Guard Nehemiah Walker has been playing basketball since she was in the second grade, and has played as a Lady Hawk since she was a freshman.
Walker plans to go to the University of North Texas after she graduates and pursue a major in nursing to become an anesthesiologist. She hopes to continue playing basketball recreationally. Walker said she has grown a lot in her time at Hebron and with the team, and she is proud of what they have achieved.
“I’m really proud of my accomplishments,” Walker said. “I’ve been through a lot of adversity so, where I am right now, I’m pretty proud of it.”
While part of the team, Walker accomplished many things with the team such as winning districts multiple times. But Walker said although those accomplishments were great, they were not her biggest accomplishment during her time in high school.
“My biggest accomplishment was opening myself up,” Walker said. “I came in really quiet, didn’t say anything and now, I’m more vocal than I ever was.”
Walker described her time as a Lady Hawk as special. She said she feels the program is in good hands when she leaves, and the culture is a big part of that.
“Just being around everybody in the team,” Walker said. “We have great chemistry together, so that’s been a unique experience, just being together as a team and a group.”
Forward Amaya Bell has been playing basketball since seventh grade, joined the Lady Hawks her sophomore year and before being promoted to varsity her junior year. However, basketball wasn’t Bell’s first choice in sports.
“I didn’t start out with basketball,” Bell said. “I was really good at soccer, and they told me that basketball and soccer both need good footwork, so I tried out basketball. I ended up liking it, and stuck with it.”
Bell will not continue basketball in college, but hopes to become a successful businesswoman and inspire others to follow their dreams. She plans to major in business at the University of Oklahoma.
“I hope to be a real estate agent and have my own business,” Bell said. “I remember when I was younger, I wanted to be successful like other businesswomen.”
Bell has accrued many achievements over her years of playing basketball with the Lady Hawks. Bell said her biggest accomplishments are her Player of the Year awards and honorable mentions.
“I’m really proud of what we have achieved at Hebron,” Bell said. “We’ve really grown over the last few years.”
Center Jordan Thomas has been playing basketball since she was in the sixth grade. She transferred to Hebron her freshman year, where she joined the varsity basketball team. Thomas plans on playing basketball in college for West Virginia and majoring in finance.
“My time at Hebron has been good; I just like the environment here,” Thomas said. “I adjusted really well, and I’m just happy where I’m at right now.”
Thomas said some of her favorite achievements during her time at Hebron are being multi-time district champions, going undefeated her senior season, making the regional tournament and the team getting their 100th win.
“It’s a bittersweet feeling [getting our 100th win],” Thomas said. “It’s a big accomplishment. As seniors, you can tell we’ve been putting in the work and it’s been very surreal.”
As her time in high school comes to an end, Thomas said she is proud of herself and the team as they have pushed through all the challenges they have faced.
“We have a family-like connection between us,” Thomas said. “Our program is very good and I feel like I’m part of the family here at Hebron. Everybody supports everybody, so it’s been a good experience being a part of that.”
Forward Zion Moody, known as “Z” on the court, has been playing basketball since the sixth grade. Moody joined the Lady Hawks in her sophomore year, and said she thinks of the team as her family.
“We go to the boys basketball games [as] a basketball team,” Moody said. “We go to baseball games, soccer games and all the others. Then, they come into our game — we’re just one big family.”
Moody said leaving the basketball team is an emotional moment for her, but she believes that it is not a bad thing, as everyone will be doing greater things.
“I’m sad, very sad [to graduate],” Moody said. “But, we’re doing good things, so it has to end somewhere so we can do other, [bigger] things [in life].”
Although she is not planning on pursuing basketball at a collegiate level, she is still planning on focusing on sports in college. Moody said that playing basketball has changed her life, and she wants to continue with sports at Hampton University by majoring in exercise science.
“I’m excited to go to Hampton,” Moody said. “It’s gonna be a new experience and I’m excited to try new things. I’m ready to be successful, to complete my goals and to help people.”
Guard Paris Bradley has been playing basketball since she was 5. After she graduates from Hebron, Bradley plans to continue her athletic and academic career at Louisiana Tech. She hopes to take her basketball career as far as possible and play professional basketball.
“My time at Hebron has been really fun,” Bradley said. “I definitely wasn’t really expecting all of this coming into it. Knowing what I accomplished in the amount of time I had was really special.”
Bradley finished her high school career as the school’s girls basketball’s all-time leading scorer, eclipsing 1,000 points this year.
“I’m extremely proud of what [the team] accomplished this year,” Bradley said. “Getting further than last year has really been one of our biggest goals.”
As her high school career comes to an end, Bradely said she looks back on the 100th win as a very pleasant experience.
“Honestly, it’s a bittersweet moment [leaving the team],” Bradley said. “There’s a lot of fun things that I’ve experienced here, so leaving those behind, leaving my teammates behind — that’s kind of sad. I’ve finished my high school career, and now, it’s on to my next chapter.”
Guard Micah Cooper has played basketball since seventh grade, and joined the team in her sophomore year. Cooper plans on continuing her basketball career at Southern Mississippi University while majoring in computer science.
“Winning 100 games is pretty great,” Cooper said. “I never really thought about how many games we won, just that we did. I think [that’s] really cool.”
Cooper said, compared to other high schools, Hebron is different when it comes to sports and fine arts. Usually, schools either have a good fine arts or a good sports team, but she said Hebron is a mix of both.
“Hebron is pretty diverse with our fine arts and sports,” Cooper said. “I’ve seen many people come and go through our basketball team. We’ve lost players, we’ve gained players, but it always works out. Cooper was one of three McDonald’s All-American Nominees. Basketball players such as Britney Griner, Micheal Jordan and Lebron James were a part of the McDonald’s All-American team.
“I’m excited to get to college, get started on my classes and jump in with the team,” Cooper said. “It’s a new thing to me, but I’m ready for the next step.”