Cherokee’s Whitney Rogers (#32) shoots a mid-range jump shot as East Wilkes’ Lilly Adams (#10) goes up to defend during a 1A State Playoff third round game at the Charles George Memorial Arena on the afternoon of Saturday, Feb. 25. With 27 points, Rogers led Cherokee to a 68-52 victory. On the week’s three playoff games, she averaged 25.3 points per game. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photos)
By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – The Charles George Memorial Arena was rocking and rolling as the #3 seed Cherokee Lady Braves advanced to the regional semifinals of the 1A State Championship tournament. Cherokee defeated the #6 seed East Wilkes Lady Cardinals 68-52 on Saturday, Feb. 25 to advance to the 1A regional semifinals and the elite eight of the overall tournament.
Following the game, Ann Gardner, Lady Braves head coach, commented, “We had to kind of bounce back…we tried to play a bit fast and we had to figure out how to slow down and take care of the basketball. Just grit…our kids just grit it out every night. They fight, and they’re going to fight until the end so that’s probably the biggest difference. We don’t quit.”
On Saturday, Whitney Rogers, Lady Braves sophomore, led Cherokee with 27 points followed by Dvdaya Swimmer, Lady Braves freshman, with 16. On the week, Rogers averaged 25.3 points per game and Swimmer averaged 19.3.
Cherokee’s Awee Walkingstick, right, fights for position following a free throw in the second half with East Wilkes’ Kyleigh Lane.
Other Cherokee scorers included: Awee Walkingstick 5, Loshi Ward 4, AJ Hill 2, Creedon Arch 8, and Kamia Wiggins 6. East Wilkes scorers included: Peyton Mastin 5, Lauren Macemore 2, Payton Spicer 9, Lilly Adams 13, Kelsea Abster 4, Kyleigh Lane 6, Briley Church 5, and Kierstin Johnson 9.
On advancing to the regional semifinals, Coach Gardner said, “We basically tell them like we told them tonight. There’s a lot of teams that wish they were still playing. They’re fortunate to be playing. We just have one goal. We’re taking one game at a time and just trying to prepare for each game as we go.”
With the win, the Lady Braves will travel to face #2 seed Bishop-McGuinness on Tuesday, Feb. 28, game time TBA. This sets up a rematch many throughout the state have been looking forward to since early in the season when the Lady Villains edged Cherokee 43-42.
Cherokee’s Dvdaya Swimmer goes for a layup during the first half of Saturday’s game. On the night, she scored 16 points and averaged 19.3 on the week.
Coach Gardner reflected on that game, “Well, it was a good game down there for us early. When we started out the season and had them on our schedule I told them, ‘you know, if we want to win a state championship, we need to see what it looks like with them being the defending champions and whatnot’. We know what they do and we’re going to have to make sure that we do what we do.”
On Saturday, Cherokee came out hot leading 9-2 early. East Wilkes got going, but the Lady Braves led 18-12 after the first period. The Lady Cardinals outscored Cherokee 15-13 in the second period and trailed the Lady Braves 31-27 at the half.
The third period was Cherokee’s, and the Lady Braves took a 45-38 lead into the fourth. Cherokee kept the pressure up and outscored East Wilkes 23-14 to bring home the win.
Earlier in the week, Cherokee defeated the #30 seed Highland Tech Lady Rams 78-25 on Tuesday, Feb. 21 and the #19 seed Mount Airy Lady Granite Bears 61-44 on Thursday, Feb. 23. Both games were held at the Charles George Memorial Arena.
