BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Bradford High School was outscored 30-6 in the third quarter in what proved to be a 59-44 loss to District 2-3A opponent P.K. Yonge in a girls basketball game on Jan. 10 in Gainesville.
It was the second regular-season meeting between the teams, with the Tornadoes winning the first 55-49.
Bradford (7-6) got off to a good start in the second meeting, scoring the game’s first nine points. Jada Hankerson scored off a steal and then corralled a loose ball and knocked down a jumper after Ar’Nayshia Griffin forced a turnover. Griffin scored off a Hankerson steal before Destiny Crum — following a turnover forced by Ajiyah Jackson — connected from beyond the three-point arc to make it 9-0.
The Blue Wave (8-4) finally got on the board when Ashlyn Young made 1 of 2 free throws at the 5:20 mark of the first quarter.
A Griffin steal led to eventual basket, which put the Tornadoes up 11-1.
P.K. Yonge then outscored Bradford 11-5, with Reniyah Clark making two three-pointers and Summer Barnett adding another to help the Blue Wave go into the second quarter trailing 16-12.
The Tornadoes scored nine of the first 11 points of the second quarter. Two straight baskets early by Griffin and Jackson (following a turnover) put Bradford up 20-13. Khamya Hankerson made a three-pointer to give the Tornadoes a nine-point lead.
It was still a nine-point game before the Blue Wave’s Clark drained another three-point shot. Three points from the foul line by Jackson and Griffin pushed the margin to nine again before Barnett made a basket for P.K. Yonge to make it a 31-24 game going into halftime.
P.K. Yonge shot 28 percent from the field in the first half, but made 47 percent of its shots in the third quarter. The Blue Wave’s Da’mar Wims scored the first basket of the second half. She then had a steal that led to a basket by Young. Young then made a three-pointer following a Bradford turnover. Another turnover and subsequent technical foul on the Tornadoes led to two free throws by Young, putting P.K. Yonge up 33-31.
The Blue Wave’s 11-0 run to start the third quarter ended with Taylor Powers scoring off a Young steal.
Jackson finally put Bradford on the board in the third quarter, scoring off one of her 10 rebounds, but Jada Adderly made a three-pointer as the Blue Wave scored eight straight points.
Bradford got consecutive baskets from Jackson and Griffin to make it a six-point game, but P.K. Yonge closed out the third quarter with an 11-0 run, which ended with Barnett making a three-pointer and getting fouled on the shot with 11.2 seconds on the clock. Her free throw was good to send the Blue Wave into the final quarter leading 54-37.
The Tornadoes shot 41 percent from the field in the first half, but only 27 percent in the second.
Griffin (who finished with 11 rebounds) and Jackson were the only Bradford players to score in the second half, finishing with 20 and 13 points, respectively. Jada Hankerson added five points, while Crum and Khamyra Hankerson each had three.
Bradford plays at Hawthorne on Monday, Jan. 15, at 6 p.m. and will travel to play Keystone Heights on Tuesday, Jan. 16, at 7 p.m.
