- May 11, 2024
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Spruce Creek guard Jayla Adams shoots a floater over Colonial's defense. Photo by Ray Boone
Hawks coach Kelvin Hamm cheers after his team takes a big lead over Colonial. Photo by Ray Boone
Spruce Creek's Yoke Tassent attempts a free throw against Colonial. Photo by Ray Boone
Hawks guard Jayla Adams attempts a 3-pointer against Colonial. Photo by Ray Boone
Hawks guard Jayla Adams attempts a 3-pointer against Colonial. Photo by Ray Boone
Every morning and every night, Jayla Adams is in the gym preparing for her moment. Until her muscles scream with pain, until she can shoot no more, Spruce Creek’s senior guard works on her jump shot.
When Adams pulled up from beyond the arc with 2:50 left in the first half in the Hawks regional final matchup with Colonial, she didn’t have to think. The motions, they came naturally — like breathing. There was little doubt in the outcome.
As soon as the ball was released from Adams’ left hand, the gym at Colonial High School collectively held its breath. An “Oh no!” broke the periodic silence, followed by the clean rip of the net from Adams’ high-arching shot.
It was her seventh 3-pointer of the half and her fourth in a row.
The Hawks steam rolled Colonial 78-47 on the night of Friday, Feb. 23, in Orlando, sending the Hawks to their first Final Four appearance in school history. Sophomore Peryonna Sylvester finished with 15 points, all in the second half, and junior Alyssa Derrick added 13 points and 14 rebounds. Adams scored 23 points — in the first half — and 25 for the game.
“She’s great. She works hard. She leads us. We really rely on her, game in and game out,” Hawks coach Kelvin Hamm said of Adams.
In addition, Hamm added that in big postseason games such as Friday night, he tends to give Adams, the team’s top scorer and a Florida Atlantic commit, the ball and gets out of her way.
“I just tell her to go get the win for me,” Hamm said.
Last season, Spruce Creek fell short in the Elite Eight after the Hawks were bounced by Wekiva 60-51. Hamm talked about the sting of last years' heartbreaking loss to his team prior to taking the floor against Colonial. Thanks in part to the hot shooting of Adams, Spruce Creek advances to face Oak Ridge at 6 p.m. Friday, March 2, at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
“Do you want to be a hero, or do you want to be a legend?” Adams recalled her coach telling her before the game. “I wanted to be a legend.”
