Mike Ridaught
Defending 1A state champion Hawthorne has yet to lose in 2024.
The Lady Hornets (16-6) have won 13 in a row heading into this week’s Class 1A-District 6 tournament at Fort White High School.
Leading the charge is junior guard De’Mya Adams, who has been recognized as the Pavlik Orthodontics Athlete of the Week for the week of Jan. 29.
Adams scored 55 points in leading Hawthorne to a 3-0 week with wins against Trenton, P.K. Yonge and Chiefland.
Her best game was against Trenton last Monday when she scored 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting (62.5%). She made four 3-pointers against the Lady Tigers on 4-of-9 shooting (44.4%).
Adams single-handedly outscored Trenton at the half, 15-13, as the Hornets cruised to a 67-24 mercy-rule win.
“She’s special, man,” Hawthorne coach Cornelius Ingram said after the game. “She’s able to score all over the floor. She’s also a great passer, a very unselfish ballplayer, but we know she can score the ball. At any given time, she can heat up…it was fun to watch. She made some outstanding plays in the open court as well.”
Against Class 3A regional finalist P.K. Yonge on the road on Wednesday, Adams scored 18 points against the Lady Blue Wave in a 46-33 win.
Hawthorne held just a one-point lead, 27-26, heading into the final quarter, but Adams helped her team pull away.
“Streaky shooter,” P.K. Yonge coach Willie Powers said of Adams. “She gets out on runs and gets easy baskets and plays hard on defense. She hit some timely 3s but also got a few runouts that hurt us bad in the last few minutes.”
On Senior Night against Chiefland, Adams finished out the week with 12 points (4-for-9), five assists and five steals in a 67-33 win in the regular season finale.
She becomes the 24th athlete to be selected for the weekly award during the 2023-24 school year.
Last week’s winner was Palmer Walton of the Buchholz boys basketball team.
The senior helped lead Buchholz to a 2-1 week by scoring 61 points, grabbing 19 rebounds and blocking three shots. His best game (24 points, seven rebounds and one block) was against rival GHS, which helped the Bobcats secure their first winning season in eight years and a season sweep of the Hurricanes.
Recent winners include Cornelius White of the Gainesville boys basketball team and Nyima Gillyard of the Trenton girls basketball team.
For a complete list of winners, click here.
Coaches can email their nominations each week, along with stats, no later than Sunday night to mike.ridaught@mainstreetdailynews.com.