Lady Hawks Repeat And Win Fifth National Championship In A Row
The Lady Hawks traveled to the National Association of Christian Athletes national tournament to defend their national title. In the first of their round-robin bracket, they took on the Potter's House squad from Jacksonville, FL. The Lady Hawks early in the first half by taking a 35-20 lead. Even though Potter's House turned up the pressure defensively in the second half, the Lady Hawks were able to extend their margin of victory to twenty, winning by a score of 59-29. Holly Zorca led the Lady Hawks with 17 points, while Helen Simores had 12, and Ruta Savickaite had 11. Erika Zauraskaite tied a school record with 29 rebounds, while Ksenija Madzarevic grabbed ten boards.
In the first round of the elimination bracket of the tournament, the girls, seeded number 1, took on Grace Academy from North Carolina and easily defeated the North Carolina team who had been decimated by injuries during the tournament. The Lady Hawks won by a score of 62-19. Helen Simoes had 22 points, Holly Zorca had 11, and Erika Zauraskaite had 10. Erika continued her dominance on the boards with 13 rebounds.
In the championship game, the girls were matched against Potter's House again, who had fought through the consolation bracket to gain the rematch. This game was much different than the game on Wednesday, as the girls from Florida came out very physical, intent on contesting every shot the Lady Hawks took. Though the Hawks led, 35-16 at the end of the half, the Potter's House team came out and aggressively began to attack the Lady Hawks. Erika and Ruta both got into foul trouble, and the Florida squad outscored the Lady Hawks 20-9 in the third quarter to cut the Lady Hawks lead to 8 going into the final quarter. The fouls really hurt the Lady Hawks, and both girls fouled out in the final quarter, but the girls were able to hold on for a one point victory, 59-58. Erika led the Lady Hawks with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Helen Simoes had 13 points and Ruta Savicskaite had ten points each. Helen Simoes was named the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament and Erika Zauraskaite was named to the All-Tournament team.
The Lady Hawks finished their 2012 campaign with a 26-8 record.
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