The opening day of the GHSA basketball state championships at the Centreplex in Macon will see the ending of the seasons for Classes 3A and 1A-3A Private. This file will be updated throughout the day after each game goes final.
Class 3A Girls – Cherokee Bluff 66, Baldwin 58
Kizzi Walker idled over to Cherokee Bluff head coach Kassie Scott shortly after time expired in the 3A championship game where the Bears upended Walker’s Baldwin Braves 66-58 in third game of the day at the Centreplex in Macon.
She opened her arms and brought a crying Scott into her warm embrace in a meeting of empowered women displaying mutual respect. Walker, who had just lost her second state title in three seasons, was smiling.
She had led the Braves to victory in the Class 4A championship last season — the program’s fourth — and knew what it meant to Scott – and Cherokee Bluff — to win their first title.
“It won’t hit until that two-hour bus ride home when we sit in silence a little bit,” said Scott. “But these girls, it’s never been about me. It’s about these girls. They grind every single day. They do what I ask. I am crazy, and they go with it and they embrace it.”
Sophomore guard Bristol Kersh earned player of the game honors and – for the second straight game – lifted the Bears to victory. It was her last-second runner in the semifinals at Fort Valley State which propelled Cherokee Bluff past Jenkins 56-55.
She closed her sophomore career with a 22-point effort in the championship game which included key late-game free throws to thwart Baldwin’s comeback.
“Whenever we started scoring, we knew we had the points and that the time was on our side,” Kersh said. “We knew we just had to keep the ball and make smart decisions.”
Kersh added five rebounds and seven assists alongside Claire Carlson, who scored 23 points and Emery Jones, who scored 14 points.
“This is amazing,” Kersh said. “It hasn’t sunk in yet. It’s so movie-like.”
And the come-from-behind effort did have Hollywood-like qualities.
Kersh’s behind-the-back save as a ball careened out of bounds midway through the fourth quarter which helped maintain the Bears’ momentum seemed scripted. Baldwin led 14-12 after the first quarter and 33-27 at the half before Cherokee Bluff gained momentum through a 20-13 run in the third quarter and a 19-12 effort in the fourth quarter, securing the victory.
“The Cherokee Bluff community is a special place,” said Scott. “Of course, I sound biased saying that, but this whole tournament, our community has stepped in and we’ve had parents step in and help. I love that I am a part of it and I love that we just made history.”
On the path to upending the Class 4A champions that reclassed to 3A this season, Cherokee Bluff had to weather the loss of six key players from last year’s team that advanced to the playoffs for just the second time in its 7-year history.
“Just knowing that every year, there’s going to be a change and last season, we had some young players then,” Scott said. “(Bristol) was a freshman. And we’ve always stayed the course and taken one game at a time.”
Baldwin was led by Janaye Walker’s 21 points and a 17-point effort from Kassidy Neal. Zuri Grant and Suri Clark each scored 10 points for the Braves.
Class 3A Boys – Sandy Creek 39, Cedar Grove 38
Sandy Creek’s one-point victory in the Class 3A state championship game marked the program’s third-straight and third overall state championship as the opening day of the GHSA state basketball championships ended at the Centreplex in Macon.
“Thank you. Thank you,” said Sandy Creek head coach Jon-Michael Nickerson, with a hint of aggression to say the least. “Thank you to the naysayers who doubted us all season long. Thank you.”
Cedar Grove had its chance with seven seconds left following a go-ahead free throw from Player of the Game Amari Latimer, but Sandy Creek’s stout 2-3 defense forced the Saints into a desperation 3-point heave at the buzzer, which failed to find the net.
“We have the best defense in the state, regardless of class,” said Nickerson.
Cedar Grove led 10-8 after the first quarter but Sandy Creek took a 21-18 lead into the locker room at halftime. Cedar Grove’s 12-7 run in the third quarter allowed the Saints a 30-28 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Sandy Creek tied the game on a layup from Avohn Florence early in the fourth quarter and another lay-in from Florence gave the Patriots a 32-30 lead. Cedar Grove senior guard Yusef Bowyer tied the game at 32-32 and a layup from junior forward Manny Green gave the Saints the lead.
The Patriots responded with a jump shot from senior guard Jared White and a layup from Florence to take a 36-34 lead with 2:30 left in the game. Green tied the game at 36-36 on a short jump shot with 2:11 left but Latimer regained the lead for the Patriots on a layup with 1:17 left.
Senior guard Keith Gillespie put Cedar Grove ahead with two free-throws with :46 seconds left, setting up Latimer’s go-ahead, game-winning free throw.
Florence led all scorers with 18 points and 12 rebounds while Green paced Cedar Grove with 13 points. Cedar Grove was trying for the program’s first title since 1997.
Class 1A-3A Private Girls – Holy Innocents’ 57, Hebron Christian 39
Head coach Nichole Dixon led Holy Innocents’ to runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2018, her first two seasons at the helm, before guiding the Golden Bears to state championship victories in 2019 and 2020.
Holy Innocents’ had won the Class 2A state championship in 2016, head coach Tony Watkins final season, and Dixon knew she was taking over a program that demanded greatness. The first two championships were great, but three-straight semifinals losses from 2021-2023 and a quarterfinals exit to Hardaway in Class 4A last season left Dixon wanting more.
And after outlasting two-time defending champion Hebron 57-39 in the opening game of the GHSA basketball championships in Macon, Dixon and Holy Innocents’ got more – the program’s fifth state championship.
“It’s just unbelievable,” Dixon said after the game. “But at the same time, believable. We told this group they were special. They work hard every single day.”
Senior guard and Stanford-commit Hailee Swain scored 30 points on 10-of-27 shooting to lead Holy Innocents’ to victory. Sophomore guard MaKayla Weaver (7 points), freshman power forward Loriel Murray (6 points), sophomore wing Nahkai Worthy (5 points) and junior guard Peyton Gluesing (3 points) provided the Golden Bears’ other 27 points.
“They really wanted this. They put up with me a lot,” Dixon laughed. “But I could not be prouder of them. I knew it was possible, I believed in them. But the kids did all the work.”
Hebron was trying for the program’s third-straight title after winning the Class 3A championships in each of the past two seasons. As a team, Hebron suffered from beyond the three-point line, shooting 0-19 for the game. Senior wing Danielle Osho led Hebron with 16 points and senior guard Mia James tallied 12 points.
“We only had three great seniors with lots of young kids ready to go,” Dixon said. “We are excited about the future but we are going to enjoy today.”
Class 1A-3A Private Boys – Holy Innocents’ 84, North Cobb Christian 45
Holy Innocents’ led from opening whistle to closing buzzer in its 84-45 victory against North Cobb Christian in the second game of the day to secure the program’s first-ever state championship.
Five-star North Carolina-commit Caleb Wilson – Holy Innocents’ 6-foot-9, 205-pound power forward – was formidable against North Cobb Christian. Wilson entered the game averaging a team-leading 25 points per game and was 14-of-22 shooting, finishing with a game-high 33 points with 13 rebounds.
Devin Hutcherson added 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting while Khalid Worthy added 11 points and Kingston Whitty scored 10 points.
The Golden Bears led 15-3 after the first quarter and 42-18 at the half to thwart North Cobb Christian’s chances for its first state title.
Brock Bass-Bonner scored 15 points to lead North Cobb Christian ahead of Will Russell (11 points) and Grant Robich (10 points).
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