This will be the first opportunity since 1998 for Cherokee to potentially earn a girls basketball state championship in the N.C. High School Athletic Association.

On Monday evening, at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, Cherokee emerged victorious against Mountain Heritage with a score of 64-51, winning the 1A western regional championship.

The Braves took an early lead and maintained it throughout the game. They scored 14 unanswered points in the first quarter, giving Cherokee a commanding 18-4 advantage and causing Mountain Heritage to call a timeout.

The score was 20-8 in favor of Cherokee at the end of the first quarter, and they maintained their lead with a score of 37-22 at halftime due to a buzzer-beating three-point shot from Daisee Fourkiller-Raby.

In the first half, the Braves had eight players who scored, with Fourkiller-Raby leading the team with 10 points. Mountain Heritage’s top scorer in the first half was Lilly Neill with seven points.

During the third quarter, Mountain Heritage made a push and reduced their deficit to only 10 points. However, they were unable to fully recover as Cherokee maintained their lead and ended the quarter with a score of 53-34.

Cherokee emerged victorious with a lead of 13 points, winning 64-51.

Cherokee had three players who scored in double digits. Whitney Rogers led the team with 17 points, followed by 10 points each from Creedon Arch and Fourkiller-Raby.

The Cherokee team had a higher score of 19-5 in second-chance points compared to Mountain Heritage. Joscelyn Stamper, from the Braves, had the most rebounds with a total of 10.

Ava Webb and Keira Wilson were the top scorers for Mountain Heritage, contributing 15 and 14 points respectively. Lilly Neill also recorded 10 points in the game.

The upcoming state championship will be Cherokee’s third appearance in their school’s history. The Braves were victorious in 1996, but were defeated in the following year of 1998.

The Braves, with a season record of 28-1, are set to play against East Columbus in the 1A state championship game this Friday. East Columbus secured a spot in the championship by defeating East Bladen 76-66 in the eastern regional championship.

The specific time of Friday’s state championship game will be revealed later this week.

Mountain Heritage’s final tally for the season stands at an impressive 28 wins and only 2 losses.

Reworded: Whitney Rogers scored 17 points, followed by Creedon Arch with 10 points and Daisee Fourkiller-Raby also with 10 points. Loshi Ward had 9 points, Cecily Swimmer and Kyla Moore each had 6 points, and Joscelyn Stamper had 5 points and 10 rebounds. Aaliyah Rogers scored 1 point.

Ava Webb, Keira Wilson, Lilly Neill, Vega Deyton, Avee Silvers, Layla Worley, and Kaydence Kooles were the top scorers for Mountain Heritage, with 15, 14, 10, 5, 4, 2, and 1 points respectively.

Source: highschoolot.com