The Hawthorne Hornets will face off against the Bell Bulldogs at TBD on Wednesday. Hawthorne will be looking to extend their current 13-game winning streak.
Hawthorne put the finishing touches on their ninth blowout victory of the season on Thursday. They claimed a resounding 67-33 victory over Chiefland at home. Given Hawthorne's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 78th, while the Indians are ranked 358th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Hawthorne's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jhalea Jackson led the charge by dropping a double-double on 16 points and ten rebounds. Jackson is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last nine games she's played. Ranicia Coleman was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Bell had no problem doing just that on Monday. They secured a 35-30 W over the Fightin' Tigers. The win made it back-to-back wins for Bell.
Maddie Smith continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 16 points along with three steals. That makes it four consecutive games in which she has scored at least a third of Bell's points. Another player making a difference was Dacy Graham, who scored six points along with 18 rebounds and four steals.
Hawthorne pushed their record up to 16-3 with that victory, which was their fifth straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.2 points per game. As for Bell, their win bumped their record up to 8-12.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Hawthorne have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 33 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Bell struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Hawthorne didn't have too much breathing room in their game against the Bulldogs in their previous meeting back in December of 2016, but they still walked away with a 33-28 win. Does Hawthorne have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Bulldogs turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
