For our Golden Bear girls' and boys' basketball teams, the region tournament was more of a region domination – and mere exclamation points after a regular season where HIES exuded dominance on the 5AA hardwood from November to the present.
 
The final exclamation point was placed Saturday afternoon in our gym, when the girls rolled past Carver to earn their title, while the boys followed with a one-sided win over rival Lovett.
 
Looking ahead, both teams will host this week when the state playoffs begin. Last year, our boys advanced all the way to the finals while the girls went to the Elite 8.
 
Looking at the girls, Hailee Swain was normally at the top of the stat list, but what can't be overlooked is and was the HUGE supporting cast night after night throughout the season. With the youth in freshmen Lorial Murray and Aaniyah Branch, sophomores Nakhai Worthy and Makayla Weaver, and junior Elana McMasters, to name only some, many outings were a case of leadership by committee as to who all contributed. 
 
There were many more – juniors Peyton Gluesing, and Blair Clayton, freshmen Mackenzie Weaver and Emily Gainer, the leadership of seniors Nina-Rose Smith and Lauren Helmer, all gave Coach Nichole Dixon no worries regardless of who was on the court.
 
On the boys' side, it's impossible to overlook "King Caleb" Wilson – who turned in a triple double in the region championship win over Lovett regarding points, rebounds, and assists. Still, Caleb, too, had many to kick it off to in Devin Hutcherson, Kingston Whitty, Kai Worthy, Jordan Mays, and Jaden McCullough, to name just a few. 
 
Gregory Ellison and Clark Thurmond gave Coach Mario Mays plenty to relax about in the backcourt, while Coy Terry provided some extra senior leadership, and the Bears have plenty of youth that should keep the Bears advancing deep into postseason in looking ahead. 
 
Looking back, Swain netted her 2,000^th point during the campaign, Wilson his 1,500^th, and Hutcherson notched his 1,000^th to review some of the milestones. Moving forward, our two McDonald's All-Americans Swain and Wilson have inked with impressive universities in Stanford and UNC, respectively.