Preview: Hawthorne Hornets vs. Madison County Cowboys
The Hawthorne Hornets are on the road again on Monday and plays the Madison County Cowboys at 7:00 p.m. on February 19th. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Hawthorne walked away with it. They walked away with a 38-27 victory over the Red Flashes on Wednesday. Given Hawthorne's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 72nd, while Hilliard is ranked 304th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Hawthorne to victory, but perhaps none more so than Lakijah Brown, who scored 11 points. Another player making a difference was Ranicia Coleman, who scored eight points along with ten rebounds.
Meanwhile, Madison County came tearing into Wednesday's contest with ten straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 22.5 points) and they left with even more momentum. They secured a 60-56 W over Newberry. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Madison County's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Janiyah Mcknight, who scored 20 points along with four steals and two blocks. Mcknight hasn't dropped below two steals for eight straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaidyn Wesley, who scored 14 points along with seven rebounds and five assists.
Hawthorne's victory bumped their record up to 19-3. As for Madison County, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 13 of their last 14 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 21-4 record this season.
Monday's match is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Hawthorne have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 37.1% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Madison County struggles in that department as they've made 38.7% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Hawthorne was able to grind out a solid win over Madison County in their previous matchup back in February of 2023, winning 61-50. Will Hawthorne repeat their success, or does Madison County have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
