1A Championship: East Columbus vs. Cherokee
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The eyes of the North Carolina high school sports fan were fixated on the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum on the campus of Wake Forest for championship weekend. That weekend commenced with the 1A girls final that took place between…
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Continue ReadingThe eyes of the North Carolina high school sports fan were fixated on the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum on the campus of Wake Forest for championship weekend.
That weekend commenced with the 1A girls final that took place between East Columbus and Cherokee – both teams that entered play with only one loss on the season each on their respective resumes.
East Columbus’ victories in this year’s tournament were at the hands of North Moore, North Duplin, Gates County, Pamlico County and East Bladen. Cherokee prevailed over Highlands, North Stokes, Thomas Jefferson, Bishop McGuinness and Mountain Heritage to advance to Friday’s championship tilt.
And it would be the Braves that claimed 1A championship hardware in dominant fashion as they defeated the Gators by a final of 74-32.
Quarter-By-Quarter
There are plenty of teams across the Hoop State and elsewhere that ought to have taken notes on how to ensure they have a reliable sixth woman at a championship game. The stands at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum were overwhelmingly filled with Braves fans – and they had plenty to cheer about with one frame in the books. Cherokee led East Columbus by a margin of 21-9 after one quarter.
It resembled a Cherokee home game in the stands – and it resembled a Cherokee home game on the scoreboard. As halftime arrived, the Braves assumed a commanding 36-18 advantage over the Gators.
The game was so out of hand that midway through the third quarter Cherokee had its entire starting five warming the bench. The Braves were in cruise control mode en route to the 2023-24 1A championship.
When the fourth quarter arrived, it was not much of a question anymore as to if Cherokee would win – but what the Braves’ margin of victory would be. It was a closing number that saw a continuously turning clock – and a Cherokee coronation.
Primetime Performers
The dominant performance for the Braves was spearheaded by a pair of 17-point scorers. One of those was freshman Joscelyn Stamper Joscelyn Stamper 6'2" | C Cherokee | 2027 State NC , Cherokee’s star freshman. In fact – she had already achieved a double-double in the first half as she hauled in 10 rebounds and scored 13. Stamper finished with 14 rebounds.
The other 17-point scorer was Cecily “dvdaya” Swimmer. She had nine of her 17 in the first half. Swimmer also displayed her ability to make plays in the midst of the Cherokee rout as she collected three steals through the first 16 minutes.
Whitney Rogers Whitney Rogers 5'6" | CG Cherokee | 2025 NC added contributed 14 points to what was a winning cause for the Braves. She concluded her scoring output with a pair of 3-pointers. In fact, she drained two of the five triples Cherokee concluded with this game.
It may not have been the result that Esat Columbus was in search of, but the Gators did get a spirited effort courtesy of Malia J. Graham. She would led all East Columbus point-getters with 10 points.
Records
The Braves conclude its 2023-24 season with a record of 29-1 in addition to its undefeated 10-0 conference showing. As for the 1A runner-up Gators, they finish its season with a record of 26-2 along with an 11-1 mark against conference foes.
So Long, Seniors
Awee Walkingstick, Loshi Ward and Creedon Arch are the seniors for Cherokee.
Kaley Mitchell, Zaria Swindell, Destiney Mitchell and Chynna Patrick are the 2024s for East Columbus.