Two first-time champions were crowned, and two other schools padded their legacy in the first day of the GHSA Basketball Championships at the Macon Coliseum. 

The Heritage-Catoosa girls won the Class 3A championship and the Darlington boys won the Private championship. It was the first state titles for both teams.

The Cross Creek boys won the 3A championship, its third state title, and the Hebron Christian girls won the Private championship, its fourth title.

The schedule for Thursday is: 

Class A Division 2: Girls – Wilcox County vs. Washington-Wilkes, 1 p.m.; Boys – Clinch County vs. Portal, 3 p.m. Girls 3-point contest: 4:45. Class 4A: Girls – Marist vs. Kell, 5:30 p.m.; Boys – St. Pius vs. Pace Academy, 7:30 p.m.

All games can be seen live on GPB-TV and GPB.org.

Here’s a look at Wednesday’s championships.

Hebron

Private girls: Hebron Christian 46, Holy Innocents’ 42

Mia Huckaby came off the bench to score 14 points, including three crucial 3-point baskets, and help No. 1 Hebron Christian to its fourth state championship. 

Hebron (30-1) trailed 14-6 after one quarter and fell behind by as many as 10 before storming back in the second quarter. The Lions took the lead for good on a free throw by Huckaby with 3:48 left in the half.

Holy Innocents’ (24-7) erased a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter and got as close as one point after a 3-pointer from Parker Smith. The Bears had two shots to tie or take the lead in the final two minutes before Hebron’s Alanna Beckham put the game away with a pair of free throws.

Beckham finished with seven points, nine rebounds and five steals, and Gabby Minus, a Tennessee signee, had seven points and 13 rebounds. 

Holy Innocents’ was led by Makayla Weaver and Smith with 10 points each. Aaniyah Branch had 16 points and eight blocked shots. 

Darlington

Private boys: Darlington 53, Holy Innocents’ 50

Junior D.J. Hall scored 30 points to help Darlington knock off the defending state champions and bring home the school’s first championship.

Hall was 9-for-17 from the field and 5-for-8 on 3-pointers, with six rebounds, seven assists and two steals for Darlington (30-2). 

Holy Innocents’ led 12-6 and had a 10-point lead in the second quarter before Darlington regained its footing and took a 25-23 lead at the half. Holy Innocents’ got to within one point of the lead in the fourth period, but Hall had a pair of layups to help the Tigers hold off the threat. 

Holy Innocents’ (25-4) was led by Devin Hutcherson, a Belmont signee, with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Jaden McCullough had 12 points and six rebounds and Jordan Mays scored 10. 

Darlington also got nine points and eight rebounds from Cam Selig.

Herutge

Class 3A girls: Heritage-Catoosa 65, Sandy Creek 63 OT

Paisley Collins scored 18 points and hit the go-ahead basket with 22 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Generals their first state championship. 

Collins took a pass from Tori Epps and dropped a left-handed layup into the hoop. After a timeout, Sandy Creek had trouble getting off a shot and Madison Reckley’s well-defending jumper missed at the buzzer. 

Heritage’s Georgia Gracy hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 58-58 and send the game into overtime. The Generals outscored the Patriots 24-16 in the final quarter.

Heritage (28-4) also got 18 points and nine rebounds from Ema Tanner, 12 points and seven assists from Epps, and 10 points from Gracy. Collins also had nine rebounds and three assists. 

Sandy Creek (25-7) was led by Morghan Reckley with 29 points, six rebounds and five steals, but was ejected after picking up her second technical foul. Deyla McCoy scored 22 points for the Patriots.

cross creek

 Class 3A boys: Cross Creek 56, Harlem 51

Cross Creek defeated Augusta-area rival Harlem for the fourth time this season to win its third state championship. Dontrell Jackson was the MVP, scoring 25 points with seven rebounds, two assists and one steal.

Cross Creek (27-5) also got 16 points from Frashad Trisby, who scored 11 points in the four quarter. Two of his three 3-pointers came down the stretch. 

Harlem (23-10) was led by A.J. Williams, who scored 28 points with six rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal. Christian Gandy scored 12 points with five rebounds. 

It was the fourth victory for Cross Creek over Harlem this season and yielded the school’s third state championship, all under coach Lawrence Kelly.