FLEMING ISLAND - Fleming Island High sophomore Aubrey Burke has become the end-of-season go-to playmaker for the Golden Eagles girls basketball team that stole a 62-45 district win over Creekside High on Wed., Jan. 11 to secure at least a coin-flip chance of a top seed in the district 4-8A tournament championship lineup.

“Coach told me to not be afraid to shoot the ball,” said Burke. “I usually drive in, get rebounds and pass to Malory or Molly (guards Sinsel and Ragle). Coach said if I was that close to take the shot.”

Fleming Island’s recent surge runs parallel to Middleburg High, now at 17-3, 6-1 in district 3-7A, who also avenged an earlier season loss to position themselves for a second coin-toss district number one seed for the upcoming district championship tournament. The Lady Broncos, led by senior Hannah Roney, who recently signed a scholarship to play at Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina (see story inside), and is inching toward a possible 2,000 point career scoring mark (1,990 as of January 13), avenged a December 13 district loss to previously unbeaten Nease High, 64-59, with a hard-fought 50-45 win on January 10. The Broncos, with Roney defensed to just 10 points and 0-8 on three-pointers, lost a 61-40 contest to Fleming Island on December 29 in the Clay High Christmas Tournament and will surely be looking for the second shot at the Golden Eagles.

BY THE WAY: 8A-Fleming Island travels to 7A-Middleburg on Thurs., Jan. 19 for a non-district showdown of epic proportions in front of the Bronco Stampede fan section.

Fleming Island has been scorching not only the district lineup, but any takers along the way to their now 19-1-0 record, 7-1-0 in district play. Along the path of wins, the Golden Eagle beat Buchholz, of 4-8A, 76-45, with Burke hitting for 16 on January 6, Oakleaf, of 4-8A, 60-41 on January 10 with Burke hitting for 17 points, and most recently, Creekside on January 11 behind Burke’s 19 points. Creekside holds the lone loss for Fleming Island, a 51-41 clanging built around horrific free throw and field goal shooting by the Golden Eagle squad.

Against Oakleaf, prior to the Creekside win, Williams had a chance to wrest any doubt that his team would be the top target for the upcoming district tournament. Fleming Island put on a blistering 21-6 first quarter show that Oakleaf would never recover from and go on to a 60-41 victory.

The Golden Eagles defense made a statement right from the tip-off making steal after steal and gouging out rebounds.

“If we play like that, we’re going to be hard to beat. I’m not being arrogant,” said Williams, after the Oakleaf win. “We’ve worked hard to get to where we’re at. They are playing more team ball. Now we’re moving and making the defense guess.”

At one point, the Golden Eagles were up by 30 and rotated every girl on the roster into the game for at least several minutes of play.

Fleming Island’s Achilles Heel all season seemed to show vast improvement as the team went 50 percent on free throws.

The Oakleaf Knights didn’t go quietly. Down 32-15 at the half, the coaching staff went into adjustment mode and after the break, the Knights had some answers. In the fourth quarter, as Fleming substituted less experienced girls in, Oakleaf took full advantage going on to a 19-8 fourth quarter run. Oakleaf had standout playing from Mar’ria Davis with 12 points, Andrea Diaz Merced with 11 and Chancelor Lee with 8.

Against Creekside, Fleming Island blasted to a 25-8 first quarter followed by a 13-9 surge to hit the break up 38-17. Both teams hunkered down in the second half, but Fleming Island prevailed with an 18-13 third and a 20-15 final stanza for the win.

Burke topped the scoring at 16, with four girls hitting double figures; Lizzie Labas with 13, Molly Ragle and Tia Robinson both with 12 points and Malory Sinsel with 11 as she has bullseyed her three-point shot with three for the night.

Fleming Island won a non-district 54-45 over a much-improved 6A-Orange Park High team on January 13 with three remaining games on tap; at Mandarin January 17, at Middleburg January 19, at Clay January 20 and senior night against Orange Park on January 24.

For the Broncos, a 57-54 loss to 5A-Fernandia Beach (21-1) despite 26 points (4-3Ptrs) from Roney, is the third blemish on the schedule and has been followed by wins over Ridgeview, Oakleaf, Nease and Clay. Against Ridgeview, Oakleaf and Clay, Middleburg scored over 70 points. Roney, who averaged near 26 points per game as a junior to boost her career total quickly, hit for game scores of 12, 20, 15 and nine in the last four games with five three pointers against Oakleaf.

“We are getting more production from the girls around her and she, I think, is getting in her final push as a senior mode,” said Bronco coach Michael Hayward. “She wants to get her team to the Final Four.”

Mallory Roney, with 316 points for the season just three off of sister Hannah’s 319 season points, has also gotten a hot hand with 22 points against Clay, 18 against Fernandina Beach, 17 against Ridgeview, 23 against Oakleaf, 10 against Nease and 26 against Clay. Mallory Roney had a game high 30 points in the Nease loss in December as Hannah Roney had foul problems in that second half.

Hayward third shooter, freshman Britany Range, is just a handful of buckets off the Roney pace with 287 points with her high game against Bartram Trail (25 Pts) on December 8 and 21 points against Oakleaf. Range had just four points in the first Nease game with 13 in the second game.

“I know it’s tough to be the third shooter behind the two Roney girls, but she has learned her role as being as important to the team as any,” said Hayward. “She’s only a freshman and that says a lot about her drive.”