Class 3A-A private basketball semifinals: 2 familiar faces, 1 first-timer advance to finals

Girls

Hebron Christian 74, Galloway 42

Kerra Butler and Danielle Osho dominated inside from the start as top-ranked Hebron Christian cruised past No. 4 Galloway. The Lions (29-1) are one victory away from their fourth state title in five seasons.

Butler and Osho both had double-doubles, combining for 38 points and 21 rebounds. They had 27 combined points in the first half as Hebron Christian surged out to a 40-10 lead by halftime.

“Our offense really stemmed from our defense today, and that was Camryn Register and Alanna Beckham,” Hebron coach Jan Azar said. “Their defense was tremendous, and that allowed for Kerra and Dani to go to work on the glass.”

The Lions scored the first 10 points of the game in the first two and a half minutes before Galloway got its first points on a jumper by Taryn Thompson. Hebron Christian increased the lead to 26-5 before Galloway’s Sophia Louis-Pierre made a 3-pointer and a jumper on consecutive possessions to cut it 26-10. The Lions then closed out the half with a 14-0 run.

Butler finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Osho had 15 and 11. Mia James scored 15 points, and Alanna Beckham had 10. Thompson led Galloway with 15 points.

“We’ve got great girls, we’ve got a great younger program and a supportive administration,” Azar said. “People are excited about girls basketball at Hebron. I love where I am, and I love what these girls are doing.”

Holy Innocents’ 63, St. Francis 61

Loriel Murray made a layup with 12 seconds remaining to break a 61-61 tie and third-ranked Holy Innocents’ survived a last-second St. Francis shot from short range that rolled out at the buzzer.

Third-ranked Holy Innocents’ (24-5) led by just two points at halftime but appeared to have the game under control when Murray scored on a three-point play and a layup for a 46-35 lead midway through the third quarter. St. Francis responded by scoring the final 13 points of the quarter to reclaim the lead at 48-46.

Murray then scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to give the Golden Bears the lead for good at 51-48, although St. Francis kept it within three points the rest of the way.

Hailee Swain, the state’s top-ranked senior, led Holy Innocents’ with 23 points. She also set up Murray’s game-winning points with a steal and assist after St. Francis rebounded a missed Holy Innocents’ shot with less than 20 seconds remaining.

Murray had 18 points, including 16 in the second half, Nahkai Worthy had 14.

The loss brought an end to the championship reign of second-ranked St. Francis (26-3), which won the Class A Division I title the past two seasons.

Giaunni Rogers had 16 points and Camryn Golston scored 15 to lead the Knights.

Boys

North Cobb Christian 57, Greenforest Christian 51

Third-ranked North Cobb Christian recovered from an eight-point deficit in the first quarter, and Xavier Butler and Brock Bass-Bonner took over in the second half to help the Eagles pull away from second-ranked Greenforest Christian.

The two sophomores scored 21 of the Eagles’ 28 points in the second half, including one stretch of 15 in a row, as they turned a 34-29 deficit early in the third quarter into a 50-43 lead with 2:13 remaining in the game.

Butler made five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points. His final 3-pointer gave the Eagles (25-3) the lead for good at 40-38 late in the third quarter.

Bass-Bonner followed with nine consecutive points and gave North Cobb Christian its biggest lead, 49-40, midway through the fourth quarter. He finished with a team-leading 20 points.

“They’re both young, and they both adapted to the game,” North Cobb Christian coach Greg Matta said. “[Greenforest] had a big, big lineup, and Butler stepped out and made the shots he needed to make. Brock, he just decided to take over the game, too. He went to the basket and got fouled, and that’s what I was looking for him to do.”

Grant Robich, who was questionable with a leg injury, had nine points for North Cobb Christian, and Isaiah Chandler added nine. Orion Wilson led Greenforest with 22 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, and Kyree Taylor had 12.