MACON - Claire Carlson and Bristol Kersh combined for 13 of Cherokee Bluff’s 19 fourth-quarter points to help the 10th-ranked Bears pull away from defending state champion Baldwin in the Class 3A girls basketball championship game Wednesday at the Macon Coliseum.
Tenth-ranked Cherokee Bluff (25-8), a seventh-year program, won its first state championship and became the first Hall County school to win a basketball championship - boys or girls - since the East Hall girls in 2007. Third-ranked Baldwin (25-7) fell one win short of its fifth state title.
“I don’t know that it’s fully sunk in yet,” Cherokee Bluff coach Kassie Scott said. “A phenomenal surprise is that my mom just came in from Arizona and my older sister from Hawaii, so that’s special. My emotions are everywhere. These girls deserve every single thing that they’ve worked for. They show up, they compete, they do everything I ask, and I couldn’t be more proud.”
It was a relatively short climb to the top and a somewhat unexpected title run for the Bears. The program had never won a state playoff game coming into this season, and they entered the postseason as the No. 3 seed in the Region 8-3A tournament behind Jefferson and Oconee County after losing to each twice during the regular season.
Then the Bears got hot. They beat Oconee County by six points and then Jefferson by seven to claim the region championship and earn the No. 4 seed for the state playoffs. They followed that up with victories over North Clayton, Dougherty, Monroe and Jenkins to earn a spot in the finals.
Baldwin led for most of the first half, and Cherokee Bluff trailed 29-19 after a 3-pointer by the Braves’ Zuri Grant midway through the second quarter. The Bears cut the lead to six by the end of the half and then led 47-46 after a back-and-forth third quarter.
Carlson converted a three-point play and made two free throws in the first minute of the fourth quarter, igniting a 9-2 Cherokee Bluff run that made it a 56-48 game with 4:47 remaining. Baldwin closed to within five points three times down the stretch before Cherokee Bluff put the game away from the free-throw line.
Carlson finished with a game-high 23 points and had five rebounds and three assists. She was 5-for-14 on three pointers and 4-for-5 on free throws. Kersh had 22 points, seven assists, five steals and five rebounds. Emery Jones added 14 points, including five in the fourth quarter.
“Bristol and Claire are going to always be Bristol and Claire,” Scott said. “They set the tone for this team. They compete for four quarters, and the girls just carry that out with them.”
Baldwin, with a significant size advantage, outrebounded the Bears 49-25, but the Braves also had 20 turnovers that turned into 28 Cherokee Bluff points.
Janaye Walker had 21 points and 21 rebounds to lead Baldwin. Kassidy Neal had 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Grant and Suri Clark scored 10 points each.
Baldwin - 14-19-13-12 - 58
Cherokee Bluff - 12-15-20-19 - 66
Baldwin (58): Trinia Lawrence, Janaye Walker 21, Zuri Grant 10, Suri Clark 10, Kassidy Neal 17, Amari Baker, Tealiyah West, Kyla Levester.
Cherokee Bluff (66): Brooklyn Phillips 1, Claire Carlson 23, Audrey Graham 2, Bristol Kersh 22, Halle Wilson 4, Mac Warren, Emery Jones 14, Neena Harbuck.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
