'Ready to shut them up:' How a 3-pointer lifted Hawthorne back to the Class 1A championship

For over 25 minutes, the Hornets flew against the wind.

Hawthorne’s defense proved as stingy as usual, but Wildwood countered, and it appeared like a lid was on the basket for the Hornets.

With 3:34 left in the fourth and HHS down six, a De’Mya Adams triple kickstarted a revolution.

The 3 began a 9-0 run for the Hornets, one that carried the girls of eastern Alachua County to a thrilling 44-41 victory over Wildwood Friday afternoon in the FHSAA Class 1A state semifinals at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.

Here’s how the No. 4 seed Hornets (21-3) upset the top-seeded Wildcats (19-4):

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The key to the 9-0 run

Shortly after Adams’ triple, Zakena Ealy followed it up with a 3 of her own to tie at 41.

The senior had been 0-for-5 from behind the arc, but Hornets coach Cornelius Ingram believed the momentum from Adams carried over to Ealy.

“She was built for that moment. We knew when it left her hands it was good,” Ingram said. “Then it was really game time.”

Hawthorne trailed by 12 with about three minutes left in the third when Adams began to formulate the comeback strategy.

“I kept telling everyone on the court, ‘We’re down 11,’ and then as we kept getting back, ‘We’re down five, we’re down three, let’s keep this going,’” Adams said.

Hawthorne took the lead for good on a Jhalea Jackson layup with 1:15 left.

A free thrown from T’Myrah Carter and some clutch defensive stops iced the win for the Hornets.

During the final few, Ingram believed his team played more relaxed.

WHS spend much of the season as 1A’s best. In the final FHSAA rankings, it came in at No. 22, by far the class best.

“There’s a lot of pressure being the No. 1 team all year, so we wanted to come out and just play basketball,” Ingram said. “We were able to beat them in the state title game, so I felt they would press themselves a little bit more.”

For Adams, she heard the praise echoed towards Wildwood and the “disrespect” for the defending state champs, especially after Hawthorne began the season 3-3.

“I’ve been seeing it all year, ‘Wildwood’s going to be y’all,’” Adams said. “Even on Facebook, I saw posts that our season was over, so I was definitely ready to shut them up.”

Wildcat fans retained that energy through Friday. At one point in the second quarter, they chanted “overrated.”

Defensive switch in fourth

Two.

That’s the number of points to which Hawthorne held Wildwood in the fourth.

The ‘Cats shot 1 of 12 from the field and 0-for-4 from 3 in the final eight minutes.

Wildwood coach Vincent Brown said his team struggled with the Hornets' switch from zone to man.

“We wanted to make that adjustment and use one more guard,” Ingram said. “Does the man work all the time? No, but the percentages are high. I believe it had a lot to do with our comeback.”

Jackson capitalized with the man D, and with her size advantage. The junior PF tallied a 12 point, 11 rebound double-double.

Ingram noted Hawthorne wanted to get the ball in the post for those reasons.

“I believe Jhalea is one of the best bigs in the entire state,” Ingram said. “We call her the point forward because she can bring the ball up the floor. She makes the correct play and doesn’t force anything.”

What’s next?

Just the Graceville Tigers stand between Hawthorne and its second straight title and third in five years.

Graceville, 60 miles north of Panama City and just minutes from the Alabama border, compiled a record of 24-2. Those wins came mostly, though, against weak Panhandle competition.

The Hornets and Tigers don’t share any common opponents, but Graceville did upset No. 2 seed Ponce De Leon in 1A’s other semifinal.

“They’re not here by accident,” Ingram said. “They have some great athletes and play with great energy.”

A win Saturday gives Ingram a 4-0 record in state title games the last two seasons after the Hornets' football program went back-to-back this past December.

“I’ll sleep on that one tonight,” Ingram laughed.

Tipoff Saturday is set for 5:30 p.m. from the RP Funding Center in Lakeland. The game can also be shown on the NFHS Network, with live updates on Gainesville.com/sports/high-school/.

Noah Ram covers Gainesville-area high school sports and University of Florida athletics for The Gainesville Sun. Contact him at Nram@gannett.com and follow him @Noah_ram1 on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Hawthorne beats Wildwood in the FHSAA Class 1A state semifinals