Seasoned Wildwood, youthful Geneva share a state dream

Wildwood has imposing height and girls who have grown up together on basketball courts. Geneva School has only two seniors and counts two seventh-graders as key pieces in its starting lineup.

What the two small schools share in common is the dream of winning a girls basketball state championship this week. They’ll play separate FHSAA state semifinal games in Lakeland today.

Wildwood takes on Bonifay Holmes County in Class 1A at 10 a.m.

Geneva, which advanced to the 2A final four when Palm Bay Covenant Christian was forced to forfeit hours before its regional final matchup, faces Ormond Beach Calvary Christian at 4 p.m.

The championship games are Wednesday at 6 p.m. for 1A and 8:30 for 2A.

Admission to The Lakeland Center is $10 per day. Parking is $10.

Four of Wildwood’s five starters were on a team that finished as state runner-up two years ago. Most of its team members have competed together since sixth and seventh grades.

Five players are listed at 5-foot-9 or taller, including 6-footer Kari Niblack, who has shot 53 percent from the field while averaging 17.2 points and 12.2 rebounds per game.

“The games we played against teams like [Class 7A semifinalists] Fort Myers, it was the defense that kept us in it, and it’s the defense that’s won games for us,” said Wildwood coach Richard Hampton. “The intensity we’re able to put on other teams, with the height and the length, it’s an added bonus.”

A challenging schedule against larger-classification opponents prepared the Wildcats for this moment. After starting the season 3-4, Wildwood reached 20 wins for the fourth straight year.

Geneva has turned to seniors Grace Natale and Grace Gunter for state tournament advice. The duo helped lead the Knights to a volleyball state championship game this past fall.

Senior standout Kiki Hooks, who averages 13.7 points and 5.8 rebounds, is the only other upperclassman on the team.

“They’ve been able to kind of help the younger kids out during the whole process,” Geneva coach Jonathan Armstead said of his seniors.

“They’ve been great with the maturity level around here.”