Senior day was a success for the Nighthawks during their double-header basketball games. Both the women and men’s teams played against the Clayton State Lakers for their senior day games.  

Before the women’s game began, there was a celebration walkout for the seniors and their families on the basketball court. The seniors were given flowers and a framed jersey of their own number. The seniors on the women’s basketball team include guard Livi Blackstock, guard/forward Dasha Cannon, guard Ansley Hall and guard Carly Fahey.   

Head Coach Buffie Burnson started all four seniors.

Bailey Oetinger, a junior marketing major, said, “The energy in convo was great, with all the families in the stands, seeing all the support they (the seniors) have was great to see as a student.”  

The women’s score was 92-67, with guard Averie Jones as the team’s top scorer with 23 points. 

Fahey, a senior business management major, and Nighthawks guard, said, “It’s a really good feeling to win on senior night because it’s just kind of a testament to show how long and how hard we have been working this season. The job’s not done yet, we got a couple more games to win, but this is good momentum going into the tournament.”

The women’s team secured their spot as the Peachbelt Regular Season Champions. After the game, the team celebrated with their tradition of cutting the basketball net since they had won another trophy.  

During the men’s game, Head Coach Daniel Evans started both seniors, guard Sutton Smith and guard Hunter Shedenhelm. The men’s team led the game at halftime with a score of 28-39. 

However, in the second half, the lead began to shrink between the Nighthawks and the Lakers. The game ended with the Nighthawks winning the game by three points, 56-53.   

Smith, a senior business management major and Nighthawks guard, said, “We had a good first half, things got a little shaky there at the end but on a day with kind of a lot going on, a lot of festivities and stuff which is super fun, it’s easy to forget we got to win a league game. I think it was good to play well at the end and pull it out and finish the season off right.” 

The next game for both men’s and women’s basketball teams is the Peachbelt Quarterfinals on March 5.