The Hebron Christian Academy girls basketball team won its second postseason tournament of the season as the Lions defeated the South Shore Lady Vikings (NY), 62-51 in The Throne national basketball tournament.
The Lions finished the season 32-2 and won the GHSA Class 3A girls basketball state championship a couple weeks prior— their third in program history. Led by legendary head coach, Jan Azar, the Lions finished the season on a 23-game win streak, including their state championship victory over Wesleyan that won Azar her 16th state championship of her career.
“This is a special group,” said Azar. “Probably the most talented group I have ever had and that is saying a lot because I have had some really good teams in the past and so they are all special in their own right. This group just kind of fit every piece, and in high school basketball it’s rare you find a group of kids that fit so many different roles and can put them together so well and this group really did that. I can’t say enough about how talented this group is but also how unselfish they are to give up their individual goals to come together for this team accomplishment.”
The Throne high school basketball national tournament was created by the National Basketball Players Association and Gold Level Sports & Entertainment to create “a one-of-a-kind platform bringing a bracket-style basketball tournament to the high school ranks,” according to TheThroneHoops.com.
While ‘The Throne’ has done men’s brackets in the past, this was the inaugural year of the girls side of the tournament.
Crown ‘em
Congratulations to our Hebron girls basketball team on a 61-52 win over Lady Vikings (NY)! The Lions are The Throne National Champions! pic.twitter.com/mIUyY1zmqU
— HCA Athletics (@hcaathletic) March 30, 2024
The Hebron girls team was one of six girls high school programs invited to the tournament from around the nation which was held in East Rutherford, New Jersey at the American Dream Mall beginning on March 28. They were the only representative on the girls side from the state of Georgia.
“There’s so much talent in the state of Georgia,” Azar stated. “For us to play in this event and Grayson going out to Indianapolis to play in the Chipotle event, right here sitting in Gwinnett County just says so much about how talented all of these girls are in Gwinnett County and in the state of Georgia.”
Junior Aubrey Beckham scored 15 points, grabbed nine rebounds and made seven assists in the Lions’ championship victory over South Shore. Beckham was named The Throne’s 2024 Girls Most Valuable Player for her impressive play throughout the tournament. Including Beckham, the Lions had three players in double-figures with senior Amiya Porter scoring 14 points and junior forward Ja’Kerra Butler adding 12 points with 12 rebounds.
“Aubrey is fantastic, she is really beginning to figure out who she is as a player, she is extremely unselfish and humble and so I think that she is learning how to take over games and she did that for us out at Nike, she did that here, she has got a lot of great players around her so to be as good as she is and continuing to play within herself I guess is a huge accomplishment. I don’t know if I have ever had a player that can score at will but chooses to continue to make everyone around her better,” Azar said.
The 16-time state champion head coach also credited Butler, Porter, Mia James, Danielle Osho, Nickyia Daniel, Camryn Register and Alanna Beckham for playing their roles and helping the team become successful in any way they could.
Hebron finished the game with a 12-rebound advantage (39-27), and handed out 10 more assists than the Lady Vikings, leading the category 18-8.
With Hebron’s impressive tournament victory over the weekend, the Lions finished as the No. 10 ranked girls basketball team in the country according to MaxPreps.
‘I’ve coached some nationally-ranked teams in the past but I don’t think we have ever ended the season ranking in the top-10 nationally so this will be a first for us,” said Azar. “These girls are really really talented but I think what we will remember most is how much fun we had along the way.”
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