ESPN one-upped MaxPreps as its final national poll of the season was released recently. Hebron finished the 2023-2024 ranked No. 9 in the country in ESPNW’s final Power Rankings. This No. 9 ranking is now the highest national ranking ever achieved by a Jan Azar coached team. Congratulations to all of the Hebron players and coaches for achieving this distinction. You all have much to be proud of!

1. Long Island Lutheran (N.Y.) 22-2
3. Etiwanda (Calif.) 32-3
3. Montverde Academy (Fla.) 24-4
4. Archbishop Mitty (Calif.) 30-1
5. IMG Academy (Fla.) 25-4
6. Sierra Canyon (Calif.) 31-3
7. Grayson (Ga.) 32-1
8. Morris Catholic (N.J.) 29-1
9. Hebron Christian (Ga.) 32-2
10. Duncanville (Texas) 35-4
11. Bishop McNamara (Md.) 28-5
12. Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.) 25-7
13. Purcell Marian (Ohio) 28-1
14. Incarnate Word Academy (Mo.) 31-0
15. Grace Christian Sanford (N.C.) 30-1
16. Minnetonka (Minn.) 28-2
17. Lawrence Central (Ind.) 30-1
18. DeSoto HS (Texas) 27-6
19. Johnston (Iowa) 29-0
20. St. John’s College Prep (Washington, D.C.) 26-5
21. Hopkins (Minn.) 26-4
22. Timberview (Texas) 40-2
23. Putnam City West (Okla.) 27-1
24. Manchester (Va.) 27-2
25. Lake Highland Prep (Fla.) 25-5

Now that the two national postseason tournaments have been completed, The Throne National Championship, held in East Rutherford, NJ and won by your Hebron Lions, and the Chipotle Nationals, which Hebron was also invited to, held in Indianapolis and won by Montverde Academy (FL), MaxPreps released its final national rankings. Hebron ended the season ranked No. 10 in the country. This is the first national ranking ever for a Hebron team and the fourth Jan Azar led team to achieve a national ranking. The 2023-24 Hebron Lions squad is the highest nationally ranked team Azar has ever coached. Her 2011-12 Wesleyan team finished ranked No. 18 nationally by ESPN, whose end of season rankings have yet to be released. Quite a distinction for this talented group of girls.

1 Etiwanda, CA, 32-3
2 Archbishop Mitty (San Jose), CA, 30-1
3 Montverde Academy (Montverde) FL, 24-4
4 Long Island Lutheran (Brookville) NY, 21-2
5 IMG Academy (Bradenton) FL, 23-4
6 Grayson (Loganville) GA, 32-0
7 Bishop McNamara (Forestville) MD, 28-5
8 Morris Catholic (Denville), NJ, 29-1
9 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) CA, 31-3
10 Hebron Christian (Dacula) GA, 32-2
11 Duncanville, TX, 35-4
12 Johnston, IA, 29-0
13 Incarnate Word Academy (St. Louis) MO, 31-0
14 Lake Highland Prep (Orlando) FL, 25-5
15 Purcell Marian (Cincinnati) OH, 28-1
16 St. John’s (Washington) DC, 26-5
17 Lawrence Central (Indianapolis) IN, 30-1
18 Sidwell Friends (Washington) DC, 25-7
19 Loyola Academy (Wilmette) IL, 38-0
20 Bradley Central (Cleveland) TN, 34-1
21 Mansfield Timberview (Arlington) TX, 40-2
22 DeSoto, TX, 27-6
23 Burroughs (St. Louis) MO, 28-3
24 Putnam City West (Oklahoma City) OK, 27-1
25 Manchester (Midlothian) VA, 27-2

With the 2023-2024 season coming to a close, many post season awards have been announced over the last few weeks. Numerous Hebron players as well as Coach Azar have earned numerous honors and awards.

Gwinnett Tipoff Club Team of the Year
Co-Team of the Year
Co-Coach of the Year – Jan Azar
All Gwinnett County – Aubrey Beckham, Kerra Butler, Danielle Osho
Academic All County – Amiya Porter

Atlanta Tipoff Club All Metro Team of the Year
Pinholster Class A-AAAA State Coach of the Year – Jan Azar
First Team All Metro – Aubrey Beckham
Second Team All Metro – Kerra Butler
Honorable Mention All Metro – Danielle Osho, Mia James

Georgia Athletic Coaches Association All State
Class AAA North Player of the Year – Aubrey Beckham
Class AAA All State – Aubrey Beckham, Kerra Butler, Danielle Osho, Mia James

Atlanta Journal-Constitution All State
Class AAA Coach of the Year – Jan Azar
Class AAA All State First Team – Aubrey Beckham, Kerra Butler
Class AAA All State Second Team – Daniell Osho
Class AAA All State Honorable Mention – Mia James

