Cherokee girls clamp down on Jackson, earns state championship berth
BERKELEY — A one. And a two.
That’s not the count up for a jaunty big band song. That’s the first-half score line in Thursday’s NJSIAA Group 4 girls basketball semifinal.
Cherokee held Jackson to one first-quarter point and two in the second on the way to a 34-25 win. Cherokee will meet Westfield at noon Sunday for the Group 4 title.
The halftime score was 10-3 Cherokee. Or, exactly as planned.
“Honestly, defense is one of our main keys,” junior Gabby Recinto said. “You can't win a game if you don't have defense. Yes, you can score points but you know if there's no defense, there’s no winning.”
Cherokee made its reputation on defense. What truly sets them apart is their determination to test their opponent’s willingness to play defense. Cherokee’s weaving, full-motion sets are designed to create open shots regardless of how long it takes.
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Cherokee actually does put up its fair share of shots, even if it seems like they’re doing anything but shooting.
“We want to play our game,” junior Delaney Jackson said. “It doesn't matter what other people are saying. We know we want to take care of the ball.”
It takes a special kind of discipline to play the Cherokee style. It is fascinating to watch. And impossible to replicate.
“The chemistry we have is insane,” Recinto said. “We talk to each other and we know we need to play together. We need to play strong. If we play our way, the other team can be as fast as they want. As long as we know our game, we're good.”
Cherokee had just beaten Jackson to advance to its first state final, when the pandemic shut everything down. There never was a 2020 state final, the 2021 playoffs were cut short. This could easily have been Cherokee’s third straight state final trip.
“This is for everyone in the past that has paved the way for us,” Jackson said. “We got it taken away from us my freshman year. This one's for all of those players that didn't get this opportunity.”
What it means
Cherokee will finally get to play in the state final after qualifying for that right in 2020, before the pandemic shut down the season.
Key play
Cherokee senior CJ Apistar made the first basket of the game, a 3-pointer with 4:48 left in the first half.
By the numbers
The two teams combined to miss their first 16 shots and had 11 turnovers before the game’s first field goal … After missing its first 12 shots, Jackson scored its only field goal of the first half with 36 seconds left before the half … Jackson managed to exceed Cherokee’s average points allowed of 23.4 per game.
Next up
Cherokee will head to Toms River North to open up state championship Sunday at noon against North Section 2 champion Westfield, which beat Union City in the North semifinal.
Tom Rimback, sports reporter
Tom Rimback grew up reading the Burlington County Times and Courier Post sports sections and began writing for the BCT in 1996. He has covered everything from Super Bowls and Final Fours to Tri-County Swimming but he’s happiest on a sideline interviewing South Jersey scholastic athletes for the Burlington County Times, the Courier Post and The Daily Journal. Follow him on twitter @RimbackBCT. Email him with story ideas at trimback@thebct.com and, most importantly, support local journalism with a subscription.
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This article originally appeared on Burlington County Times: Cherokee girls crank up defense to earn spot in basketball state final
