Holy Innocents Falls in Class A Preliminary Game at Hebron Christian

A season full of promise and championship aspirations came to an end Tuesday, in Dacula, as Holy Innocents’ girls fell to Hebron Christian, 44-40, in the preliminary game of the Class A State Tournament.

“We played OK. We just played against a bigger, more physical team and we had some trouble blocking them out,” said head coach Tony Watkins. “They had one player who scored 28 of their 44 points. We let her get the best of us.”

Sophomore guard McKenzie Bolden scored a team-high 16 points, but it wasn’t enough to propel her squad into the field of 32 in the state tournament. Lexy Kepano followed with nine and Brooke DeVore tallied eight points.

Despite the setback, Holy Innocents had a remarkable year, which included recording its third-straight season of winning 20 or more games and trip to the postseason.

“We feel accomplished, like all our hard work paid off,” center Mary-Wade Ballou said. “There are a lot of teams we played this season that were already done.”

While Tuesday’s loss hurt the entire team, it was especially painful for the seniors on the roster. Four players will receive their diploma later this spring - Kepano, DeVore, McDearis and Nikki Herzog.

The Lady Bears finished the 2010-11 campaign at 20-9 and 6-3 in league play. Last week the team took fourth in the Region 5-A Tournament. Among the highlights this season included two separate five-game winning streak, the first to open the season, and the second coming at the end of December through the first week of January.

In addition to the mounting victories throughout the season, Holy Innocents posted one of the most lopsided wins in school history, scoring a 39-point rout over Atlanta International on Feb. 4, winning 62-23.