Southeast's Hanna finishes on high note

Bianca Hanna’s first season of college basketball ended in a loss, but she proved to be a winner with a very bright future.

The Paris Junior College freshman scored 11 points, dished out four assists and pulled in five rebounds in her team’s 74-68 loss to nationally third ranked Trinity Valley Sunday in the National Junior College Region XIV Tournament.

Hanna, the Bradenton Herald Player of The Year last season for Southeast, did everything she could to help her team pull off a win, which would’ve been one of the season’s biggest upsets.

Paris trailed 63-58 with 3:24 left in regulation time when Hanna dropped in two free throws to cut her team’s deficit to three points. With the game tied at 63, she assisted on a basket that enabled teammate Destiny Smith to score on a layup with 2:12 left.

The teams were tied at 65 after regulation. In the five minute overtime session, Hanna led Paris with three rebounds and assisted on a basket that allowed her team to tie the game at 68 with 1:57 left. Unfortunately, Trinity (30-2) scored the last six points for a 74-68 victory.

Paris finished its season at 19-13. In the first 27 games, Hanna averaged 9.4 points per game, was third on her team with 121 rebounds, second in steals (48) and blocks (13).