The beauty of the Ladies Top 28 Tournament is the raw emotion always on display, from the tears of the vanquished to the triumph of the champions like Southwood's Lady Cowboys following their 2008 championship. File Photo by John Lenz

Ponchatoula head coach Justin Adams easily recalls the crowds and enthusiasm when his Lady Wave reached the Ladies' Top 28 in 2006.

Those memories are tempered with knowledge that Ponchatoula - or any other area team - will not have home-court advantage if it wants to win a state championship in the near future.

The LHSAA's executive committee Wednesday awarded a two-year bid to Monroe-West Monroe to host the state girls basketball championships at Louisiana-Monroe's Fant-Ewing Coliseum in 2009 and 2010. The committee cited potential conflicts with Southeastern's Southland Conference schedule as the main reason for the move.

"It was a wonderful atmosphere. Every year that a local team was in it, it brought many fans and supporters," Adams said. "I hate that it won't happen again for the next two years.

"We may have to travel a little further to win a state championship. Hopefully, they'll see that it deserves to be here."

Eight different area schools reached the Ladies' Top 28 during its eight-year run in Hammond, combining for 19 total appearances, six state championship games, three state championships and three runners-up from 2001 until this year's tournament.

Holden reached the Top 28 five times in Hammond, making Class B's final four in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006. The Lady Rockets reached the title game in 2005 and 2006, falling to Glenmora in '05 and defeating Fairview for the Class B title in '06.

"I hate it that Hammond's losing the tournament," said Pam Forbes, who recently stepped down as Holden's head coach. "The local area has a passion for girls basketball and the people of the area worked so hard and were so generous."

Forbes said she was surprised that Hammond lost the tournament. She thought Southeastern and the SLC could have made some kind of agreement to resolve possible schedule conflicts. Having the tournament at the University Center was a luxury for area teams that advanced into their respective semifinal rounds.

"There's no place like home," Forbes said. "I can't tell you how exciting it was to drive 17 miles and have the place seem to be packed. All of the surrounding schools, even if they were our opponents in the season, came and cheered for us as well.

"We're going to miss it, and I was looking forward to watching every game next year. (ULM women's basketball) coach (Mona) Martin is still there, and she's probably excited to host it."

And if anyone should know about Sweet 16s, it's Albany, which has been to 15 of them, inclduing four straigh years in Hammond - 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. The Lady Hornets defeated Abbeville for the 3A state title in 2003.

"It doesn't compare to any other place that I've coached at," Albany athletic director and former head coach Karen Hoyt said. "There's a genuine love for the game in this area. There were so many fans that didn't have a team in it, but never missed a day of the tournament."

Hoyt served on the tournament steering committee for the last two years, learning more about the behind-the-scenes action that made the tournament go. That gave her a better appreciation for the job local organizers did during her coaching days.

"I've been on both sides of it," Hoyt said. "No one came close when it boils down to putting it on - and that's speaking from a coach's point of view. When you're coaching a team, you don't realize all of the other things that go on. They went above and beyond for us.

"I'd hate to see it go, but I guess all good things come to an end. It was wonderful for the city of Hammond and the area."

St. Thomas Aquinas made four appearances at the University Center just a mile or two up the road from its Hammond campus - this year's tournament, plus a run of three straight appearances from 2003 to 2005. The Lady Falcons reached the Class 2A title game in 2003, falling to Christian Life.

Loranger made two appearances in Hammond, 2001 and 2002. Amite defeated the Lady Wolves for the 3A title in 2001, one year after Loranger knocked off the Lady Warriors at Fant-Ewing. Former STA head and assistant coach Misty Holton, an All-Tournament selection in 2001 for the Lady Wolves, said taking the court as a player in '01 gave her chills.

"It was like you were playing for a national championship," Holton said. "It was not just people from Loranger, but people from Hammond, Ponchatoula and Livingston Parish coming in. It drew a lot of people, there were tons of people there."

Although she missed the second half of this past season on maternity leave, the chills Holton felt as a player returned as she watched her Lady Falcons take the court against eventual Class 2A champion John Curtis in the 2A semifinals. That emotional rush will not be the same hundreds of miles away from home at Fant-Ewing.

"Leaving Hammond is going to be very sad," Holton said. "I think the next couple of years there will be more teams from this area making the tournament, not just St. Thomas. They'll go to Monroe and watch the teams play, but it won't have the same effect like if it were here."