For the second time in as many games, the Hebron girls made an undefeated, highly ranked team, defeated. This time it was on the biggest stage in high school girls basketball. No. 12 Hebron defeated No. 19 Hazel Green (AL) 59-48 in the first round of the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix. It was a close game that had many lead changes before the Lions finally pulled away in the fourth quarter. The teams played to a 10-10 tie at the end of the first quarter. Hazel Green led 23-22 at halftime. Hebron’s offense began to gel in the third quarter outscoring the Trojans 18-14 in the period taking a 40-37 lead into the fourth. The Lions finally wore down Hazel Green outscoring them 19-11 in the fourth to post the 11-point win. The most noticeable difference in the second half was Hebron’s control of the defensive glass. The Lions defended well, forcing Hazel Green into some low percentage shots. And then Kerra Butler and Danielle Osho were there to clean the glass, not allowing Hazel Green many offensive boards and second chance soring opportunities. Butler posted a double-double scoring 17 points to go with 12 rebounds. Aubrey Beckham also scored 17 points to go with four rebounds and two assists. Mia James put up 13 points, two assists and also had two blocks…not bad for the smallest person on the court. Osho added seven points and seven boards while Nicky Daniel chipped in three points. Hebron is now 9-0 on the season and is riding a 41-game winning streak dating back to last season. Hazel Green suffers its first loss on the season, and falls to 14-1. The Lions’ reward for the hard fought win? A date with the No. 1 ranked team in the country, Long Island Lutheran (NY), a team featuring seven Power 5 players. Long Island Lutheran won its first round game 82-35 over Ontario Christian (CA). The team features Kayleigh Heckel, a 5’9 point guard committed to Southern California, Kate Koval, a 6’5 post from Ukraine committed to Notre Dame, Syracuse commit, 6’0 wing Ka’Shya Hawkins, Syla Swords, a 6’0 Canadian who’s committed to Michigan, and top prospects Lauren Swann and sophomore Savvy Swords (6’1), another Canadian. Hebron will have its work cut out for them to say the least. Let’s play. Tipoff is tomorrow (Tuesday) at 2:00 PM Eastern.

Class AAAAA No. 1 ranked, undefeated Union Grove, made the trip from McDonough to Dacula to take on the Class AAA No. 1 ranked Hebron Lions Saturday afternoon, and emerged defeated. Hebron took down the visiting Wolverines 64-37 in a battle between two of the top teams in Georgia. Hebron opened an early 6-0 lead with back to back threes by Amiya Porter and Mia James before Union Grove cut the lead to 6-5. The Lions tried to handle the physicality of Union Grove in the first half building a lead as large as 15 points before the Wolverines cut it to 11 at halftime. Hebron started the second half more in sync offensively and locked down defensively. The Lions forced numerous Union Grove turnovers which converted to Hebron buckets. The Lion lead grew to 20 at the end of the third quarter and 27 at game’s end. Hebron led wire to wire and absorbed the physical play admirably despite Danielle Osho’s bloodied nose. Osho posted her first double-double on the season scoring 12 points while pulling down 10 rebounds. Aubrey Beckham led all scorers with 20 points to go with eight steals. Porter dropped 14 points while dishing three assists. Kerra Butler scored seven points to go with 10 boards while James had five points, a game high five assists and seven steals. Nicky Daniel and Kayla Lane added three points apiece for the Lions. Hebron ups is record to 8-0 on the season while Union Grove suffers its first loss, dropping to 11-1. The Lions’ win streak now stands at 40 heading into the prestigious Nike Tournament of Champions next week in Phoenix. The Nike TOC features the top teams in the country, regardless of location, classification in their state, public, private, or if the team is a athletics academy not sanctioned to compete for state titles in their home state. The tournament features seven divisions comprised of 16 teams each. Hebron is playing in the “Vincent Cannizzaro Division”, which is the top division, the best of the best. The Lions, ranked No. 12 in the country by MaxPreps and No. 14 by ESPN, will take on Hazel Green, AL (14-0), who’s ranked No. 19 by MaxPreps and No. 22 by ESPN. All games will be held at Legacy Sports Complex in Mesa, AZ. Hebron and Hazel Green will tipoff on Monday, December 18 at 8:00 PM Eastern.

