by Jim Fenton, The Enterprise

BROCKTON -- She did not take a direct route from Long Island to Massasoit Community College after graduating from high school.

First, Ty Hawkins went to Jones College in Ellisville, Mississippi, and was a reserve on the nationally-ranked Division 1 junior college women's basketball team last season.

The 2018 Brentwood High School graduate then decided to head back up north after one year at Jones and was looking for a new school.

Massasoit's second-year head coach, Mark Leszczyk, had recruited Hawkins to play for him at Roxbury Community College after her senior year of high school, and he made another pitch to the guard as she considered transfer options.

Hawkins and her parents visited Massasoit last July and a match was made.

"I've always wanted to live in Massachusetts or Boston,″ said Hawkins. "That's something off my bucket list. When I came here, I knew this was the place for me.″

From Long Island to Mississippi to Brockton, Hawkins has been on the move since graduating from high school less than two years ago.

And she is making the most of her one year at Massasoit, leading the nation in scoring and helping the Warriors go 24-0 to earn the No. 1 seed in this week's National Junior College Athletic Association Division 3 tournament.

Massasoit faces Cedar Valley College of Texas at 1 p.m. Thursday in Rockville, Illinois, needing three wins for a national championship.

The 5-foot-4 Hawkins is averaging 31.6 points, the highest total of players in all three divisions nationally, on 51 percent shooting to go with 5.1 assists and 4.1 steals, good for 13th in the country. She had four games of at least 40 points during the season and was the most valuable player of the Region 21 tournament.

"Today, you see a lot of kids that can put up big numbers and they've got a big ego. That's not Ty,″ said Leszczyk. "Ty's about team. She's not afraid to pass the ball at all. She defends hard. She does all the other things besides scoring. She's been an absolute pleasure to coach and an honor roll student to boot.″

Hawkins was interested in exploring a new part of the country when she left Long Island as a teenager to play at Jones County.

"Where I'm from, it's a pretty small community,″ said Hawkins. "Just getting out of there, I was pretty scared. I had just turned 18 when I left. I was scared about the future, but it opened my eyes to there's more than life than where I lived. It was time to conquer a challenge somewhere else.

"It was a cool experience. I'm from New York and going down south was the biggest culture shock of my life. But it prepared me for where I'm at now and the moments that will come in my life later on. I'm very grateful for it.

"I did fairly well, but it was best for me to find something new and I was able to find something new here. I'm 19 and I've lived in three different states, so it's pretty cool.″

Massasoit has just one returning player, so Hawkins is part of a nearly brand new team this season. But the Warriors meshed together quickly and have piled up the wins since November.

"It's been fun,″ said Hawkins. "It's been a blessing. I've had the chance to meet some of my best friends on the team and be involved in the community. You can't ask for anything better than what I have right now.

"We're a team that likes to run, go up and down and more importantly we have fun on the court. We win and have fun, that's the best part of it.″

Hawkins will graduate from Massasoit in the spring and head to a four-year college to continue her basketball career.

There has been a lot of interest in her by schools, but Hawkins will wait until after the season ends later this week to make a choice.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,″ said Hawkins. "Not everyone gets the chance to compete for a national championship, so I'm really more focused on that than worrying about what's going on next year. We're looking forward to what's in front of us.″

It has been a dream season for Hawkins and Massasoit with her leading the nation in scoring and the Warriors going undefeated with a chance to bring a national title back to Brockton.

"I didn't think a lot of things that we've done would happen,″ said Hawkins. "But it's just a blessing. You've got to thank God.

"This is the best thing that's ever happened to me and my family.″

Jim Fenton may be reached at jfenton@enterprisenews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JFenton_ent.