The basketball state playoffs got underway Feb. 12 and six Pensacola area teams took the court. Below is a recap of opening round action.
Region 1-6A quarterfinals
No. 6 Bartram Trail 48, No. 3 Navarre 44
Navarre (22-5) battled back from a 27-15 halftime deficit but couldn't get over the hump in a season-ending loss.
Bartram Trail (14-9) will play at Niceville in the Region 1-6A semifinals on Feb. 20.
Region 1-5A quarterfinals
No. 1 Booker T. Washington 61, No. 8 Gainesville 34
The Wildcats (20-3) rolled over the Hurricanes (12-10) in a rematch of last year's Region 1-5A final. Gainesville won at Booker T. Washington 64-57 in overtime to end the Wildcats 2024-25 season.
Booker T. Washington will host No. 5 Beachside in the Region 1-5A semifinals on Feb. 20.
No. 5 Beachside 62, No. 4 Pine Forest 46
The Eagles unraveled in the third quarter.
Pine Forest (15-10) went blow for blow with the Barracudas in the first half and led 27-24 at halftime. But Beachside found another gear coming out of the locker room and the Eagles couldn't keep up. The Barracudas outscored Pine Forest 30-10 in the third quarter.
Beachside (13-11) will travel to No. 1 Booker T. Washington for the Region 1-5A semifinal on Feb. 20.
"We were going at them in the first half," Pine Forest head coach Noelle Jones said. "We stopped being aggressive offensively with them. We stopped playing together. That first half, they played together, they found the open man, they kicked it, they played together quite a few times. We were finding the open man the first half and then the second half when they went off in the third, I think we weren't sprinting back to stop the set 3-point shots all third quarter and that may have taken a little wind out of our sales."
Beachside started the second half on a 5-0 spurt, before Amoni Lewis knocked down a 3-pointer to put Pine Forest back in front. Barracudas senior point guard Morgan Cremen found Natasha Materia on the left wing shortly after, and Materia knocked down a triple to put her team in front for good. Beachside got hot in the second half, swishing six triples in the third quarter alone.
"That first half our shots were a little off because we were rushing," Beachside head coach Mark Ivy said. "We were speeding up a little bit. They came in and decided to work with each other and focused and locked in."
Cremen led the charge, scoring 15 of her game-high 18 points in the second half. The 5-foot-8-inch captain was all over the court, darting through the lane for layups, hitting teammates for open shots and wreaking havoc in the full-court press.
"I've been saying for the past four years for her age group I know have the best point guard in North Florida," Ivy said of Cremen. "And she is a true leader. She tries to get everyone involved and in that second half, she realized I'm not going to let this be the end and she took over and dominated like I know she normally does.
Beachside sped up the game in the second half, and Pine Forest never got comfortable. What was a tight battle in the first half turned into a Barracudas runaway. Every shot Beachside hit just rushed the Eagles more. They took quick looks on offense and struggled with the Barracudas ball movement on the other end.
"It's discouraging when it's back to back," Jones said. "And we feel like we should've stopped that, we should've got that stop, we should've seen that girl."
Peyton Edwards chipped in 16 points for the Barracudas, while 6'4 center Madilyn Ray added 12. Za'Khiya Shaw-Rease scored 17 points to lead Pine Forest.
The loss was a disappointing end to Jones first season leading the Eagles program, a bittersweet feeling for a year she won't forget anytime soon. Pine Forest returned to the state playoffs after missing them in 2024 and 2025.
"Just to see the growth in them, like really my heart swells," Jones said. "I love every one of these girls."
Region 1-4A quarterfinals
No. 4 Ribault 53, No. 5 Pensacola 46
The Tigers (14-9) season ended in Jacksonville.
Ribault (18-8) will play at No. 1 Bishop Kenny in the Region 1-4A semifinals on Feb. 20.
Region 1-1A quarterfinals
No. 1 LEAD Academy 58, No. 8 Redeemer Christian 15
First state playoff game, no problem for the Lions.
L.E.A.D Academy (18-1) will host No. 5 Impact Christian Academy in the Region 1-1A semifinals on Feb. 20.
Rural Region 1 semifinals
No. 1 Jay 55, No. 4 Laurel Hill 36
The Royals won their 15th straight game and advanced to their fourth straight regional final.
Jay (23-4) will host No. 3 Chipley in the Rural Region 1 final on Feb. 20. The Royals lost at Chipley 57-50 on Dec. 9 but beat the Tigers at home 54-42 on Jan. 20.
Jay will be looking to win its first regional title since 1998.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola area basketball playoffs, opening round results