The Tsalagi Anata Anitsvyasdi are shown at midcourt following being awarded their state championship trophy and medals. The Anata Anitsvyasdi defeated the East Bladen Eagles 84-48 in the 1A Women’s Basketball title game played at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C. on the afternoon of Friday, March 14. Shown, left to right, are Asst. Coach Jason McMillan, Madison Rogers, Team Statistician Ahli-sha Stephens, Tsuli Lossiah, Livia Crowe, Asst. Coach Paige Stamper, Whitney Rogers, Dvdaya Swimmer, Joscelyn Stamper, Daisee Fourkiller-Raby, Emily Brady, Yvonne Saunooke, Marlee Hicks, Head Coach Miranda Long Stamper, Kyla Moore, Lilly Lossiah, and Team Manager Will Poolaw. In front, holding the ball, is Team Mascot Penelope Stamper. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photos)
Tsalagi Anata Anitsvyasdi (Cherokee Lady Braves) repeat as state champions
By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – For the second year in a row, the Tsalagi Anata Anitsvyasdi (Cherokee Lady Braves) lifted the 1A Women’s Basketball Championship trophy. In doing so, they made school history by being the only team from Cherokee High School to win back-to-back state titles. They defeated the East Bladen Eagles 84-48 in the championship game held at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C. on the afternoon of Friday, March 14.
One astounding statistic from the game is the Anata Anitsvyasdi held the lead in the game for 29:53 of the 32-minute game.
PHOTO ALBUM: 1A State Championship Game
PHOTO ALBUM: 1A West Regional Final
In a post-game press conference following the championship game, Miranda Long Stamper, Anata Anitsvyasdi head coach said, “It was a little rough. We had a lid on the bucket at the beginning, but one thing I know is they’re not going to buckle. They’re not going to shut down. They’re going to keep on. If we’ve got to shoot 200 shots a game, then we’ll shoot as many as it takes to win that ballgame. They’re not going to give up.”
The Tsalagi Anata Anitsvyasdi (Cherokee Lady Braves) celebrate with the student section from Cherokee High School following winning their second consecutive 1A Women’s Basketball state championship.
The Anata Anitsvyasdi ended up winning big, but it was close in the first half. Cherokee led 18-15 at the end of the first period and took a four-point (35-31) lead into the locker room. In the second half, they turned it on and outscored East Bladen 18-8 in the third to lead 53-39 going into the fourth.
Coach Stamper commented on East Bladen, “They’re aggressive. They’re strong… #23 (Laila Smith), #1 (NeNe Ward), we had to have a plan for them, too. Our goal was to wear them out. I know that these girls (the Anata ANitsvyasdi) can run most teams into the ground, so it was just put pressure, don’t get in foul trouble. But East Bladen came to play today, and it was a rough first half. And, until the fourth quarter when we pulled away, it was a tough competition.”
Cherokee had its biggest lead of the game at 36 points with :15 seconds left. East Bladen led by 2 points early in the first period but trailed the remainder of the game.
On the game, Cherokee shot 34 of 97 (35.1 percent) from the field, but that percentage was much higher in the fourth period as they shot 13-24 (54.2 percent) and outscored the Eagles 31-9 to take the championship.
Coach Stamper said the dynamic for the team is about mutual respect. “As they trust me, I trust them.”
Whitney Rogers, senior, led the way for the Anata Anitsvyasdi with 33 points, a season high, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 5 steals. She was named the NCHSAA Kay Yow MVP for her efforts.
Whitney Rogers (#32), senior, led the way for the Anata Anitsvyasdi with 33 points, a season high, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 5 steals. She is shown going for a shot over East Bladen’s Cabria Baldwin (#10). Rogers was named the NCHSAA Kay Yow MVP for her efforts.
Dvdaya Swimmer, junior, was named the 1A State Championship Game Most Outstanding Player for Cherokee. She had 15 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals, and 1 block on the afternoon.
During the press conference, she commented, “It showed how much grit we have as a team. And, it shows how much we can push. It lighted how we are able to come back from the situations that we weren’t in last year. Some people may doubt us in those situations, but we knew this year there was going to be times when we had to come back and we were able to do that this year.”
Patty Evers, East Bladen head coach, praised her players for their effort and spoke on the grit and determination of Cherokee. “We just couldn’t keep them in front of us. They were just taking us out to dribble…they took us out to dribble and kicked it out to the wing and they were open. We even tried to double-team, once somebody got by, especially when #13 (Joscelyn Stamper) was in. Then #13 picked up another foul. We just couldn’t keep them in front of us.”
Hundreds of Cherokee fans showed up for the game, and Coach Stamper said her team feeds off of that energy. “Even sometimes we see a little worry on these girls’ faces, but they never let us falter. They never let us fall behind. When they hear that, it’s just fuel to their fire every night.”
