quarter tied at 13-13.

In the second quarter, Patterson struggled to score inside and the Lady Tigers had trouble getting their offense going due to turnovers. Meanwhile, Foley began to score at will, leading by as many as 12 points, with junior guard Amiyah Carvin scoring on all three levels. The halftime score was 32-24 in favor of Foley.

Third quarter, Lewis again off the bench giving the PHS a boost. knocking down a three-pointer, followed by a steal by Travis, bringing PHS to within four points. The Lady Tigers kept it close, down by three heading into the fourth quarter, and were only one point behind with three minutes to go. However, a series of bad decisions ultimately led to their demise 54-47

Still rolling are the West Florida Lady Jaguars current win streak 5. 4A District 1 conference rival now has SaRaun Newton back and have a 3 game winning streak. Booker T after coming up short against an undefeated Hancock team at the St Martin tournament in Mississippi traveled up to Mobile to defeat McGill-Toolen 46-34, and returned to their home court to dominated Pine Forest 55-15 giving them a current two game winning streak. Pace snapped their 3 game losing streak with losses to Pine Forest, West Florida and Niceville by getting back on track defeating Walton and Gulf Breeze. Gulf Breeze is currently on a nine game losing streak heading into Milton who currently are on a 4 game winning streak. 

No question we have the some dominant teams in our area and some who are struggling to find their way.