Atlanta Journal-Constitution All Gwinnett County
All Gwinnett County First Team – Aubrey Beckham
All Gwinnett County Second Team – Kerra Butler
All Gwinnett County Honorable Mention – Danielle Osho

The Hebron girls won The Throne National Championship defeating South Shore (NY) 61-52 in the championship game at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, NJ Saturday afternoon. Unlike yesterday’s semifinal game where the Lions trailed for much of the game, they led for the majority of this one. The Lions opened the game with a 6-0 lead and led by as much as 10 in the second quarter before taking a 31-25 lead into halftime. Leading 36-32 with 3:06 to go in the third quarter, Mia James found Amiya Porter in the corner for a three. Similar to yesterday’s game, that sparked a 10-0 run as Hebron stretched its lead to 46-32 with 1:14 remaining in the third. South Shore, the NYPSAA Division I state champions, went on a 6-0 run of its own to close out the third quarter, cutting the Hebron lead to 46-38 entering the fourth. Lady Vikings cut the lead to 50-47 after a 9-4 run, with 4:12 left in the game. Hebron quickly answered pushing the lead back to five, and then seven and eventually the nine-point winning margin. Aubrey Beckham led the Hebron’s well balanced scoring effort with 15 points to go with nine rebounds, and seven assists. Amiya Porter hit four threes in her final game in a Hebron uniform. The senior scored 14 points and had two assists and one rebound. Kerra Butler recorded another double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds along with an assist. Mia James was a solid floor general again scoring eight points while grabbing five boards and dishing four assists. Nicky Daniel put up eight points in her final game in a Hebron uniform and also had a rebound and an assist. Danielle Osho added four points, 10 boards and three assists for the Lions. Beckham was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player as Hebron receives unprecedented national recognition. Hebron completes its historic season with The Throne National Championship and a record of 32-2. The girls fly back to Atlanta tonight in time to spend Easter with their families, which is fitting as this group were exemplary in representing and honoring themselves, their school and most importantly, God, all season long.

The Hebron girls were invited to participate in The Throne High School National Championship held in East Rutherford, New Jersey this week. The six-team tournament, sponsored by the NBA and WNBA, consists of six top teams from around the country, Desert Vista (Phoenix, AZ), South Shore (Brooklyn, NY), Bishop Ireton (Alexandria, VA), Ridgeline (Millville, UT), McDonough (Pomfret, MD). Hebron is the highest ranked team (No. 9 in the US in the latest ESPN poll), and was given the No. 1 seed. The Lions had a first round bye as a result, and faced fifth seeded Bishop Ireton in the semifinals. Bishop Ireton won it’s quarterfinal game 79-54 over fourth seeded Desert Vista after spotting them a 10-0 lead. Bishop Ireton won the Virginia Independent School Athletic Association (VISAA) Division I state championship earlier this month and had a record of 25-9 coming into today’s semifinal, most of their losses being against traditional national powers. The Lions started in a 6-0 hole as the three-week layoff they’d had since the state championship win over Wesleyan was evident. Hebron kicked off the rust and briefly held a one point lead before heading to the locker room down 28-26 at the half. The second half was a back and forth affair. Bishop Ireton led 39-34 with four minutes left in the third quarter when a Kerra Butler putback ignited a 6-0 Hebron run giving the Lions a 40-39 lead. It was short lived however as Bishop Ireton scored the next four points to go up 43-40. The Lions answered with a 4-0 run of their own to close out the third quarter leading 44-43. With Hebron trailing 49-46 at the 4:42 mark, Danielle Osho found Amaya Porter in the corner who drained a three knotting the game at 49-49. This ignited a 10-0 run by the Lions who took a 56-49 lead after a pair of Mia James free throws with 2:51 left in the game. Bishop Ireton would not get closer than three points the rest of the way and Hebron closed out a 64-58 win to advance to the championship game. Butler was phenomenal as she recorded another double-double scoring 23 points while pulling down 16 rebounds, both game highs. She also had five blocked shots, two steals and an assist. Aubrey Beckham added 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and one steal. Osho put up eight points and three rebounds while Mia James had seven points, a game high six assists, five rebounds and a steal. Porter added seven points, three assists and a steal. Hebron ups its record to 31-2 in this extended postseason and will face South Shore (NY) in the championship game. South Shore (25-6) won the NYPSAL (New York Public School Athletic Association) championship earlier this month. The sixth seeded Lady Vikings defeated third seeded McDonough (MD) 54-48 its quarterfinal and routed second seeded Ridgeline (UT) 55-35 in its semifinal to advance to the championship game against Hebron. Tipoff is tomorrow (Saturday) at 12 Noon. The game will be televised on NBATV.