DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The Hebron Christian Academy girls basketball team is headed back to the GHSA State Championship game for the fifth consecutive year after knocking off The Galloway School 74-32 in the Final Four Friday afternoon at Lynn Cottrell Arena on the University of North Georgia campus.
With a return trip to the Macon Centreplex, the Lions have their eyes set on a third consecutive state championship and the program's fourth title in the last five seasons.
The Lions dominated Galloway from the opening tip, scoring the game's first 10 points and stretching the lead to 22-5 at the end of the first quarter.
HCA continued its dominant ways in the second quarter, pouring it on in the paint and pushing the lead to 30 points at the half with a commanding 40-10 lead. After the intermission, the Lions refused to let up, going on a 9-0 run to start the third quarter as the lead swelled to 49-10.
Hebron continued to cruise down the stretch and
Alexa Craig hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Lions a 74-32 victory. Ja'kerra Butler led the way with 23 points, while
Mia James added 17,
Danielle Osho tacked on 15 and
Alanna Beckham rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10.
"I thought our girls cleaned up the glass well," said head coach Jan Azar. "Our offense really stemmed from our defense today and that was really thanks to
Camryn Register and
Alanna Beckham. They played really great defense on #10 and #22 to allow for Dani and Kerra to go to work on the glass."
Azar returns to the championship game for the 23rd time in her career as she seeks her 17th GHSA State Title. Now in her sixth season at Hebron and 29th overall as a head coach, Azar has amassed 749 victories and holds the title of the winningest basketball coach in GHSA history.
Up Next: The GHSA A-AAA Private State Championship game will be played in Macon, Ga. at the Macon Coliseum on Wednesday, March 5 against either Holy Innocents or St. Francis. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.
