Hillgrove wraps regular season with win over Campbell and No. 1 seed for region tourney
On Friday, the Hillgrove Hawks celebrated held their senior night celebration to close out the regular season in a region showdown with the Campbell Spartans, with a claim to first place and the number one seed for the region tournament on the line. The matchup would also present the Hawks with an opportunity to even their season series with the Spartans, who won the first meeting by three points last month.
As the Spartans looked to play spoiler of the Hawks' celebration, the matchup would have multiple momentum swings throughout the first half, including the lead changes throughout the first two quarters of play. However, the host Hawks would eventually be the team on top by halftime as they overcame trailing by four points to start the second quarter to take a 23-20 lead into the locker room at halftime.
As the third quarter began, the Hawks would build on the momentum they had to close out the first half, outscoring the Spartans 17-9 in the period with sisters Ashley Harris, who finished with 14 points, and Amaya Harris, who finished with 15 points, each scoring six points in the quarter, helping Hillgrove take a 40-29 lead into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Spartans would get the upper hand, however they would only outscore Hillgrove 18-14 in the final period of play and coming up short on a comeback as Hillgrove picked up the 54-47 win. "This is a special group because they started in our rec league and I've watched them play since they were in elementary school," Hillgrove head coach, Susan Milam said of seeing her senior players win on a night in which they were celebrated.
"To have that many seniors to still be playing basketball is tremendous," Milam said of her senior class, who she was "happy to see' pick up Friday's win. "They really have a good bond with each other," Milam added of the group. As for the game in itself, while the Hawks controlled the entire second half, they had to do so against a tough a physical Campbell team.
"Physical games is were you find out who's got the most heart and we had some big hustle plays and gut plays that made the difference at different points in the game and at one point I thought I was going to run out of players," Milam said as she praised her players and their efforts in picking up the win.
"I was proud of the girls for not backing down and actually stepping up and elevating their play to play harder and get the rebound when we had to get the rebound and break the press when we had to break the press and make the free throw when we had to make the free throw," Milam said, adding "we knew it would be hard," crediting Campbell for the toughness they played with. "That is typical Campbell basketball and so I'm proud of the girls for coming out of it with a win," Milam added.
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