The Hayfield Hawks appear to a be a bona fide contender this year, and why that is was on full display Saturday morning at Madison in the Hawks 45-38 win.
After blowing a double-digit lead to trail the Warhawks by three late in the third quarter, the Hawks didn’t panic. They simply got the ball into the post on offense and adjusted their defense, holding Madison to two fourth quarter points en route to the victory.
The Hawks had capable post players already, but they added another one this season in 6’2″ sophomore Ziyana Williams, a transfer from Mount Vernon. Williams led the balanced Hayfield attack with 16 points, with a lot of her production coming in the fourth quarter.
“We’re trying to play inside-out as much as possible now that we have that height,” said Hayfield Coach Jason Kirby. “So we’re trying to take advantage of that as much as possible, knowing that teams are going to try and double down.”
Even when Williams wasn’t in, the Hawks (1-2) had inside presence with the likes of junior returnees Eva Philips and Madison Davis, and promising freshman forward Rylee Spinner. And of course there’s the Hawks backcourt, overflowing with talent and led by returning First Team All-National District selection Alexis Cox (eight points).
Kirby’s roster is loaded and deep, as evidenced by the fact that ten Hawks had scored by halftime.
“This is probably the most balanced team we’ve had in quite a bit,” said Kirby. “We’re really excited by that…we’re still trying to figure it out, but we’re trying to get as many players in as possible because they all do something different….and they help each other out.”
It is still a work in progress, however, as a good number of the Hawks remain relatively young. Hayfield led 26-16 at halftime, but the Warhawks (1-2) came storming back, led by the fearless play of senior Ava Wu, who buried three third quarter three-pointers. Madison scored 20 third quarter points, more than the other three quarters combined.
Perhaps last season Hayfield would have folded at that point, but the Hawks tightened their defense on Wu and the other Warhawks, sealing the victory. Sophomore guard Courtney Breland was key, as she was tough on defense and also contributed five rebounds and five assists.
Wu led Madison with 18 points, while junior guard Jada Ramos-Diggs added six points and seven assists.
all statistics are unofficial
| HAYFIELD | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| PHILIPS | 1-3 | 0-0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
| COX | 3-7 | 2-4 | 8 | 1 | 3 | |
| BRELAND | 1-7 | 1-2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | |
| DAVIS | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | |
| WILLIAMS | 7-9 | 2-3 | 16 | 2 | 0 | |
| Spinner | 1-4 | 0-0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Ngalieu | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| Carter | 2-7 | 0-0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | |
| Overton | 1-5 | 0-0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Hansford | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | |
| Lee | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| TOTALS | 19-48 | 5-9 | 45 | 24 | 13 | |
| Threes: Philips 1-2, Overton 1-4, Hansford 0-1, Carter 0-1, Cox 0-1, Breland 0-2 | ||||||
| MADISON | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| RAMOS-DIGGS | 1-9 | 4-4 | 6 | 5 | 7 | |
| WU | 6-17 | 2-2 | 18 | 4 | 1 | |
| LINEGANG | 1-3 | 0-0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| LOZIER | 1-5 | 0-0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| CREIGHTON | 1-4 | 1-2 | 3 | 6 | 1 | |
| Becker | 3-8 | 0-0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | |
| Manning | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Tomlinson | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 13-48 | 7-8 | 38 | 26 | 10 | |
| Threes: Wu 4-12, Lozier 1-4, Ramos-Diggs 0-2, Becker 0-2 | ||||||