DACULA, Ga. - It was only a matter of time before the Hebron Girls Basketball team would begin to click early on offense, which happened in the Lions 67-27 win over Morrow on Tuesday, Nov. 18.
Hebron got off to a slow start in its opening win over Greater Atlanta Christian (62-36), but didn't waste time against the Mustangs of Morrow, running out to a 27-7 lead in the first quarter.
"I thought Mia (Huckaby) got really hot, when we were making the extra pass to her, and once she started hitting, the rest of the girls started following suit," Head coach Jan Azar said. "It's that extra pass that we were making tonight, that we've been working on.
Huckaby, a junior shooting guard, was the spark the Lions needed early to put the game out of reach for Morrow. Overall, she went for 16 points, a team-high, on a .714 shooting percentage, while knocking down two early three-pointers.
Huckaby was also 4-4 from the free-throw line, and collected four rebounds.
"I couldn't have gotten those shots without my teammates, they were passing me the ball, and making the extra pass. I give all credit to them for finding me in open spots, and I got some off a few screens, and got to the basket a few times, and they were getting offensive rebounds, Nariah (Nelson) got a few, Michel (Robbins) got a few, and I got the extra chance," Huckaby said.
Nelson, a senior, was a force on the glass, grabbing 12 rebounds, seven on offense, while scoring 11 to earn a double-double. Robbins got a couple of boards, but was crucial for ball movement, with six assists.
Senior guard and Georgia commit Alanna Beckham and Robbins also finished with double-figure scoring, Beckham scoring 12 and Robbins ending with 10.
Those two also led the Lions on defense, disrupting the Mustang offense at an efficient rate. Robbins had nine steals with nine deflections, while Beckham had two steals and 12 deflections.
"What we want to do is get a hand on the ball (on defense), we want to have 70 deflections in a game, so we're not anywhere near that yet," Azar said. "Michel and Alanna did a really good job tonight, with their deflections, just touching the ball, and when you do that I think it causes chaos for the other team. I think deflections are more important than steals."
The Lions will have another home date tomorrow, Thursday, Nov. 20, when they take on The Lovett School at 5:30 p.m., but will go on the road to end non-region play. Their next home contest, after Lovett, will be against region foe Hart County on Friday, Jan. 16.
