ONE FEATHER STAFF REPORT
GREENSBORO – The Cherokee Lady Braves (23-5) ended their season on Wednesday, March 2 with a loss in the 1A Regional Semifinals to Bishop McGuinness (24-6). Megan Buckland and Olivia Degrancesco each poured in 15 points to lead the Villains, five-time reigning state champions, one step closer to their sixth.
The Lady Braves were led by Avery Mintz with 13 points followed by Celine Lambert with 10. Mintz scored a total of 44 points in the playoffs.
Cherokee held their own in the game and led at the end of the first period 14-12. The Villains came back in the second period outscoring the Lady Braves by 5 points to take a three-point lead into the locker room at 26-23.
Bishop scored 15 points in each of the last two periods outpacing Cherokee by 7 points on the half to take the game and advance to a Regional Final matchup against River Mill Academy (35-1) at the Fleming Gymnasium at UNC-G on Saturday, March 5. River Mill advanced by taking apart the Murphy Lady Bulldogs (22-6), the Smoky Mountain Conference tournament champions, 71-44 on Wednesday.
The other 1A Regional Finals game pits Goldsboro (23-4) against SW Onslow (23-3) at the Crown Arena in Fayetteville on Saturday, March 5 at 12pm.