Hammond welcomed back coach Joe Russo to the sideline in style by delivering a 60-50 win over host and 13th-ranked Mount Hebron.
The Golden Bears' victory, coached by Russo from a wheelchair, clinched a second straight county title for the second-ranked Bears (16-3, 11-0) and ran Hammond's record to 4-0 against Mount Hebron the last two seasons.
"I had not seen Coach Russo on the sidelines for the last three weeks, so we had to get him a victory in his first game back," said Hammond senior point guard Tikki Nicholson, who finished with 27 points.
Russo, who severely fractured his right leg in a fall at Hammond last month, said the county-clinching win served a critical purpose after the Golden Bears lost Saturday to Gar-Field of Virginia.
"This is the time of year when your players can get that end-of-season doldrums and blahs," said Russo, referring to the fact the Golden Bears went into last night's contest with a two-game advantage in the county standings over the second-place Vikings (12-7, 7-4).
Nicholson's shooting touch from the outside led the Golden Bears' offense, as the senior converted 4-for-6 from three-point range.
"I was getting wide open and I knew I had a hot hand so I took the shots," Nicholson said.
"It hasn't been easy this year, coming in and moving from the No. 2 position to the point and filling Kacy Williams' shoes. It took me awhile to get into it [the position], but I'm starting to love it."
Hammond, playing without 6-1 forward Rene Hines (illness), survived a sloppy first quarter that saw the Bears commit nine turnovers.
Despite being double-teamed by Mount Hebron's Kathy Doyle (10 points) and Erin McGinnis (11 rebounds), Hammond junior center Kellye Townsend posted six points in the second quarter to go along with senior Tameka Harrison's seven that helped push Hammond's halftime lead to 32-22.
"We missed a lot of close baskets left and right early in the game," said Mount Hebron coach Pat Becker. "Maybe we were a little intimidated by Hammond."
Mount Hebron junior point guard Alisha Mosley (16 points) helped whittle down Hammond's 13-point third-quarter lead to seven, only to see Nicholson close out the quarter's scoring with another three-pointer.
"Nicholson played great, despite us putting a lot of pressure on her," Becker said.
Mount Hebron junior guard Sarah Eberhart (13 points) ignited an early fourth-quarter scoring spurt with an assist and two baskets that brought the Vikings to within 51-45, but Nicholson sealed the victory with a three-pointer.