FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – Playing in a region tournament title game for the first time, the Cherokee Bluff girls did not waste their opportunity.
The Lady Bears showed poise down the stretch and beat Jefferson 46-39 in the Region 8-3A championship game Friday night at the Cherokee Bluff gym.
“I don’t think it’s fully sunk in yet, but what I appreciate most about this team is that we never stop playing,” Lady Bears coach Kassie Scott said. “They live up to the standard I set and I’m on them hard. They did everything they had to do to get a ‘W.’”
Cherokee Bluff and Jefferson will host Class 3A state tournament first-round games next week. Their opponents will be determined by GHSA Postseason Rankings, and they will find out who they will be playing on Sunday.
Last week, the Lady Bears (20-8) suffered a tough 63-54 overtime loss to Jefferson (21-5) after leading most of the game. When the Lady Dragons tried to rally this time, Cherokee Bluff did not flinch.
“We talked all week about being poised and calm, cool and collected,” Scott said. “There were times we weren’t that. But we dialed back in, and we did what we had to do.”
Jefferson closed to within 43-39 with 32.9 seconds left but Bristol Kersh and Claire Carlson hit free throws, and the Lady Bears had their first-ever region title.
“In the first quarter, we were energetic, and in the second quarter, we fell off a little,” Kersh said. “Coach Scott gave us her halftime talk, and we played our game, not their game.”
Kersh scored 15 points, and Carlson scored 13 points to lead Cherokee Bluff.
The Lady Bears started quickly, taking a 12-point lead. Halle Wilson’s free throw, baskets from Carlson and Brooklyn Phillips, and Kersh’s 3-pointer sparked the early run. Kersh and Wilson had seven points each in the first half.
Jefferson fought back, led by Emeri Billings, who scored eight points in the first half. She started the rally with a 3-pointer and free throw, and Michel Robbin’s driving basket got them within three points at the half.
Billings led the Lady Dragons with 14 points, and Robbins had 12.
