Hardaway wins first state title in program history, Butler ends 59 year championship drought

Hardaway Hawks celebrate first state championship win in program history after 47-34 win over Murray County

On Thursday, the 2024-25 Georgia High School Association boys and girls basketball state championship games continued with day two action as the Hardaway Hawks, looking for their first state title in program history, took on the Murray County Indians, who at 30-1, looked to capture their first championship since 1965.

With stifling defense in the opening quarter, the Hawks would soar to a 9-0 run to start the game, eventually closing out the period with a 20-4 lead, holding the Indians to 7.7 percent shooting from the field. Settling in defensively themselves, Murray County would slow the Hardaway offense down, holding them to 8 points on 3-10 shooting in the second quarter as well as 8 points in the third quarter on 4-17 shooting from the field.

However, the Indians would struggle offensively themselves as their shooting woes continued as they finished the second quarter 3-17 from the field and 4-11 in the third quarter, trailing 36-19 heading into the final period of play. In the fourth quarter, the Indians would have their best offensive performance shooting 40 percent from the field and outscoring the Hawks 15-11 in the period, however the early 16 first quarter deficit would prove to be to much for Murray County to overcome as Hardaway picked up the 47-34 win.

"I just very excited, very proud of all the girls," Hardaway head coach, Kelly Ellison, said of the Hawks first ever GHSA state title win, praising her players for their performance, especially on the defensive end of the court. "Defensive pressure was the key. We wanted to get them out of their comfort zone," Ellison said of Hardaway's strategy to limit the Indians' scoring opportunities. "They're a great shooting team and they play tough so we knew they were going to make some runs, but we just wanted to keep pressure and use our length to kind of limit their opportunities," Ellison added.

Hardaway's Rhianna Boynton would lead all players with 22 points, shooting 6-10 from the field, and would end the night with 12 rebounds, with teammate Adazha Burrell collecting 11 of the Hawks' 45 total rebounds. Bayleigh Winkler would lead Murray County in scoring with 14 points.