Back-to-back! Last-second basket lifts Heathwood girls to second straight SCISA title
Heathwood Hall girls basketball coach Brionna Zimmerman didn’t panic and neither did her team.
Instead of calling a timeout with the game tied late in Friday’s SCISA 4A championship game, Zimmerman let her team handle it.
Camilliea Gore’s putback with 8.6 seconds left gave the Highlanders a 58-56 win over Northwood in the SCISA Class 4A championship at the Sumter Civic Center.
It was Heathwood’s second straight title and fifth in school history.
“I figured I had to trust them,” Zimmerman said. “They brought us this far so I had to trust their decision making. I tell them all the time they are elite players and they think they are elite. I have to step back and trust they could do that.”
The Highlanders led 55-51 with 1:10 left but couldn’t put the Chargers away in the rematch of last year’s championship. Northwood senior Ashton Wyndham buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key to tie it up with 22 seconds left.
Heathwood’s Sabreya Monsanto took the inbounds pass and rushed up the court. She found a wide-open Gore, who missed the layup. But the junior grabbed the loose ball rebound from the Northwood player and tossed it up for the go-ahead score.
“I knew I had to get a rebound,” Gore said. “My teammates trusted in me and I knew I had to make that shot to win. “
In the postgame celebration, Zimmerman went and hugged Gore, who finished with eight points.
“I’m so proud of her,” Zimmerman said. “She gathered from the miss that was right before it and was able to finish it the second time around. That is all that you can ask for.”
Northwood had a chance to tie. Aleya Burch dribbled and lost control of the ball on the baseline. Virginia Byrd was able to pick up the loose ball but missed the shot as time expired.
Lauren Jacobs led Heathwood with 23 points and Monsanto added 21. The two players have combined to win four state championships each. They were part of two titles at Cardinal Newman.
Jacobs averaged 31.6 points in Heathwood’s three playoff games. Monsanto had a big first quarter with 12 points to put the Highlanders up 25-12 after one.
But Northwood kept chipping away at the lead and tied it at 37-37 with 2:35 left in the third quarter. The Chargers had several chances to take the lead in the third but couldn’t capitalize. The Highlanders closed third on an 8-1 run capped by Jacobs’ basket with three seconds left to lead 45-38.
“The way they fought back play by play, I’m very, very proud of them,” Northwood coach Ginnel Curtis said. “Heathwood is a good team. I felt like we had opportunities to tie it. It just didn’t go our way.”
HH: Lauren Jacobs 23, Sabreya Monsanto 21, Gore 8, Hayes 2, Rhooms 4. N: Alayah Birch 21, Maliyah Birch 12, Jones 8, Byrd 2, Tocco 4, Reyes 2, Wyndham 7
SCISA 4A Girls All-Tournament Team: Ashton Wyndham, Northwood; Alayah Birch, Northwood, Ava Bush, First Baptist; Samira Khalil, Hammond; Lauren Jacobs Heathwood Hall; Sabreya Monsanto, Heathwood Hall
This story was originally published February 23, 2024 at 12:00 AM.
