Hawthorne Girls Basketball Set for State Championship

Following an upset win over the No. 1 seed Ponce De Leon High School in the Class 1A Girls Basketball State semifinals, the Hawthorne girls now stand only one win away from a state title.

The Hornets will face Wildwood High School (24-1) Friday at 7 p.m. The Wildcats have won 15 straight games while the Hornets have won eight straight.

Tomorrow we'll crown the first two of our Girls Basketball State Champions! Who will wear the crown? Schedule below:

Class 2A: Faith Christian vs. Horeb Christian – 4:30 PM
Class 1A: Hawthorne vs. Wildwood – 7PM@SpecSports360 @RPFundingCenter pic.twitter.com/YISs8RwhTX

— FHSAA (@FHSAA) February 24, 2023

Hawthorne Girls Stats

Hawthorne is led by guard De’Mya Adams, who is averaging 18.8 points per game. Guard Jaz’lyn Jackson is not far behind Adams, averaging 17.2 points per game. Jackson also averages 10.3 rebounds per game but the leader on the boards is Jhalea Jackson, who averages 12 rebounds per game.

For the Wildcats, Trinidy Harris leads the offense, averaging 22 points per game while shooting 48% from the field. Additionally, Zoey Brown averages 11.1 points per game to go along with 6.2 assists per game.

Hornets Looking for Redemption

While the two teams have not met this season, they have met often in the past. Hawthorne head coach Cornelius Ingram joined Sports Scene Thursday and talked about how the upcoming matchup. He said the team is looking for a chance at redemption after a loss in the regional final to Wildwood last year.

Despite the Wildcats’ impressive record and past history against Hawthorne, coach Ingram is confident in his team’s ability to rise to the occasion. Ingram’s coaching method goes beyond the court. Ingram talked about how he has the girls on the basketball team be the water girls for the football team. The method is to get them used to seeing and feeling the competition, especially in big playoff football games where the stakes are very high. He believes that experiences like this as well as all the hard work the team puts in at practice has prepared them for this game and moment.

Tipoff is at 7 p.m. at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, Florida.