Bravettes win one for the seniors Tuesday

Baldwin senior Haley Marks leads all scorers with 18 points, also grabs five rebounds

David Brent Martin

Winning the big one is always important, especially when you only have one shot in your lifetime to send your fellow seniors out on a high note.

Going into Tuesday’s Senior Night game versus Thomson, their last regular season game of the season, the Baldwin High Bravettes were riding a comfortable wave after winning six out of their last seven games. The Bravettes won six in a row during that span, topping it off with a stunning 46-43 overtime win over region rival Liberty County.

Although they stopped Liberty, the Bravettes finished third in GHSA Region 3-AAA behind Liberty and first place powerhouse Washington County, who is having one of their greatest seasons in school history at 22-2 heading into the playoffs.

Fifth place Thomson (11-14, 4-8 in Region 3-AAA) strolled into the Baldwin High gymnasium looking to frustrate the Bravettes on both ends of the court. The Lady Bulldogs brought a relentless defensive attack on the Bravettes, but in the end Baldwin High (16-8, 8-4 in Region 3-AAA) outpunched their rivals 40-30.

It was indeed a game for the seniors and the Bravettes stormed up and down the court to bring home a victory for Haley Marks, Kelli Morrow, Shatoria Hudson and Fiona Curry.

Marks, a candidate for U-R Player of the Year, was phenomenal Tuesday afternoon, picking her shots with great ease and care, and leading the charge with 18 points, five rebounds and three steals. The immovable center was Miss Clutch versus the Lady Bulldogs and found a way to the basket almost every time Tomson began to make a serious run to overtake the Bravettes.

Baldwin got down early to Thomson 3-0, but Marks hit her first two free-throws to cut into their lead 3-2. She would then drive in for a marvelous put-back to give her squad a 5-3 advantage with 4:23 to go in the first quarter.

The Bravettes then got on one of their patented rolls as sophomore Ikiah Palmer drained an outside jumper to extend their lead to 10-3 with 2:45 to go in the opening quarter.

Freshman phenom Jayla Waller, whose well-developed game evokes excitement whenever she steps on the floor, then put up her first two points of the contest and the Bravettes held a 12-5 cushion heading into the second quarter. Waller is quickly making a name for herself in her first season of varsity action, and set a Baldwin High record last week with 24 rebounds in a game.

“The seniors came out and I think they were really ready to play tonight. I wanted a little calmer night, but I think it caught them off guard,” said Baldwin High coach Jenean Cooper-Bolston after the game. “I told them they were playing a little bit too relaxed and that they needed to get into it.”

Thomson cut into the Baldwin’s lead later in the second, and were obviously stepping up their defensive pressure every time the Bravettes inched into scoring position. At the half, Baldwin clung to a 18-15 lead.

In the third quarter, the Lady Bulldogs would take the ball and race in for an easy bucket to shave into Baldwin’s lead 18-17, but the Bravettes continued to power the ball up the court and Marks muscled her way for another score to put her squad up 20-17. Junior Valencia Tuft then stepped up big and sunk a high arching three-pointer to put her team up 24-17, a shot that appeared to swing the momentum in Baldwin’s favor. Tuft later added a dazzling underneath shot to push her team ahead, before Marks scored a tough inside shot to put the Bravettes ahead 30-17 with 1:14 to go in the third quarter.

Morrow opened up the fourth quarter with a jumper and the team continued to keep the Lady Bulldogs off-balance for the rest of the contest, preserving the victory.

Tuft put together a fine performance versus Thompson, finishing with 11 points, a three-pointer and three steals. Morrow finished with four points and four rebounds, and sophomore Ikiah Palmer ended the evening with five points. Waller finished with four points and two rebounds.

Coach Cooper-Bolston was excited about her team’s recent play, and said she was encouraged as they headed toward the playoffs.

“I think they are peaking at the right time. I think earlier in the season they really didn’t know what to expect. Once they saw that they could compete with the girls on the other squads they started believing in themselves, and that’s when the wins started coming around,” said Cooper-Bolston. “We are going to end up third in our region, and we will be playing the winner between Number six and seven on Thursday in Dublin in a play-in game. So, we’ll know more after that game.”

More on the Baldwin High Bravette seniors will be featured later this week. There will also be a feature on the senior Braves, who will play in a region play-in game today at West Laurens.

The Braves (7-15) won an exciting game Friday night on the road by topping Washington County 47-41, avenging an early season loss to the Golden Hawks.

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