Coming off a Sweet 16 loss last season, Fort Walton Beach High’s girls basketball has roared back with a 9-0 start that has the Lady Vikings looking like the gold standard the area has come to expect.

• It’s not just that they’re winning — it’s how they’re winning. 

Through nine games, Fort Walton Beach has won by an average margin of 27 points, including a 60-point victory over Rutherford. The dominant stretch also includes wins over teams with winning records: an 11-point margin over Pine Forest, a 24-point margin over Chipley and a 21-point margin over Rickards.

Coach Mercedez Clayborne points to resilience as the driving force behind this hot start, staying true to the “Whatever It Takes” mantra that has become synonymous with Lady Vikings basketball.

• “It’s just the resilience of our team,” Clayborne said. “It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, we show up, and we remember that the standard must be the standard.”

The success appears to be the product of a young core that could push Fort Walton Beach to its first Final Four since 2017 — or possibly its first state title since 1999.

Junior Alexis Smith anchors the group as a versatile post player who scores, rebounds and blocks shots. Freshman Harmony Lee has already made her mark as a reliable scorer and shooter who has filled the shoes of departed senior Alyx Hall. Anecia Stallworth has emerged as a lockdown wing, averaging 2.5 steals per game while shooting 75% from the field. Aniyah Boyd runs the floor as a point guard who also contributes on the boards, and Abria Jackson has developed into the team’s third-leading scorer behind Smith and Lee.

“What’s impressed me the most is how they’re coming together as a team and really using each other,” Clayborne said.

Even with an undefeated record and dominant margins, Clayborne sees room for growth. Limiting turnovers and maintaining discipline within the game plan remain areas of focus.

• “We need to do a better job of taking care of the basketball, and we need to do a better job of sticking to the gameplan,” Clayborne said. “We had times where we broke down and freestyled a bit. We took some shots we probably shouldn’t have taken, but then, ultimately, we got it back on the defensive end.”

If the Lady Vikings continue playing at this level, a state championship run is well within reach.

“I think the sky is the limit for this team and that’s the thing that we’ve been preaching to them since the beginning,” Clayborne said. “We’ve got pieces at every position and the biggest thing is trusting the process and doing what we do well.”

A football team is working with a college to offer young women a pathway into the sport.

Middlesbrough has paired with Middlesbrough College to invite up to 20 players to study full-time in Year 12, with a route into professional football.

Advertisement

The Middlesbrough College MFC Women’s U19 team will be entered into the National Youth Football League for the 2026/2027 season.

The college’s sport academy director and England Women’s Blind Team coach Sammie Leigh said the course would give “girls on Teesside the chance to progress their football while building skills, discipline and confidence”.

A spokeswoman for Middlesbrough College said the scheme would “combine academic or vocational study with elite-level training”.

The college’s women’s football academy coach, Dan Wilson, said the scheme would ensure young women on Teesside could “succeed both on the pitch and in the classroom”.

Advertisement

Mr Wilson said the scheme – which will be led by UEFA-licensed coaches – would give players “a professional environment to develop their skills and fitness, while also supporting their academic progress”.

General manager of Middlesbrough FC Women, Ben Fisher, said the club’s aim was to “retain and develop local talent to strengthen women’s football across the region”.

Ms Leigh, who helped to forge the programme, said: “Having worked in women’s football for nearly two decades, I’ve seen first-hand how vital structured pathways and high-quality coaching are for young talent.”

She added that those who were interested could apply through the college, with trials and friendly games held in January.

Advertisement

Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.

More on this story

Related internet links

Bulletin: …HIGH RIP CURRENT RISK IN EFFECT FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH
MONDAY EVENING…

* WHAT…Dangerous rip currents expected.

* WHERE…Pinellas, Coastal Hillsborough, Coastal Manatee,
Coastal Sarasota, Coastal Charlotte and Coastal Lee Counties.

* WHEN…From this evening through Monday evening.

* IMPACTS…Rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away
from shore into deeper water.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and
float. Don’t swim against the current. If able, swim in a
direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the
shore and call or wave for help.

