Eight is great! Bearettes win 8th state title with win over Bartlett.

 

 

BY JEFF CATE (TEAM FYN SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR)

 

 

 

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Bradley Central’s girls basketball team made it back to the TSSAA Division 1 (Class 4A) Girl’s Basketball Championship at the same place as last year, the Murphy Center at MTSU, and would face off against the same team they beat for a state championship, Bartlett. Same venue, same opponent, same result for Coach Jason Reuter and his Bearettes squad as Bradley Central knocked off Bartlett 58-43 in a game in which they never trailed to win back-to-back championships and the 8th in school history.

 

 

 

Both teams came out trading blows in what you’d expect in a championship game setting. Harmonie Ware and Kimora Fields combined for 12 of the Bearettes’ 14 first quarter points and Bradley Central led after the first eight minutes, 14-9. Tatianna Stovall added 2 points for the Bearette’s on a layup with 4:19 remaining in the quarter. Bartlett’s Carrington Jones had 7 of BHS’s points while had Shamari Hamlett had the other 2 points on a layup with 6:04 left in the quarter.

 

 

 

Ware and Fields would combine once again for the majority of the Bearettes’ second quarter points. Ware would tally 8 points on 3/6 shooting while Fields went 50% from the floor as well (2/4) and getting 5 points. Avary Brewer would hit the first shot from behind the arc in the game for Bradley Central and added a free throw for 4 points, giving them a 31-19 halftime advantage. The Bearettes had another double digit effort on the glass in the quarter by hitting the boards and getting 12 rebounds (including 7 offensive rebounds) after getting 10 rebounds in the first quarter. Bartlett had 7 total rebounds in the second quarter.

 

 

 

The second half was slowed by 30 of the 45 fouls called in the game. Yes, the whistle just blew again. 38 total free throws were attempted in the final 16 minutes of the game, with 32 of those coming in the fourth quarter. Bradley Central would go 15/18 from the line in the fourth, which would be all of the Bearettes’ fourth quarter points (they did not have single field goal or three pointer), while Bartlett went 10/14.

 

“I couldn’t be any prouder of this bunch”, Reuter said about this Bearettes team. “Our girls did a great job down the stretch. I think a less prepared team could have folded”.

 

 

Ware was perfect from the line in the game, going 14/14, in a 29 point effort. She would be named Most Valuable Player in the tournament and be named to the All-Tournament Team along with Brewer, Stovall, and Fields. Ware set a new TSSAA state record by making 22 consecutive free throws, the previous record dated back to 1985. Fields also extended her double figure scoring streak to 41 straight games (dating back to last years state tournament) after a 12 point performance. Brewer finished with 7 points, Stovall had 6 points, & Malia Wilcox had 4 points but had a game high 10 rebounds.

 

 

“I think we’re really determined”, Brewer said when asked about going for three straight titles next season. “We’ll celebrate this for about 3 weeks and then start over again. You can’t celebrate too long, we have bigger goals than just winning it back to back”.

 

 

 

Bradley Central finishes the season 34-1 and captured their 8th state girls basketball championship in school history. Bartlett ends their season 30-11

 

Follow Jeff on “X” at @TheJeffCate