Hamilton Heights' once-beaten Lady Hawks have been invited to play in the Dick’s Sporting Goods National Championship in New York City on March 31-April 1
The tournament is recognized as the premier postseason tournament in all of high school basketball.
Previous champions on the boys’ side have been Oak Hill Academy (Va.), Montverde Academy (Fla.), and Findley Prep (Nev.)
On the girls’ side of the bracket, previous winners include Riverdale Baptist (Md.), Ribault (Fla.) and Miami Country Day (Fla.).
Hamilton Heights concluded its season with titles in the National Association of Christian Athletes National Championship and the USA National Prep School National Championship. They finished the regular season with a 28-1 record.
The Lady Hawks will be the first team from the state of Tennessee to participate in the tournament as TSSAA rules do not allow their member schools to participate in events after they are eliminated from the state association’s postseason tournament.
On Tuesday, the TSSAA denied an appeal by Memphis East’s defending champion Mustangs to compete in the Dick’s national event.
Hamilton Heights is not a member of the TSSAA.
The tournament will be broadcast on ESPN, and will be the second time this season that the Chattanooga school has played on the sports network. The boys’ team played on ESPN on Dec. 1, defeating the current No. 3 team in the nation, Memphis East 72-64.
This will be the first time the Lady Hawks will appear on national television.
Currently ranked No. 3 in the nation by Maxpreps Computer Rankings, No. 9 in the nation by USA Today’s Expert Ranking; and No. 11 by Maxpreps Expert Rankings, the Lady Hawks will have an opportunity to move higher in the polls with a strong showing at the National tournament.
Amber Hunt and Cy-Cy Hickey-White are the lone seniors on the squad
Hunt has signed to continue her career at Alabama State of the NCAA Division 1 Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Juniors Elizabeth Balogun is currently ranked No. 15 in the country by ESPN and Jazmine Massengill is No. 27. Massengill has committed to the Tennessee Lady Vols.
Balogun is entertaining over 25 high-major Division 1 offers including Tennessee, South Carolina, Louisville, and Florida State.
Sophomore Rokia Doumbia provides a spark off the bench and currently holds two Division 1 offers.
A pair of freshmen, Treasure Hunt and Kamilla Cardosa are recognized by ESPN as top 20 in the country (ESPN doesn’t give a numerical ranking to freshmen) and are considered by most ranking services as top ten in the country.
Both have numerous high-major Division 1 offers.
The Lady Hawks are coached by Keisha Hunt, who was recently named one of five finalists for the Naismith National Coach of the Year – the award was won by Randy Kaufman of Riverdale High School in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Last week Riverdale won the TSSAA Class 3A state championship.
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)