Baldwin prepares for battle in Bravettes’ third consecutive state championship game
The 25-6 Baldwin Girls Basketball team will atempt to win back to back state titles for the first time in 37 years on Wednesday at the Macon Coliseum
MILLEDGEVILLE, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Monday afternoon on James A. Lunford Court at Baldwin High School, the Bravettes held their second to last practice of the season before they head to the Macon Coliseum Wednesday for their third consecutive state championship game.
Baldwin has been more than successful the last few years. Under Head Coach Kizzi Walker, who took over the Bravettes program in 2017, Baldwin had made it to the GHSA semifinal round four years in a row, with the last year being 2022. In 2023, the Bravettes finally made it to the state championship game, but lost to Griffin. Last year, Baldwin made it back to the state championship to win it all against Hardaway after being down 16 points in the game. They now find themselves in a position to defend the state title, and join the great Bravettes’ teams of the 1980’s by winning consecutive championships.
“I would say, we’re excited, but at the same time, not surprised because I knew we were going to get back, because honestly, even though we lost a lot of people, we still had the same thing, which is heart, and we still always had the fight, and I’m excited honestly; I’m ready for the game” said Senior Power Forward Kassidy Neal at practice Monday afternoon. “I’m going in confident. I believe we are going to win 100% because we have everything that we need so, I would say I’m excited.”
“We were excited just to have that experience again going four years in a row to the final four, and then now, three years in a row to the state championships. So we want to go 2-1, winning” said Bravettes Head Coach Kizzi Walker on Wednesday.
Coach Walker is no stranger to winning. However, this didn’t happen overnight. They’ve built up a success that coach Walker says started when Senior post players like Kassidy Neal and coaches’ daughter, Janaye Walker, entered the program.
“They have been through a whole lot” said Coach Walker. “You know the ups and downs. Everybody welcoming them cause we didn’t have a whole lot of ‘bigs’, and when they came, they brought it, so it completed our team. We had a lot of guards. We were always guard-heavy, but we never had post players, and so when they came, they just changed the game for us.”
Kassidy Neal is one of just four seniors that has been in the position of both losing and winning a state championship. With this being her last season, she has a message for the younger players on the team that have never been in her shoes.
“Trust us and trust that they don’t want to feel that, and that we understand how it feels, and they understand how it feels to win, and we want to feel that same way again because it’s been a long time since we had back-to-back champions around here so, that’s what we are trying to get.”
According to the Bravettes head coach, young players like Sophomore Guards Trinia Lawrence and Zuri grant, hear the message loud and clear, and are ready for the big stage.
“They have stepped up. They have matured so much from the beginning of the season until now” said Coach Walker after practice Wednesday. “They are totally different players. I’m just amazed on how they are now, from even the summer when we started because it was a big gap and it was some big shoes to fill from Madison Ruff because she was a dog on defense, and she was outstanding on offense. I told them at the beginning of the season, ‘don’t try to be like Madison, be like yourself and just play hard.'”
Now on a 12-game winning streak, both Coach Walker and Kassidy tell 41NBC it will take a complete team performance from the front court and the back court to win consecutive titles for the first time at Baldwin in over 35 years.
“They’re a pretty good team” said Neal after practice when talking about the Bravettes final opponent of the year. “They shoot pretty well. They have a couple girls on there that I can see stand out so far. They are awesome players, but we played them this summer, in a summer tournament, and we were able to win, but I’m not expecting it to be the same way, but they’re a pretty good team, but I feel like honestly, we have size, we have strength, and we have experience. So, I feel like, just because of that, as long as we do what we need to do, and we are there mentally, then we will definitely be able to come out on top.”
“We know about the guard heavy teams because we were guard-heavy teams, so hopefully that will work in our favor” said Coach Walker. “Just be settled and play your game. Do what we always do. Play our game and don’t worry so much about everybody else’s. We just get our stops, do what we’re doing, being intentional about all things, that way we can be successful, and be victorious.”
The Baldwin Bravettes will go for back-to-back State Championships against the 24-8 Cherokee Bluff Lady Bears Wednesday at 5 p.m. inside the Macon Coliseum. Tune into 41NBC News at 11 p.m. on Wednesday for highlights and to hear reactions from the team after the game.
