The middle school girls basketball team from Beaufort Academy traveled to St. George, S.C., for the Dorchester Academy Christmas tournament and came away with the championship trophy for the third year in a row.
Five teams — BA, Cathedral Academy, Colleton Prep, Dorchester Academy and Patrick Henry Academy — competed for the crown.  On the first day, Dec. 19, the BA girls had two close games defeating Cathedral Academy 20-18 and Colleton Prep 22-18, earning them a spot in the finals. On the second day, the Eagles faced Colleton Prep which had fought back in the losers’ bracket to the finals. The Eagles jumped out to a 6-0 lead and coasted to a 20-11 victory to bring home the championship trophy once again.
Allison Alvarez led the scoring in all the games and totaled 34 points. Seventh graders Ashley Taylor and Skyler Nuelle were the next highest scorers for BA.  Ashley was also the leading rebounder for the Eagles. Eighth grader Kirsten Floyd was the only player to be part of all three championship teams.  In the championship game, fellow eighth grader Ting O’Regan was a stalwart on defense, holding Colleton’s leading scorer to four points.
Coach Bill Gabrielson was proud of the effort of his entire squad and looks forward to getting back in action against St. Gregory the Great on Wednesday, January 4, on the Eagles’ home court.