After losing to Griffin High School in the Region 2 championship game, the Baldwin girls basketball team has won three straight in the Class 4A state playoffs.
The Bravettes defeated Shaw High School in the first round and Troup County in the second. Head coach Kizzy Walker’s team beat both programs by 40 points combined and rode that momentum heading into last Tuesday’s contest against Luella High School.
Baldwin traveled to Luella to play the Lady Lions in the quarterfinals of the state tournament and ended up leaving the gymnasium with a 58-51 victory to move to the Class 4A semifinals this weekend.
Sophomore Janaye Walker led the Bravettes on the road with a doubledouble, ending the game with 23 points and 15 rebounds. Over the course of the playoffs, Walker has accrued 55 points and 49 rebounds.
Kassidy Neal and Madison Ruff have also been contributing to Baldwin’s offensive success.
Ruff ended the contest against Luella with 15 points and four assists at the point guard position. Neal contributed 13 points against the Lions and has racked up 46 points total in the last three games.
The Bravettes quarterfinal contest was competitive from the beginning, and Walker’s team only led by one point heading into halftime.
Luckily for Baldwin, the team came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders and outscored Luella 22-12 in the third quarter.
The Bravettes defense held the Lady Lions to 15 points in the fourth quarter to win the game by seven and secure a spot in this year’s state semifinals. The win meant even more to the team after Luella was the school that knocked Baldwin out of the playoffs last season.
Looking ahead, Walker’s squad will have to face Holy Innocents Episcopal this Saturday in hopes to make it to state finals once again. The Bravettes haven’t won the Class 4A championship since 1988, so Walker’s squad feels motivated to continue pushing for the history books.