NEW ORLEANS – The Ponchatoula basketball team, which won a thriller in the LHSAA Class 5A State Championship game, has been selected as the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s Greater New Orleans Girls’ Prep Team of the Year.
The Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, selects annual award winners in a variety of categories; it also selects Amateur Athletes of the Month and each year’s Hall of Fame class. Overall, 26 individuals and four teams will be honored for their 2021-22 achievements at the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Awards Banquet on July 30. Honorees are currently being announced over a month-long period, wrapping up with the Corbett Awards for the top male and female amateur athletes in the state on July 25 and 26.
After entering the state playoffs as the No. 4 seed, Ponchatoula (35-2) won its first four tournament games by an average of 29 points to reach the LHSAA Class 5A state title game. In the state championship game against No. 2 Parkway (which had defeated the Green Wave by 25 during the regular season), star Jaylee Womack had a rare off night – until crunch time.
With Ponchatoula trailing by three in the final seconds of regulation, Womack connected on the crucial game-tying three-pointer to force overtime. In the extra session, she nailed the game-winning shot with 16.1 seconds remaining in the 80-79 victory. Womack finished with a team-high 32 points as her school won its first state title since 2015.
“I’m just so proud of these girls,” Ponchatoula coach Patricia Landaiche said. “(Ponchatoula players) would not give up. They kept counterpunching.”
The Allstate Sugar Bowl will continue announcing its annual awards tomorrow (Friday) as the Louisiana Collegiate Coach of the Year will be released at 10 a.m. (finalists will be announced at 11:30 a.m. today on Twitter (@SugarBowlNola).
Jimmy Collins Special Awards: Loyola Men’s Basketball and St. Charles Catholic Athletic Department
Outstanding Boys’ Prep Coach of the Year, New Orleans: Wayne Stein, St. Charles Catholic Football/Baseball
Outstanding Girls’ Prep Coach of the Year, New Orleans: Becky Lambert, Archbishop Hannan Softball
Outstanding Female Amateur Athlete, New Orleans: Alia Armstrong, LSU Track & Field
Outstanding Male Amateur Athlete, New Orleans: Zach Wrightsil, Loyola Basketball
Eddie Robinson Award: Ronald “Hendu” Henderson
Outstanding Boys’ Prep Team, New Orleans: Brother Martin Bowling, LHSAA
Outstanding Girls’ Prep Team, New Orleans: Ponchatoula Basketball, LHSAA
Outstanding Collegiate Coach, Louisiana: July 8 (Friday)
Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2021 Inductee: July 11 (Monday)
Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2021 Inductee: July 12 (Tuesday)
Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2021 Inductee: July 13 (Wednesday)
Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2021 Inductee: July 14 (Thursday)
Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2021 Inductee: July 15 (Friday)
Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2021 Inductee: July 18 (Monday)
Corbett Award – Female: July 25 (Monday)
Corbett Award – Male: July 26 (Tuesday)
The Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee began in 1957 when James Collins spearheaded a group of sports journalists to form a sports awards committee to immortalize local sports history. For 13 years, the committee honored local athletes each month. In 1970, the Sugar Bowl stepped in to sponsor and revitalize the committee, leading to the creation of the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 1971, honoring 10 legends from the Crescent City in its first induction class. While adding the responsibility of selecting Hall of Famers, the committee has continued to recognize the top amateur athlete in the Greater New Orleans area each month – the honors enter their 66th year in 2022. To be eligible, an athlete must be a native of the greater New Orleans area or must compete for a team in the metropolitan region.
The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 100 Hall of Fame players, 51 Hall of Fame coaches and 20 Heisman Trophy winners in its 88-year history. The 89th annual Sugar Bowl Classic is scheduled to be played on Saturday, December 31, 2022. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.2 billion into the local economy in the last decade. For more information, visit www.AllstateSugarBowl.org.
{Courtesy: release from the Allstate Sugar Bowl}