Camellia Gore's putback lifts Heathwood Hall past Northwood 58-56
Highlanders defend SCISA AAAA girls basketball state title
Sumter – The second time was a charm for Camellia Gore, and it made her and her Heathwood Hall teammates 2-time defending state champions.
Gore grabbed her own miss of a short jump shot and put it back up and in with eight seconds remaining to lift the Highlanders to a 58-56 victory over Northwood Academy for the SCISA AAAA girls basketball state title on Friday at Sumter Civic Center.
Northwood, which lost to Heathwood in the title game last year as well, had just tied the game at 56-56 with 22 seconds in the game. Ashton Wyndham went behind a double-screen at the top of the key, received a pass and buried a 3-point shot to tie the game.
The Highlanders chose not to call a timeout, instead pushing the ball down the court. They got the ball to Gore in the low post on the left side of the lane. The shot bounced off the rim, but Gore retrieved it in the lane and put it back up and in.
The Chargers went down the court to try for the tie, but star player Alaya Birch lost her footing trying to get to the basket.
“I just had to have that confidence and aggressiveness in myself,” said Gore, a junior who was a starter on last season’s team. “I missed the first one so once I missed that first one, I just knew I had to box out and go get the rebound because I had to go up strong and get the and-one or put us up by two.”
Heathwood head coach Brionna Zimmerman chose not to call a timeout after Northwood tied the game so it wouldn’t have a chance to set up defensively.
“I wanted to get it so we could get something quick at the basket, and that's exactly what we did,” said Zimmerman, whose team finished with a 21-2 record. “I'm so proud they were able to knock it down.”
The exciting ending was fitting to what was a great fourth quarter in front of two loud fan bases. The Lady Chargers, who finished 26-3, trailed by double digits in the first quarter. After trailing 22-13 at the end of the first, they managed to cut the deficit to 35-29 by halftime.
They managed to tie the game at 37-37 on a shot from the right side by Alyvia Tocco with 5:16 left in the third quarter. Northwood seemingly had the momentum, but neither team would score over the next three minutes. Lady Chargers head coach Ginnell Curtis thought that was an opportunity lost for her team.
“You've got to seize those moment,” Curtis said. “If they’re not scoring, you've definitely got to be scoring.”
After scoring just two points in the first six minutes of the quarter, Heathwood put up eight in the final 1:49 to take a 45-40 lead into the final stanza.
SaBreya Monsanto banked in a shot in the lane to start the fourth quarter to give the Highlanders a 7-point advantage. Northwood made quick work of that, cutting the lead to 49-48 with 5:11 left on a Birch layup.
Heathwood was able to maintain the lead until Wyndham hit the game-tying 3.
“I knew they were going for the 3,” Zimmerman said. “That was just a great play. That's a great team, a well-coached team with a lot of talent. You can't take them lightly.”
The Highlanders were led in scoring by junior standout Lauren Jacobs with 23 points. Monsanto had 21, and Gore finished with eight. Queseya Rhooms scored four points, all of them coming in the pivotal fourth quarter.
Curtis said she was proud of the way her team battled throughout the game.
“The way they fought back play by play, I'm very, very proud of them,” Curtis said. “Heathwood is a good team. I felt like we had opportunities to tie it. It just didn't go our way.
“I can't ask for a better group of girls to battle with. They worked so hard, and I'm very proud of them.”
Alayah Birch had 21 for the Lady Chargers. Maliyah Birch finished with 12, Morgan Jones had eight and Wyndham had seven.
Jacobs and Monsanto made the all-tournament from Heathwood, while Wyndham and Alayah Birch made if from Northwood. Joining them on the team are Ava Rush of First Baptist and Samira Khalil of Hammond.
Heathwood doesn’t have a senior on its roster. Zimmerman said her team is still learning how good it is.
“I tell them all the time I have more confidence in them than they have in themselves,” she said.
Gore is excited about the future.
“It's really big because we won back-to-back,” she said. “We just made history. Hopefully we’ll come back and win it again next year,”
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