Parkview Girls Fall to Milton in First Round of State

In the end, it was Milton’s experience that made the biggest difference in its first-round victory over Parkview Friday in the Class AAAAA girls basketball tournament.

The Eagles (20-6), who start four seniors, including two Division I signees, leaned on that experience to beat Parkview 46-36 in Lilburn. Milton, a state semifinalist last season, trailed by two points midway through the third quarter, then used a 17-2 run into the fourth to end Parkview’s season. It was the second consecutive season the Panthers’ lost to a lower seed in the first round of state.

The scoring of Nikki Dixon (Clemson) and inside presence of 6-foot-4 center Tori Waldner (Penn State) proved too much for a Parkview team that started two sophomores and two juniors. Dixon finished with a team-high 19 points, including 12 after halftime. She also made four straight free throws in the final minute and a half after Parkview had pulled to within six points.

Waldner scored 10 points, but she also dominated the lane, with her rebounding and outlet passes leading the Eagles to easy fastbreak points in the second half.

The first half was another story. Parkview (22-6) slowed down Milton as the lead changed nine times before halftime. At times, Parkview’s defense seemed to confuse the Eagles.

“We thought we had a great game plan against them,” Parkview coach Mike McCoy said. “We did a good job of slowing them down in the first half … [But in the second half] we took some quick shots and they got some long rebounds and some breakaways. That’s been their offense all year.”

The Panthers kept it close after half, but when 6-foot-3 sophomore Mia Marshall, who had been playing well on the boards, went to the bench with her third foul with 4:37 left in the third, things started to unravel for Parkview.

Katie Carroll’s steal and layup gave Parkview a 22-20 lead at the 3:54 mark of the period, but Milton then went on its game-changing run.

“We didn’t feel like we played our best in the first half, but you’ve got to credit Parkview for that,” Milton coach Craig Bennett said. “We challenged our girls to come out sharper mentally [in the second half].”

Ultimately, Parkview struggled to find more than one scorer. Carroll, playing in her final game as a Panther, was brilliant from end to end. She had a game-high 19 points, including five 3-pointers. She made back-to-back threes in the final minutes that helped Parkview pull to within 39-33 with 1:11 left.

McCoy said he was happy with the progress the Panthers made this year with such a young lineup. His team was playing its best basketball over the past month and, quite frankly, drew one of the toughest first-round opponents of the tournament.

“To come as far as we’ve come, from where we were at the beginning of the season, was great,” McCoy said. “I just wish we had a few more games to play to see how much better they could be.”