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LAKELAND – The fourth-seeded Hawthorne High girls basketball team upset one-seeded Wildwood 44-41 on Friday to advance to the 1A State Championship Final at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
This is Hawthorne’s second straight state championship game after winning last year’s edition against Wildwood 42-38.
First-Quarter Duel
Wildwood (19-4) opened the quarter with two layups in the first minute. Hawthorne’s De’Mya Adams responded with a 3-pointer. Both teams went back-and-forth throughout the quarter, which ended with Wildwood having an 11-10 lead.
Physical Play
Wildwood enjoyed great success on the glass throughout the second quarter. On the first possession of the quarter alone, Wildwood grabbed five offensive rebounds, resulting in a Zaria Weaver layup.
“There was a stretch where they got all those rebounds and we still had the size advantage,” Hawthorne coach Cornelius Ingram said of the physical play by Wildwood. “We were being lazy.”
The Wildcats used their physical play to get easy layups for their guards. The Wildcats held a 25-19 lead at halftime.
Wildwood Stretches The Lead
Wildwood opened the second half with an and-one call six seconds into the half, courtesy of a tough layup made by Essiance Jasper. The Wildcats continued to get good looks inside, scoring multiple layups and close-range jumpers.
Fourth-Quarter Chaos
Hawthorne (21-3) opened the quarter with a pair of buckets in the first minute of play to cut the Wildwood lead in half.
“We said just cut the lead in half and see what happens,” said Ingram about his instructions to his team going into the fourth quarter.
After a layup from Wildwood’s Trinidy Harris with five minutes to go in the game to stretch the lead to six, Hawthorne hit back-to-back 3-point shots to tie the game at 41. The Hornets took the lead with 2:13 to go, courtesy of a Jhalea Jackson layup. This was the first lead for the Hornets.
The Final Minute
Coming into the last minute of the game, it was anyone’s guess who would end up on top with Hawthorne having a 43-41 lead. After grabbing a Wildwood miss, Hawthorne attempted to pass the ball around to run out the clock. A Wildwood foul with 44.5 seconds left forced Hawthorne’s T’Myrah Carter to the free-throw line, where she extended the lead to three points.
Coming out of a timeout with 30 seconds left, Wildwood attempted a play that resulted in a turnover. Hawthorne, after a messy inbounds attempt, proceeded to give the ball back to Wildwood with seconds left. A 3-point attempt by Wildwood as time expired fell short.
What’s Next
Hawthorne is one win away from repeating as state champions.
The Hornets will meet three-seed Graceville (24-2) at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland. The winner will be crowned the Girls Basketball 1A State Champion.
