Aniyah Hampton started the night holding a bouquet of flowers and ended the night with a net draped around her neck.
On Senior Night at Hudson’s Bay, Hampton scored 17 points and fellow senior Paytin Ballard added 14 to lead the Eagles to their second consecutive 2A Greater St. Helens League championship with 60-18 win over Woodland on Thursday.
“It’s huge,” Hampton said. “Being here all four years and just improving all four years, going from playoffs to the next year regionals and state. Then you know we’re hoping to go all the way this year. We have a strong team. It’s just fun to be back on the court with everybody and having the community supporting us.”
The Eagles captured the 2A GSHL title during last spring’s abbreviated season. But they came into this week thinking they might have to share the league title with Washougal after splitting two games this season with the Panthers.
But when Hockinson knocked off Washougal on Wednesday night, it provided the Eagles the chance to make Thursday an extra special night.
“We were thinking there was going to be a tiebreaker, but we also knew Hockinson is a great team … so you never know what was going to happen,” Hampton said. “We went to the game (Wednesday night) and we got an early surprise. We just had to finish off tonight. And we were happy to finish off tonight in front of our home fans.”
Thursday started with a Senior Night celebration, providing a spotlight for seniors Hampton, Ballard and Mae Carse.
Then the Eagles went to work quickly, jumping out to a 19-4 lead in the first half and never looking back. Junior Mahaila Harrison added 16 points for the Eagles (15-2, 13-1).
Bay capped the night by cutting down the nets with Hampton making the final snips as Ballard yelled “Aniyah Hampton! MVP!”
“I’m just glad we got to have a normal season with actual supporters in the gym with us cheering us on,” Ballard said. “And it just feels really good to be out on the court with all these girls, and get to play and have fun.”
The fun continues now into the postseason for Bay, and that tiebreaker game with Washougal, which was slated for next Wednesday, won’t be necessary.
The Eagles will get a week to rest before returning to the court on Feb. 11 for the first round of the 2A district tournament.
HUDSON’S BAY 60, WOODLAND 18
WOODLAND — Addi Stading 4, Sydney George 4, Abbie Huston 0, Lucy Sams 0, Kenzi Bunger 2, Sophia Speranza 0, Riley Stading 1, DeZohnae Dodds 0, Ella Lindsay 0, Dasha Vasilenko 0, Emily Hughes 7. Totals 7 (0) 4-14 18.
HUDSON’S BAY — Mae Carse 0, Promise Bond 6, Miranda Gonzalez 5, Mahaila Harrison 16, Alana Stephens 0, Devon Johnson-Brown 0, Paytin Ballard 14, Aniyah Hampton 17, Emma Mady 2. Totals 26 (3) 5-10 60.
Woodland 4 3 8 3—18
Bay 19 15 14 12—60
JV — Bay 32-22