&&

Info:

Type: Rip Current Statement

start_time_local: 2025-12-14T19:00:00-05:00

end_time_local: 2025-12-15T19:00:00-05:00

county_name:

state: FL

headline: Rip Current Statement from SUN 7:00 PM EST until MON 7:00 PM EST

county_fips:

category: Met

url:

urgency: Expected

severity: Moderate

certainty: Likely

geographicname: Coastal Lee County

state_name: Florida

NORTH ORANGE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS

CYPRESS 75, ORANGE LUTHERAN 66: The Centurions were led by Gavin Kroll who hd 25 points and Emmanuel Igbekoyi who scored 22 points. Cypress plays Norte Vista on Saturday.

SAVANNA TOURNAMENT

SOUTH TORRANCE 51, UNIVERSITY 45: University wrapped up the Savanna Tournament with another tough loss. The Trojans won the first, third and fourth quarters before losing. After going ahead 13-11 after the first quarter, University looked to tie the game right before halftime. South hit two 3-pointers in the last few seconds of the first half to go ahead 30-22 at the break.

University fought back to knot the score at 43 apiece with 2:45 left in the game. Then South point guard Cole Tamashiro hit a bucket underneath to put South ahead to stay.

Shooting guard Steven Torres led South (6-7) with 23 points and five 3-pointers while Tamashiro had 17 points and three 3-pointers. The Spartans made 10 threes.

Junior center Abdallah Shami topped University (2-9) with his seventh double-double in his last eight games with 16 points and 16 rebounds adding three blocks and three steals. Sophomore wing Yousuf Chalan contributed 14 points, six rebounds and three steals.

—Courtesy Daryl Bogard, For OC Sports Zone

WESTERN TOURNAMENT

SERVITE 73, WESTERN 43: The Friars (10-2) were led by Saiger Smith and Tariq Johnson, who each had 14 points. Jake Schutt had 11 points and Hugh Hannon 10 points. Servite plays in the championship Saturday night.

NON-LEAGUE

ORANGE 44, LOARA 33: The Panthers won Friday night at The Dome. Senior Ivan Kim led Orange with 12 points. Junior Noah Faliano added eight points.

“The team finally stepped up their defense like I know they can,” said Orange Coach Jake Rhodes.

SANTA MARGARITA 92, VILLAGE CHRISTIAN 85: The Eagles (10-1) had 21 team assists and 21 offensive rebounds. Brayden Kyman had 24 points, five 3-pointers and five rebounds; Drew Anderson 19 points, 11 rebounds and six assists; and Kaiden Bailey 16 points, six assists and two steals.

EL DORADO 71, ANAHEIM 48: The Golden Hawks (10-1) were led by EvanNam who had 15 points and Ryan Northcott who had 12 points. Sweet added nine points.

TESORO 50, PALM SPRINGS 32: The Titans (10-2) were led by Owen Hatch with 19 points. Carson Hatch had 13 points, and Max Draper eight points and 12 rebounds.

Villa Park 56, Irvine 42

Foothill 57, Tustin 44

Trabuco Hills 69, Yorba Linda 67

—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com

The 2025-26 basketball season is now more than three weeks old, and while plenty of games remain, several teams in both boys and girls basketball have already emerged as potential contenders in the Schuylkill League.

Boys Basketball

Schuylkill Haven (6-0, 3-0)

Last season, Schuylkill Haven was 10-13 overall and 6-8 in conference play. But just six games into their 2025-26 season, the Hurricanes are already past the halfway mark to matching their win total from last year and are halfway to matching their league wins from a season ago as well. Through the first few weeks of the season, Fran Murphy’s team has been a strong, fundamentally sound team. They’ve picked up wins over District III’s Northern Lebanon 64-57, Nativity BVM 73-62, District IV’s Upper Dauphin 67-40, Weatherly 60-58, and Marian Catholic 54-47. Their next test may be their biggest of the season so far, as they’ll face a very strong Williams Valley team that enters the game with a 3-1 record of their own.

North Schuylkill (4-1, 3-0)

North Schuylkill won just four games last season, but under first-year coach Anthony Agosti, the Spartans have already matched last year’s win total. The Spartans have picked up wins in the early season over District II opponent Hanover Area 54-18, and have also defeated Panther Valley 60-47, Pine Grove 53-50, and Mahanoy Area 53-11. Their lone loss of the season came on December 6 against District IV opponent Lewisburg, 51-43. The season is still young, but this year’s Spartans’ team looks much different than the team that struggled so mightily just a year ago, a testament to Agosti’s coaching thus far. If the Spartans can continue their success, he’ll be among the favorites to be Coach of the Year.