Link to Vincent Cannizzaro Division: https://basketball.exposureevents.com/216002/nike-tournament-of-champions/schedule)
Link to how to register to for live streaming: https://toc.bethebeast.com/ecommerce/eventliveplus/655e32b4d5bfb789450f966b

The Hebron girls continued their tour of Gwinnett County this afternoon taking on Norcross at the Atlanta Hawks Naismith Classic hosted by Norcross. The Naismith Classic is hosted by Norcross annually at this time of year and features some of the top teams in Georgia competing at one venue. Many college coaches and media were in attendance to watch the Class AAA No. 1 ranked Lions battle with the Class AAAAAAA No. 3 ranked Blue Devils. Hebron raced to an early 9-0 lead to start the game but Norcross answered with an 11-0 of its own to take its first lead at 11-9. Hebron’s Mia James drained a three at the buzzer to give the Lions a 12-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. Norcross would not lead again. Hebron upped the defensive pressure which led to offensive scoring opportunities. The Lions outscored Norcross 19-7 in the second quarter taking a 31-18 lead into halftime. Hebron’s depth began taking a toll in the second half. The talented Blue Devils did not have the depth of Hebron and hardly substituted. Hebron outscored Norcross 25-11 in the third quarter and 26-14 in the fourth, handing them a 39-point loss. Aubrey Beckham led the way for the Lions with 21 points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals. James had a solid game dropping 19 points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals. Amiya Porter added 15 points for the Lions on 5-for-8 shooting from behind the arc. She also had two assists. Danielle Osho scored 10 points and had four boards, two assists and two steals. Kerra Butler chipped in five points, a game high 13 rebounds, four steals and three assists. Hebron, who moved up to No. 12 in the country in the latest MaxPreps national rankings, and to No. 14 in the latest ESPN poll, improves to 7-0 on the season while Norcross drops to 8-2. The Lions will have another long break between games as they won’t take to the court again until next Saturday when Class AAAAA No. 1 ranked Union Grove (9-0) travels to Dacula in a battle of unbeatens. Tipoff is 1:00 PM.

Class AAAA No. 3 ranked Trinity Christian made the 75-mile drive from Sharpsburg to Dacula tonight and was handed a 98-52 loss by the Class AAA No. 1 ranked Hebron Lions at Lions Arena. The Hebron girls were a little rusty after an 11-day layoff since their last game. But that didn’t matter as the game produced five Lions who scored in double figures. Amiya Porter and Aubrey Beckham shared high scorer honors dropping 22 points apiece. Porter hit six threes while dishing three assists. Beckham had four assists on the night. Kerra Butler recorded another double-double scoring 16 points while pulling down 18 rebounds. Danielle Osho put up 13 points and seven boards. Mia James filled up the stat sheet with 11 points, four assists, four rebounds and three steals. Alanna Beckham added nine points and three assists for Hebron. The top ranked Lions are now 6-0 on the season while Trinity Christian drops to 4-2, their other loss coming at the hands of Class AAAAAAA No. 1 ranked Grayson. Hebron will again have a big gap between games as they don’t take to the court again until next Saturday, December 9. They’ll travel to Norcross to take on the Class AAAAAAA third ranked Blue Devils. Tipoff is 3:20 PM.

ESPN released its 2023-2024 preseason national Top 25 rankings yesterday and the Hebron Lions entered the poll at No. 17. Hebron is the only team from Georgia in the ESPN Top 25. This is the second national ranking for a Hebron team coming on the heels of the girls basketball team’s No. 14 ranking by MaxPreps.

Link to ESPN article: https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/scnext-top-25-the-first-rankings-of-the-best-high-school-girls-basketball-teams-for-2023-24/ar-AA1ki468
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
ESPN National Top 25 Power Rankings

1. Long Island Lutheran (N.Y.)
2. Etiwanda (Calif.)
3. Sierra Canyon (Calif.)
4. Montverde Academy (Fla.)
5. Sidwell Friends (D.C.)
6. Archbishop Mitty (Calif.)
7. IMG Academy (FL)
8. DME Academy (FL)
9. Sacred Heart (Ky.)
10. DeSoto HS (Texas)
11. Bishop McNamara (MD)
12. South Grand Prairie (Texas)
13. Mater Dei (Calif.)
14. Morris Catholic (N.J.)
15. Purcell Marian (Ohio)
16. San Antonio Clark (Texas)
17. Hebron Christian (GA)
18. Duncanville (TX)
19. Lake Highland Prep (FL)
20. McDonogh (MD)
21. Putnam City West (OK)
22. Hopkins HS (Minn.)
23. Christ the King (NY)
24. Bethany (OK)
25. Hazel Green (AL)