Cherokee’s varsity basketball teams split against Highlands on Tuesday, Feb. 5. The Lady Braves improved to 19-2 on the year with an impressive 77-35 win, and the Braves (11-8) lost a squeaker 53-52.
Avery Mintz led the Lady Braves with 21pts followed by Alexis Maney with 18. Cherokee controlled the game from the start and led 23-4 after the first period and 41-15 at halftime. They kept the pressure up in the second half outscoring Highlands 19-6 in the third period and 17-11 in the fourth.
Other Lady Braves scorers included: Kendall Toineeta 10, Jordyn Thompson 8, Bree Stamper 5, Sabrina Wooten 2, Le Le Lossiah 2, Brianna Jumper 2 and Angel Saine 9.
Emily Shuler led Highlands with 12pts. Other Highlands scorers included: Kirstyn Lamb 10, Ashlee Maitland 7, Whitney Billingsley 2 and Rebekah Parks 4.
Dustin Johnson led the Braves with 15pts followed by Seth Littlejohn with 12. This game was up and down the entire time. Cherokee jumped out to a 14-5 lead after the first period, but Highlands came back with a good second period to only trail 23-18 at the half.
Highlands outscored Cherokee 22-14 in the third period to take a 40-37 lead into the final period. The Braves outscored Highlands 15-13 in the fourth, but came up just one point short as Highland’s Dustin Moore hit two free throws at the end to seal the win.
Other Braves scorers included: Jesse Toineeta 2, Brandt Sutton 2, Darius Thompson 10, Chris Queen 4 and Eli Littlejohn 7.
Tyler Munger led Highlands with 18pts. Other Highlands scorers included: Taylor Osteen 2, Kennan Lewis 11, Davis Moore 8, Brent Amumdrud 12 and Kyle Gabbard 2.
– ONE FEATHER STAFF REPORT