As we have now gotten through the first 2 nights of action from the 2019 Cherokee County Basketball Tournament, setting up what should be a great finale for the championships, let’s take a quick look at how the Varsity tournaments shaped up and get ourselves a preview for the Championship games.

Night 1 brought us a girls and boys matchup between Gaylesville and Cedar Bluff, with the Tigers prevailing big in both of those matchups. On the Varsity Girls side, after a slightly slow start with both near-.500 teams keeping it close, Cedar Bluff pulled away starting in the 2nd period and won convincingly by a final of 59-17 over Gaylesville. Following that, in Varsity Boys action, Cedar Bluff’s boys found themselves with an early lead with no need to look back, despite a very good Gaylesville effort in the second half, and CB won over the Trojans by a final of 67-40.

That all brought us to Night 2 which started us off on the Varsity Girls end, where 2A’s #1 ranked team Sand Rock took on the victorious Tigers from last night in a battle of 2A-Area 14 foes. The first half kept things very close with Sand Rock never really capable of breaking out to a very big lead at any point, but still carried a 3 point lead into halftime despite the good showing from Cedar Bluff. Once the 2nd half came around though, with players calmed down and Coach Lisa Bates getting her girls back on the right page, the Lady Wildcats expanded upon their lead by a slight bit in the 3rd before running away with the game for the win in the 4th with a final score of 63-44.

The next game on tap brought the 1st Varsity Boys semifinals match-up, Cedar Bluff seeing their team back on the court this time against one of the very impressive 4A teams this year, the Cherokee County Warriors. While the Warriors never really ever trailed in this game, there was a closeness to the game up until the end of the 3rd that really made the crowd inside Gadsden State-Cherokee Arena wonder if this Tigers team with only 2 wins on their record this season could pull off the massive upset. It was not meant to be though and Cherokee County stormed out of the second half with aggression, all leading to a 60-30 win for the Warriors and a trip back to the Varsity Boys finals.

The second Varsity Girls game followed, and it showcased the #1 ranked team in class 1A and defending state champion Spring Garden taking on the Lady Warriors of Cherokee County, the chance to take on Sand Rock in the County Championship on the line. The game was written in a constant battle of punch and counter-punch, with Cherokee County’s aggressive inside style matching up with Spring Garden’s long range sharpshooting style. The aggressiveness, combined with slightly better depth, played more favors to Cherokee County and while the game remained close, Cherokee County never really looked back once they grabbed onto a lead early on in the game. As a result, it was the Lady Warriors winning by a final of 54-46, shocking the Lady Panthers and setting up a big time match-up with Sand Rock’s girls for the Big Golden Basketball trophy.

Night 2 wrapped up with Sand Rock’s improving boys squad taking on 1A-#4 ranked Spring Garden, and early on it was evident the outside shooting would play a factor as both teams were hitting it from long range throughout, as some points Sand Rock almost looking like it could play into their favor. However, the aggressiveness that Spring Garden possessed, along with a nicer bit of depth, played better factors for SG and the Panthers held on in a close match-up to pull away in the 4th and win over Sand Rock by a final score of 65-48.

With that, we are set for 2 very exciting Championship match-ups on the Varsity end heading into the 3rd and final night. For the Varsity Girls finals, on one side it’s the top seed Sand Rock Lady Wildcats, who carry a #1 ranking in class 2A and a 20-2 record with 16 straight wins. On the other side it’s the 3 seed Lady Warriors of Cherokee County, bringing their own 17-4 record and 6 game winning streak into the Championship match-up. For the Varsity Boys, the first team presented to us is 1-seed Cherokee County, the Warriors entering with a 15-4 record and looking to extend upon a new winning streak they started with their win over CB. They will take on 2-seed Spring Garden, who’s #4 ranked Panthers in 1A enter with a similar 15-4 record and a 2 game winning streak, both of these strong boys powers looking to bring back the County trophy to their schools.

It’s all shaping up to be an epic finale, so make sure to tune in to WEIS to catch the 2019 Cherokee County Basketball Tournament Championship Games starting at 6 PM!

PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED BY SHANNON FAGAN, SPORTS EDITOR FOR THE CHEROKEE COUNTY HERALD