MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Bradley Central junior Kimora Fields knows when her basketball team is playing to its strengths, there’s no opponent in the state that can stop the nation’s fourth-ranked Bearettes.
Win one more time against a Tennessee team this season, and the prestigious program will have its first state championship three-peat and ninth title overall.
Bearden junior Natalya Hodge stole the show early, with the Miss Basketball finalist scoring 16 of her team’s first 23 points to build a 23-13 lead with 3:37 left in the first half of Friday’s second Class 4A semifinal at the TSSAA’s BlueCross Basketball Championships, but the Bearettes were untouchable the rest of the way.
Fields, a Miss Basketball finalist herself, was unguardable in the paint, where she rose above defenders for 27 points on 11-for-15 shooting while hauling in seven of her 13 rebounds on the offensive glass to lead the way to Bradley Central’s 66-39 comeback victory.
The Bearettes (34-1) are set for their third straight title game against Bartlett (25-11) after beating the Lady Panthers 58-43 a year ago and 58-49 in 2023. Saturday’s showdown is set for 7:30 p.m. Eastern at Middle Tennessee State University’s Murphy Center as each Class 4A finalist seeks its third win in three days.
Bartlett won Friday’s first semifinal 55-43 against Cookeville, with the Memphis-area program never trailing and leading by double digits for most of the final three quarters. Samiya Jones scored 10 points and had 15 rebounds for the winners.
It took Bradley Central longer to take control in the nightcap against the Lady Bulldogs (33-6), but the Bearettes remained confident even while trailing.
“We were not scared for even a second,” Fields said. “I think that’s what really helped us come out hot in the second half. We weren’t playing our game at first, but once we turned it up and started pressuring the ball, playing together and fast, we got things really going.
“I am surrounded by great players, and we are all chasing after one thing: a gold ball. TaTianna (Stovall) did a great job on defense, and we took care of business.”
Stovall was electric on defense from the end of the first half to the finish, as the Kennesaw State signee held Hodge to 0-for-14 shooting in the second half. Senior point guard Malia Wilcox also fired a beautiful pass over the top of the Bearden defense to Stovall for a layup and a 35-25 lead in the third quarter, putting momentum completely on Bradley Central’s side.
“During halftime, we came in the locker room fired up,” said Stovall, who finished with 16 points, eight rebounds (five offensive) and three steals. “We weren’t backing down or scared. We came back out in that third quarter playing great a great press and broke them down.”
After Hodge’s final made field goal, the Bearettes outscored the Lady Bulldogs 53-16.
Bradley Central outscored Bearden 24-7 in the third quarter, when the Bearettes had seven assists, five steals and a block by Stovall in the period.
“I can’t say enough about TaTianna’s defense,” Bradley Central 15th-year head coach Jason Reuter said of the 6-foot-1 forward who is seeking her fourth state championship, having helped Bell Buckle’s Webb School win the Division II-A title as a freshman.
“I think I have the best defensive player in the state. Our girls believe she is, too. They are all playing for each other, and that means a lot. They share the ball and have more assists than any team I have ever coached, too.”
Wilcox, the team’s 5-4 floor general, had 10 rebounds to go with her game-high six assists, and she had two of her three steals to start the third-quarter dominance.
Harmonie Ware, the MVP of last year’s Class 4A tournament added 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting and provided a jolt going into halftime as she made a strong spin move and finished in the paint to cut the Bearettes’ deficit to 23-21 as they ended the second quarter on an 8-0 run.
“This feels really good to get back to the state championship game,” said Ware, who has scored more than 1,650 points in her prep career. “Our chemistry is as great as it has ever been. We showed what we are capable of in that second half and want to carry that into tomorrow.”
For just the second time in TSSAA girls’ basketball history, the same two teams will meet in a state final three years in a row. Ensworth and Brentwood Academy matched up four years in a row in the Division II-AA state championship game from 2017-20, with Ensworth winning all but the second of those title games.
Bradley Central has already beaten Bartlett once this season, cruising to a 77-39 home victory on Dec. 19.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.