Heathwood Hall girls win SCISA 4A championship behind Lauren Jacobs’ 26 points

SUMTER, SOUTH CAROLINA – The Heathwood Hall Episcopal Highlanders girls showed out in front of WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, beating the Northwood Academy Chargers,

SUMTER, SOUTH CAROLINA – The Heathwood Hall Episcopal Highlanders girls showed out in front of WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, beating the Northwood Academy Chargers, 74-49, in the SCISA 4A State Championship, Saturday evening at the Sumter Center.

After trailing 6-0 in the first quarter, Heathwood turned on the jets – going on a 16-point run. From that point, the game would be uncompetitive at best.

Sophomore guard Lauren Jacobs was nearly unstoppable, scoring 26 points in the game, 21 of which came in the first half.

“It felt really good to make history for our school,” Jacobs said.

Sophomore Lauren Jacobs scored 22 points in the SCISA 4A state championship game, leading Heathwood Hall to the title / Photo by Dylan Jackson

The state championship win is the first for Heathwood Hall since 2014 – a year which they had 2x WNBA Most Valuable Plyer A’ja Wilson.

“Everybody on our team contributed to this win at some point this season,” said Heathwood coach Breonna Dickerson.

About midway through the second quarter, Heathwood settled back into a 2-3 zone, playing smothering defense. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that Northwood got much of any offensive momentum.

Still, Dickerson wanted to keep the pressure up.

“You can never let up,” Dickerson said. “You just never know the type of run a team might make. You have to expect the unexpected. … I pushed our girls to really stay consistent, stay aggressive, and finish it until that clock says (all zeros).”

In addition to Jacobs’ 26 points, Sabreya Monsanto and Shamarie Hayes each finished in double figures, scoring 15 and 12 points respectively.

WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson (blue sweatshirt) was on hand to witness Heathwood Hall's state championship victory / Photo by Dylan Jackson

For Northwood, each of Ryian Howard, Maliyan Biran, and Morgan Jones finished in double figures.

Heathwood Hall finishes their season 26-1, with their lone loss coming at home. They went undefeated in regional play, scoring over 1,000 more points than their opponents this season.

Lauren Jacobs, a sophomore, has an offer from Coastal Carolina. She finished on the All-Tournament team alongside her teammate Monsanto. Both of Ryian Howard and Virginia Byrd from Northwood also made the team.

“(Jacobs) is on my AAU team, so it’s super dope to see her grow,” A’ja Wilson said. “The sky is the limit for her. … She has a lot of skill, I can’t wait to watch her grow.”

Northwood Academy finishes their season 20-8, going undefeated in their region.

“They put the work in day in and day out,” Dickerson said. “There were days I wanted to cancel practice and they came in the gym without me. So this is a huge moment for them because all that hard work gave them the perfect result. … I wasn’t able to do it as an athlete.”

Photo by Dylan Jackson

Photo by Dylan Jackson

Photo by Dylan Jackson

Photo by Dylan Jackson

Photo by Dylan Jackson

Photo by Dylan Jackson

Photo by Dylan Jackson

Photo by Dylan Jackson