MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Kimora Fields walked into the locker room at Middle Tennessee State University’s Murphy Center late Saturday afternoon rocking a pair of cool shades.
It was a fitting look for Bradley Central High School’s superstar forward, who had just helped lead the Bearettes to the seventh TSSAA gold ball trophy in program history and was named MVP of the Class 4A tournament at the BlueCross State Championships. And in the 58-49 title win against Memphis program Bartlett, the 6-foot freshman was poised beyond her years to help the Bearettes finish 35-1.
Fields, whose talent showed throughout the season, didn’t back down from 6-foot-5 North Carolina State signee Mallory Collier in the first quarter Saturday, scoring nine points in the period — half of what would be her game-high 18 on 8-of-10 shooting — including a trio of baskets while getting fouled, twice on turnaround fadeaway jumpers.
Before the game, the biggest yet of her career, Bradley Central coach Jason Reuter had turned to Fields and asked if she was nervous. She didn’t flinch, and her answer was a simple one: “No.”
She then proved it, making an impact in numerous ways beyond scoring as she added five rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks to her stat line. It was the extension of her tournament success in Murfreesboro, where she finished 20-of-27 from the field for a combined 51 points in wins over Bearden on Wednesday, Cookeville on Friday and Bartlett to seal her school’s latest title and the individual honor.