High school girls basketball: Hawthorne defeats Madison County, advances to regional final

HAWTHORNE − Not many teams can say they missed more than 20 layups in a playoff game and advanced to the next round.

But that’s the stat Hawthorne girls basketball head coach Cornelius Ingram had circled on the locker room whiteboard at halftime Thursday night.

Still, it didn’t discourage a young Hornets team.

“We knew we had our chances early,” Ingram said, ”and it goes that way sometimes. We definitely didn’t push the panic button at all."

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After the break, Hawthorne hit a lot more layups to win a heated regional semifinal over Madison County 61-50 and advance to Tuesday’s Class A final against Newberry (22-5). The Hornets (15-9) haven't missed a regional championship with Ingram at the helm.

“A lot of teams didn’t play tonight,” Ingram said, “so we definitely cherish every win. I’m excited to be able to coach on Tuesday, I can tell you that.”

Hornets guard De’Mya Adams led all scorers with 20 points. Fellow sophomore Jhalea Jackson followed, scoring 13, and Jaz’lyn Jackson and Lakijah Brown joined them in double figures for the region's top seed.

Sophomore guard Jaidyn Wesley paced the fourth-seeded Cowboys (15-9) with 14 points.

Here are three takeaways from Hawthorne’s win:

Hornets apply pressure, break away in the third

After a first half where Hawthorne attacked ferociously but couldn’t finish, the game plan didn’t change in the final two quarters. The shots just started falling.

The Hornets pulled together and outscored Madison 22-10 in the third quarter. Eighteen of those points came on hard-nosed finishes at the rim.

Hawthorne’s flurry came in part to the pressure from their 2-2-1 press – a defense they played all night – finally beginning to result in steals.

Ingram credited his squad’s ability to play position-less basketball to keep their opponents off-balance. With just nine players on the roster, that's a necessity as much as anything.

Jackson, a 6-foot forward, played one wing of the front line of that press for the whole second half.

“We can interchange positions, even when we’re not pressed, because all of our girls know all five spots,” Ingram said. “Our press was very effective throughout the entire game and definitely in the second half.”

At the 4:50 mark, Brown began a great stretch by taking a charge from Madison junior Janiyah McKnight, sending her to the bench with a fourth personal foul.

On the other end of the floor, she connected on consecutive lay-ins to stretch Hawthorne’s lead to 10.

On a difficult finishing night for Adams, an incredible make through contact to beat the third quarter buzzer capped the Hornets’ important run.

Hawthorne’s free-throw shooting the difference

The Hornets and Cowboys failed to make more than half of their respective free-throw attempts in a matchup with plenty opportunities. Hawthorne was 15 of 30), Madison 9 of 24.

With McKnight, a 19.7 points per game scorer, in foul trouble most of the game, the Cowboys had difficulty generating much offense.

In the bonus and holding a one-point lead two and half minutes before halftime, Madison couldn’t take advantage, finishing the quarter 2 of 6 at the line.

When Hawthorne reclaimed the lead en route to its demoralizing third-quarter stretch, those early misses became amplified.

Calm backcourt key in final minutes

Despite poor free-throw shooting, the Cowboys had life for most of the final frame.

Back-to-back buckets for senior Nia Long cut the lead to 10, and a layup from Wesley slimmed it down to single digits with 5:25 left in the game.

This prompted Ingram to bark a reminder from the sideline to his Hornets:

“The game ain’t over yet!” he yelled.

Adams answered her coach’s call for stability, continuing to pound the paint and, at last, get those layups to fall. Her seven-point quarter kept the Cowboys within arm’s length.

“I have some veteran girls who have been down this road,” Ingram said, “and that also helps us as a coaching staff, helps the other girls relax.”

Up 11 with 2:30 to go, the Hornets successfully slowed the pace down and played a half-court game to protect their lead.

Follow Caleb Wiegandt on Twitter at @CalebWiegandt.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Hawthorne Hornets eliminate Madison County Cowboys