The Hebron Christian Academy girls basketball team led wire-to-wire Friday afternoon to capture the program’s second GHSA State Championship in the last three seasons with a 68-36 victory over Lumpkin County inside the Macon Coliseum.
The win caps a perfect season for the Lions, finishing the year 32-0. HCA won its five state tournament games by an average of 36.2 points.
Head coach Jan Azar adds to her hall of fame career, winning her 15th GHSA State Championship and her second at Hebron in the last three seasons. She finishes the year undefeated for the first time in her storied career.
“With this young team, for them to do that and do what they did today on this stage in front of a great Lumpkin County crowd and a great Hebron crowd, it’s great,” Azar said. “They kept their focus on the court and played the way that they should play. Defensively, I think (taking away Lumpkin County’s outside shot) was the difference in the game.”
The Lions never trailed in the game, as Nicky Daniel got the scoring started with a jumper at the 7:04 mark of the first quarter and Aniya Moody followed with a layup to give HCA an early lead. The Lions led by double digits at the half, and outscored the Indians by 21 in the second half to secure the 32-point victory.
Kerra Butler led the way with a double-double, scoring 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while pulling down 13 rebounds and adding two blocks. Aubrey Beckham had 16 points of her own and dished out six assists and pulled down six boards.
Amiya Porter finished with a dozen points, while Nicky Daniel added 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting from behind the arc.
The Lions shot 69-percent from long range as a team, while the defense held Lumpkin to just 3-of-17 shooting from three-point range for 18-percent.
Gwinnett daily post recap Ghsa tournament bracket BOX SCORE PHOTO GALLERY
