Milton Senior Girls Prove Too Much for Parkview in Playoff Win

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.
“It’s a pleasure and a blessing to coach those two,” Milton coach Craig Bennett said. “We draw on the experience of our seniors and they’ve made a tremendous difference for us.”
Parkview (22-6) slowed Milton down in a first half that saw nine lead changes and ended with the Eagles holding an 18-17 lead.
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,” Bennett said. “We challenged our girls to come out sharper mentally [in the second half].”
“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.”
Parkview was led by Carroll, who scored a game-high 19 points, including five 3-pointers. Only four other Parkview players scored.