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.”
