How Calvary's Hannah Cail broke school scoring record during week focused on women's sports
National Girls and Women in Sports Day was celebrated throughout the country on Feb. 1 -- and female athletes came to the forefront in Savannah with some impressive performances this week.
Calvary Day basketball star Hannah Cail put her name in the record books by becoming the career scoring leader for the Cavs, who have a rich basketball history including a state Class A championship in 2008.
Cail, who was named the Savannah Morning News Player of the Year as a junior, has committed to play at Georgia College & State. She is averaging 20.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.5 steals per game for a Calvary team that is 18-5 overall and 14-0 in Region 3-3A play.
She scored a season high 34 points in a road win at Long County Friday night as she passed the school record of 1,828 set by Katie Covington, who graduated in 2009.
Covington made the trip from Woodstock, Georgia on Saturday to see Cail recognized for her achievement as the Cavs hosted St. Vincent's. Cail had another big game with 30 points -- the game was stopped after she made her first field goal and she took pictures with Covington at midcourt.
"It was awesome to set the record at a school that has had so many great players," Cail said. "I couldn't have done it without the help of my teammates and coaches. And it was nice having Katie here -- it's the first time I've met her, but I've heard a lot about her -- she held the record for so long."
Covington, who is married with a young son, went on to set the career record for scoring she still holds at LaGrange College. She said she enjoyed coming back home to see the Cavs play under her former coach Jackie Hamilton, who announced last week he is stepping down at the end of the season.
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"It's definitely bittersweet, but records are meant to be broken," Covington said. "I'm glad it was someone like Hannah -- I haven't seen her play yet, but she's a great all-around player and deserves it."
Cail said she and the Cavs are focused on reaching their goal of winning the region tournament title. She is known as a gym rat who is constantly working on her game, and said she has improved with her decision making and leadership in her senior season.
Hamilton, who is stepping down after 18 seasons and will be replaced by longtime assistant Daniel Jackson, said Cail has been a pleasure to coach.
"She's just the kind of player and person every coach would love the opportunity to work with," Hamilton said. "She does everything right, on and off the court. She puts in so much extra work on her own time, and her dedication has paid off."
Sierzant reaches another milestone
Islands senior Veronica Sierzant came through in the clutch for the Shark basketball team on Tuesday and she knocked down a pair of free throws with eight seconds left for the winning margin in a 46-44 win over New Hampstead.
Sierzant, who has signed to play volleyball at Syracruse, reached the 1,500 point milestone for her career. She had 16 points and 19 rebounds in the game and has 17 double-doubles on the season.
The 6-foot-3 senior is averaging 18.7 points, 14.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.2 steals and 2.1 blocks per game for the Sharks (13-12, 4-4 in Region 3-4A).
Johnson rallies to beat Beach
Amayah Hamilton took the ball strong to the basket and made an and-one three point play on Friday night with 38 seconds left to lead Johnson to a come-from-behind 42-41 win over Beach Friday.
Hamilton had 23 points to lead the Atom Smashers and Ashley Jones led Beach with 17.
Van Brunt, St. Vincent's excel at state swim meets
St. Andrew's senior Gaby Van Brunt won all three of her events at the GIAA State Swim Meet at Georgia Tech on Thursday as the Alabama signee pulled off the impressive feat for the third year in a row.
She won the 100-yard freestyle in 51.10, the 100 backstroke (54.57) and the 100 butterfly, where she broke her own state record with a time of 53.03. As a freshman, she won two state titles -- and now has 11 GIAA state medals in her overflowing trophy case.
The St. Vincent's swim team finished second in the Class A-3A State Meet with 282 points -- trailing only champion Wesleyan (300 points).
The Saints were led by two relay teams that brought home gold medals -- the 200-yard individual medley team of Ella Nelson, Avery Nelson, Camryn Baraniak and Lily Gayle Helton blew away the field to win in a school record time of 1:50.08.
The 200 freestyle relay team of Avery Nelson, Ella Nelson, Lily Helton and Baraniak won with a time of 1:40.17.
Ella Nelson took third in the 100 breaststroke in 1:07.06. Baraniak won an individual bronze in 50 freestyle (24.72).
Avery Nelson took fourth in the 100 backstroke (1:00.75) and was also fourth in the 200 IM (2:12.44). Baraniak took fifth in the 100 freestyle (53.74) and Helton was fifth in the 100 fly (1:02.56). Ella McLaughlin was second in the 500 free (5:40.35) and sixth in the 100 breast (1:12.68).
The 400 freestyle relay team of Helton, Ella McLaughlin, Madelyn Dick and Ella Nelson finished sixth in 3:58.99.
Other top local finishers included Savannah Country Day's Yenna Park, who was second in the 100 breast with a time of 1:06.39 and fourth in the 100 free in 53.74.
Eunsul Lee of Savannah Arts was seventh in the 200 IM in 2:22.54.
St. Andrew's puts girls sport in spotlight
The St. Andrew's Athletic Department came up with a special way to recognize girls sports in honor of National Girls and Women in Sports Day as the Lions switched things up on Saturday -- giving the girls basketball team the prime spot on the schedule in the second game of the night against visiting Westminster of Augusta, with the boys playing first.
The Lions came up short in the game -- but realized the message was more important than the result.
"It was a great idea and it's important because women's and girl's sports aren't recognized as much as they should be in our country," said Lion's girls basketball coach Jimmy Stettler. "It was good for the girl's to have their own day in the spotlight."
Stettler said he enjoys coaching girls sports over boys.
"I think it's all about instilling confidence in the girls on our team," Stettler said. "With boys you might have to try to let them know they might not be as good as they think they are, but with the girls it's all about getting them to believe in themselves so they can realize their potential."
The Lions had some former players on hand including Morgan Ballard, a member of the the Lion's state championship team from 2003, who served as an honorary captain and sat on the bench with the team.
Sarah Koegler, a senior for the Lions, said the day was a special one for the team. She also runs cross country and plays soccer and flag football for the Lions, while excelling in the classroom.
"For years women's sports have been overlooked because everyone is focused on men's sports," Koegler said. "But today was important, especially for the younger girls, to show what they can accomplish through sports. I remember sitting in the stands when I was young and I was so eager to be on the team.
"Sports have been so important to me," Koegler said. "Learning to be part of a team and how to be a leader helps you in other parts of life. And our teams are like a family -- you can count on your teammates to have your back no matter what. We have a special bond, and I've made so many lifelong friends. So we want girls to know they can do a lot of things through sports."
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Girls sports highlights: Hannah Cail sets Calvary scoring record
