BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Ar’Nayshia Griffin and Jada Hankerson each scored 12 first-half points as the Bradford High School girls basketball team held a lead for most of the game in defeating reigning Class 1A state champion Hawthorne 53-36 on Dec. 21 in Starke.
It was the second straight win for the Class 3A Tornadoes (6-4), while Hawthorne (3-3), which has been either a state champion or runner-up in three of the last four seasons, dropped its third straight game.
Bradford, which entered the game off a 50-29 win at Class 1A Fort White on Dec. 19, scored the final seven points of the first quarter in taking a lead it would never relinquish. Hankerson made a three-pointer and added another basket off a steal by Khamyra Hankerson. Griffin later grabbed a defensive rebound and dribbled the length of the court, drawing a foul on her way to the basket. She made both free throws to put the Tornadoes ahead 17-11.
The Hornets scored the first four points of the second quarter, but struggled for most of the game from the field. Hawthorne made just 9 of 31 field-goal attempts in the first half.
A rebound putback by Ajiyah Jackson began a 9-2 run by Bradford in the second quarter. Jada Hankerson drained her second three-pointer, while Griffin knocked down a foul-line jumper. After a basket by Hawthorne’s Lakijah Brown, Jackson scored points after two offensive rebounds. She was fouled on the first, making 1 of 2 free throws, while successfully getting the basket on the second to put Bradford up 27-17.
It was still a 10-point lead before the Hornets’ De’Mya Adams made a three-pointer with two minutes until halftime. Hawthorne had a chance to try to cut further into the Bradford lead, but Griffin came up with a steal. The Tornadoes missed a field goal at the other end, but Griffin was there to pull down the rebound and put it back up for a basket.
Adams made two free throws for Hawthorne with 36.4 seconds on the clock, but Griffin was able to score on a drive to the basket that sent the Tornadoes into the locker room leading 33-24.
Hawthorne opened the second half with a two-point basket by Ranicia Coleman and a three-point basket by Adams, but the Hornets went 3 of 16 from the field overall in the third quarter, which helped Bradford maintain its lead despite committing nine turnovers. Griffin rebounded four of Hawthorne’s missed shots as the Tornadoes went into the fourth quarter leading 40-34.
It was a shaky start to the final quarter for both teams. Hawthorne missed its first four shots and went 0 for 2 from the foul line, while Bradford missed its first two shots and also went 0 for 2 from the foul line.
The Tornadoes, though, would begin putting more points on the board, while the Hornets scored only two. Griffin drove the baseline for one basket, while Destiny Crum sank a jump shot for another. A turnover led to Khamyra Hankerson driving to the basket for a score and a 46-34 lead.
Jackson would add a basket off an offensive rebound, while Crum made a three-pointer with less than a minute on the clock.
Griffin, who led all scorers with 19 points, put the final points on the board when she scored off her own steal. She and Jackson grabbed five and three defensive rebounds, respectively, in the fourth quarter.
Jada Hankerson was the game’s third-leading scorer with 14 points. Bradford also got seven from Jackson, six from Khamyra Hankerson, five from Crum and two from Kailyn Teal.
