Hawthorne Girls Hoops’ Season Comes to an End

After posting a successful 22-5 regular season, the Lady Hornets fell short in the State Semi-Finals against Holmes County. A heartbreaking 56-40 game sent the Hornets back home without a title.

Title or not, Hawthorne has a lot to be proud of. In the Hornets’ first game in their post-season run, Hawthorne edged out Madison County by just one point, 49-48. Then, advancing to the Regional Finals, the Hornets proved their grit and determination when they beat Lafayette by just a five-point margin, 55-50.

However, in their final game against Holmes County, the Hornets would lose their trip to the State Finals by a 16-point difference.

A memorable season for our Lady Hornets, it sadly came to a close in the Final Four to Holmes County by a score of 56-40.. WE LOVE YOU GIRLS, THANK YOU FOR AN AMAZING SEASON #Gohornets #HornetsPride

— Hawthorne Hornets (@HawthorneHoops) February 25, 2019

What Happened

In the first quarter, Holmes County limited the Hornets to just five points, while the Blue Devils lead the game with 11 points.

By half time, the Hornets added just six points to total 11, while Holmes County more than doubled their score, ending the half with 26 points.

Hawthorne also trailed the Blue Devils’ production in several stats at the half.

Holmes County:                                                                   Hawthorne:

• Field Goals: 10-28 (35.7%)                                              –  Field Goals: 3-28 (10.7%)
• 3-PT: 2-10 (20%)                                                               –  3-PT: 1-7 (14%)
• Free Throws: 4-9 (44%)                                                   –  Free Throws: 4-8 (50%)
• Rebounds: 28 (9 Off, 19 Def)                                          –   Rebounds: 23 (10 Off, 13 Def)

During the third quarter, Hawthorne began closing the scoring gap between themselves and Holmes County, but could not gain enough to take the lead. At the end of the third quarter, Hawthorne trailed by 16 points, 38-22.

Moving towards the end of the game, Hawthorne could not prevail as it did in so many of its other games. Remaining at a 16-point deficit, the Lady Hornets would concede 56-40 to the Blue Devils in the Final Four.

However, several Lady Hornets made notable efforts in their last game of the 2019 season.

Final Scoring Leaders for Holmes County

Kinzie Nelson- 23
Akiela Farrow- 12
Katy Jo Bomann- 7
Rhianna Goodwin- 7

Final Scoring Leaders for @HawthorneHoops

Kentavia Hagins- 15
Jayla Williams- 9
Antavia Mason- 9
Jaybria Gray- 7@SunPreps @scottlapeer @ThePrepZone

— HSSportsFlorida (@HSSportsFL) February 25, 2019

1A-State Finals

As Holmes County advanced, they took on the Trenton Tigers in hopes to take home some hardware. However, Trenton would prove victorious and claim the 1-A State Champion title.

In a 43-31 win, the Tigers would win their first state title since 1980 and just the third in program history.

https://twitter.com/HSSportsFL/status/1100497270926180352

Trenton, who went 27-3 overall and 12-0 in district play, had a talented roster that proved to be successful. Head coach Bryant Frye admitted he had a gut feeling all along that his girls would prove victorious this year.

“They persevered. We had a lot of experienced players and that helped me out. Our goal is always to win it. Sometimes you can and sometimes you can’t, but it just happened this year and we got it!”

All of Hawthorne’s roster should be returning to the court next season except for lone senior Forward Jaybria Gray who made second-team all-area last season.