CHEROKEE, N.C. — Load up the buses, Cherokee. Next stop, Winston-Salem.

The Lady Braves earned their way back to the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A girls basketball final four with a 69-50 win over Albemarle in Friday’s fourth round.

The closer-than-it-appears matchup against the third-seeded Bulldogs may serve the second-seeded Lady Braves well going into Lawrence Joel Memorial Coliseum on Tuesday.

Cherokee will face Bishop McGuinness — game time currently unknown — for the third straight postseason. In 2023, Bishop won their fourth round showdown en route to the 1A title. Last season, Cherokee won in the fourth round and also won a title two games later.

Cherokee (26-2) only led Albemarle (25-5) by a 29-25 score at halftime, having to rally after falling behind the Bulldogs 13-9 in the first quarter.

Albemarle senior Amari Baldwin was hard for Cherokee to handle. She scored 32 points on the night, including 9-of-11 at the free throw line. Jasmine Brown added 13 in the post, but she was the only double-digit scorer for the Bulldogs.

“We knew this was going to be a tough team,” Miranda Stamper said. “We knew we had to adjust defensively to get some stops because they have some awesome players. (Baldwin and Brown) by themselves are excellent; one of the best post players we’ve played and one of the best guards we’ve played this year.”

Stamper said that the focus on defense may have hampered Cherokee’s offense in the first half — it took a lot of energy to stay with Baldwin and not lose Brown underneath.

The Lady Braves turned it on in the third quarter, taking the period by a 22-9 score to put the game out of reach — for the most part. Albemarle did get the lead back down to 11 in the fourth before a late flurry of points gave Cherokee its biggest lead of the game as the final horn sounded.

Guards Dvdaya Swimmer (17 points), Whitney Rogers (14 points), Madison Rogers (12 points), and Daisee Fourkiller-Raby (12 points) were instrumental in helping the Lady Braves pull away on a night where standout post player Joscelyn Stamper was plagued by foul trouble.

BOX SCORE
Cherokee — Madison Rogers 12, Dvdaya Swimmer 17, Lilly Lossiah 2, Daisee Fourkiller-Raby 12, Joscelyn Stamper 4, Marlee Hicks 3, Tsuli Lossiah 2, Emilee Brady 3, Whitney Rogers 14
Albemarle — Jordyn Crump 3, Amari Baldwin 32, Jasmine Brown 13, Aniyla Simpson 1, Judaih Everhart 1