Pottsville (3-1, 3-0)

Another program under a first-year coach in Tyler Heffner, the Crimson Tide is off to a 3-1 start this season, including 3-0 in league play. Heffner notably did inherit a Crimson Tide team that was 21-7 a season ago, but that doesn’t take away from the strong start for the Tide this season. After starting their season with a 48-45 win over Blue Mountain, the Tide picked up a big win a few days later over Tamaqua, 53-34, and most recently an 11-point victory over a quality Minersville squad, 62-51. Their lone loss of the campaign so far was a close 63-58 loss to District II’s Hazleton, a Class 6A program that will be among the favorites to win District II’s Class 6A championship and will be a state playoff contender. The Crimson Tide are going to be very tough to knock off this season and will be among the favorites all season long to win the Schuylkill League.

Tri-Valley (4-0, 3-0)

Schuylkill League Division II was considered a toss-up coming into the season, but Tri-Valley is making a strong statement as potentially the team to beat this season, alongside Schuylkill Haven. Mike Masser’s squad this season has been nothing short of dominant through four games. After opening the season with an 81-68 win over District III opponent Schuylkill Valley, the Bulldogs defeated Williams Valley 66-56, Lourdes 81-57, and Shenandoah Valley most recently 79-61. Helping their cause is one of the Schuylkill League’s top scorers, Braeden Doyle, who is averaging a tremendous 24.7 points per game this season.

Girls Basketball

North Schuylkill (3-0, 3-0)

The Spartans were one of the best teams last season in Division I with a 19-7 record and are quickly showing they’ll once again be among the best in 2025-26. The Spartans this season have picked up wins over Panther Valley 64-24, Pine Grove 41-40, and Minersville 56-33. The Spartans are hoping to return to the Schuylkill League title game this season after falling short of winning the title last year, finishing second to Schuylkill Haven. Notably, the Spartans and Hurricanes will face off in the new year on January 6 in Fountain Springs.

Schuylkill Haven (3-1, 3-0)

No surprise here to see the Hurricanes among the teams off to strong starts. Tony Sanders once again has his Hurricanes playing at a high level, and they’ve been tested early this season as well. They began their season with a 40-37 win over Tamaqua, a threat to the Hurricanes’ Division I and Schuylkill League title this season. They also beat Blue Mountain 47-38 and a well-improved Pottsville squad 45-39. They fell to District IV opponent Hughesville 69-34 on December 6. Like the Hurricanes, Hughesville was a participant in last year’s PIAA Class 3A Girls Basketball state championships. Nonetheless, the Hurricanes have bounced back well from the loss and remain one of the best, well-rounded, and toughest to beat teams in the Schuylkill League.

Lourdes (4-0, 3-0)

Loudes nearly won a state championship last season and are hoping to finish their business this season. They’re off to a great start in that journey. The Red Raiders started their season with four-straight blowout victories over Meadowbrook Christian 52-15, Sullivan County 60-14, Shenandoah Valley 40-14, and Tri-Valley 52-16. On Friday night, they faced their toughest challenge yet, the Williams Valley Vikings, a state title contender in their own right, and defeated the Vikings 38-30. It’s hard to stay perfect through an entire season, but it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see the Red Raiders finish this season with fewer losses than they did a year ago, when they were 23-7.

Mahanoy Area (4-0, 3-0)

Mahanoy Area is becoming a very intriguing team to watch in Division II this season as they are off to a great start. The Golden Bears have been dominant all season long. After a 65-47 season-opening win over Panther Valley, they cruised to wins over Nativity BVM (52-11), Weatherly (57-10), and Marian (49-33). They’ll be tested in the near future, however, with matchups against Williams Valley, Tamaqua, and Lourdes all in the next three weeks. How the Golden Bears can navigate that portion of their schedule will tell us quite a bit about just how strong this Golden Bears squad is this season.

© 2025 the Republican & Herald (Pottsville, Pa.). Visit republicanherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.