Other Cherokee statistics for the championship game included: Madison Rogers 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block; Daisee Fourkiller-Raby 6 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 7 steals; Joscelyn Stamper 8 points, 11 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks; Marlee Hicks 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal; Kyla Moore 4 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals; Lilly Lossiah 4 rebounds, 2 steals; Yvonne Saunooke 4 points, 2 rebounds; and Tsuli Lossiah 4 points, 1 rebound.
East Bladen statistics included: NeNe Ward 12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal; Ariel Cromartie 4 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal; Cabria Baldwin 6 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block; Laila Smith 22 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 block; Niyah Wooten 2 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals; Aaliyah Monroe 2 points, 2 rebounds; Taylor Dowless 3 rebounds, 1 assist; and Sana’a Singletary 1 rebound.
Dvdaya Swimmer (#4), junior, was named the 1A State Championship Game Most Outstanding Player for Cherokee. She had 15 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals, and 1 block on the afternoon. Swimmer is shown driving to the basket in front of East Bladen’s Cabria Baldwin.
Prior to the start of the championship game, Cherokee’s Kyla Moore, senior, was given the NCHSAA Sportsmanship Award for Cherokee for the 2024-25 season.
Stamper, a sophomore, has won a state title both seasons she has played in high school. When asked how the Anata Anitsvyasdi will reload for the 2025-26 season, she noted, “We’ve got little sisters coming up from middle school. We’ve got a few of them. They’re going to roll right into it. Then, us as sophomores, we have amazing seniors that take a lot of the load of having to come out and lead the team. I think that we’re going to roll into those positions and do a pretty good job at it and it will just be alright.”
1A West Regional Final
The Anata Anitsvyasdi had to stage a comeback back to win the 1A West Regional Final against Bishop McGuinness on Tuesday, March 11. Cherokee led 15-12 after the end of the first period, but the Lady Villains outscored the Anata Anitsvyasdi 22-10 in the second period to take a nine-point (34-25) lead into the locker room.
Cherokee trailed by as much as 11 points in the third, but a flurry at the end of the period saw them trailing by only 6 points (48-42) going into the fourth. The Anata Anitsvyasdi outscored Bishop McGuinness 23-13 in the fourth and Daisee Fourkiller-Raby hit a three-point shot with 14 seconds left to give them a 64-61 lead. They’d go on to win 65-61 to advance to the final.
Following that game, Stamper thanked the fan base in a press conference, “We knew it was going to be loud…our crowd is the best in probably the whole eastern United States…some people call them our “Sixth Man”, but that’s our family. That’s who they play for. That’s who they come out every single night and practice for. They’ve got those little babies out there looking up to them and they get it done a lot of times for the fans.”
Cherokee’s Joscelyn Stamper, right, sophomore, plays tough defense against Bishop McGuiness’ Olivia Stone during the 1A West Regional final on the night of Tuesday, March 11. Stamper led the Anata Anitsvyasdi on the game with 29 points, 22 rebounds, and 2 blocks.
Of her shot, Fourkiller-Raby noted, “I had all the confidence in the world at that point. I just knew that I wanted it more than anybody on that court.”
When asked how she keeps her focus in high pressure situations, she said, “I think about everybody else around me. It’s not just me. It’s my team, my family, the fans. They traveled all this way to watch us play. I just think, ‘I’m not just doing this for myself, I’m doing it for everybody around me’.”
During Tuesday’s game against Bishop McGuinness, Cherokee was led by Joscelyn Stamper, sophomore, who had 29 points, 22 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Two other Cherokee players were in double figures scoring including Daisee Fourkiller-Raby with 18 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 blocks; and Madison Rogers, sophomore, with 10 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal.
Stamper said in the press conference, “We just had to rely on each other. We were trying to play not selfish but individual basketball. Once we realized that we need to have trust in each other, that’s when the momentum changed and we started leaning on each other – each other’s strengths – and we locked down on D that second half.”
She thanked the fans, “You’ve got to give them a lot of credit for the success that we have because not only does it fuel us, it takes the other team off their game as well. They’ve never had 500 people on this side, 500 people on that side screaming at them at the same time.”
Other Anata Anitsvyasdi stats included: Kyla Moore, senior, 1 rebound; Dvdaya Swimmer, junior, 4 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, 1 block; Lilly Lossiah, freshman, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal; Marlee Hicks, junior, 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist; and Whitney Rogers, senior, 2 points, 1 steal.
Bishop McGuinness stats included: Jenna Moore, junior, 14 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals; A. Jernigan, senior, 25 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block; Claire Sullivan, junior, 13 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals, 1 block; Morgan Aho, junior, 7 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals; and Olivia Stone, senior, 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist.
