Blue Ridge Early College girls varsity basketball team hosted Highlands last month and celebrated Senior Night in recognition of BREC Seniors Chloe Fowler, Maddy Potts, and Charlotte Sherrill for their achievements on the basketball court. However, the Lady Bobcats didn’t pull off the win against the Lady Highlanders, ending with a final of 45-39.
From left are BREC Seniors Maddy Potts, Charlotte Sherrill, and Chloe Fowler.
BREC Coach Tim Mayse said they played very hard against Highlands, especially coming off the loss against Hiwassee Dam the night before for the conference championship.
“That was a back-and-forth game and we just weren’t able to hold on at the end,” said Mayse. “Foul trouble in the end hurt us bad. If we don’t get in foul trouble, I think we win the game. This was the first time we had our full team together since the Swain game on Jan. 29. We hadn’t had back to back full practices in weeks. Maybe that would have made a difference in the end, but Highlands hung in there and played well enough to beat us in the end. Such a tough rivalry means so much to our schools.”
BREC Senior Maddy Potts drives to the hoop against Highlands last month on Senior Night.
BREC Maddy Potts scored 11 points, Mahalah Stewart scored 11 points, Charlotte Sherrill scored 6 points, Mercedes McLaughlin scored 4 points, Chloe Fowler scored 3 points, and Macy Heltsley scored 2 points.
BREC played Nantahala a couple days later and Sherrill scored a new BREC record of 56 points, formerly held by her mother, Jennifer Sherrill, at 46 points.
BREC Charlotte Sherrill drains a free throw on Senior Night.
Mayse said Seniors Fowler, Potts, and Sherrill are an awesome group of young ladies who are a joy to coach and great people to be around.
“They have so much promise in life and I am very excited to see what the future holds for them,” he said. “I will miss their leadership and dedication to our girls’ program. They worked hard their entire careers through in-season and off-season workouts. Their drive and dedication should motivate our younger players into following in their footsteps.”
BREC Chloe Fowler sets up on defense against Highlands Bella Wilson.
Mayse added that these seniors had a lot of success and achievements this season with some huge wins for their program.
“I hate that we had to have this last season in a pandemic and know that their season was cut short due to the changes made to scheduling and playoffs,” said Mayse. “I really felt like we had a chance to break some records with them this year and make a run in the playoffs. I’m forever grateful to them for letting me coach them.”
Highlands Ezra Branham looks to get past BREC Charlotte Sherrill and put 2 on the board.
In the game against Nantahala, Mayse said Sherrill scored 48 at points in the first half, including 9 three-pointers in the first half (puts her tied for 2nd in the NCHSAA Women’s Basketball Record Book). He added that she made 10 three-pointers in total (puts her tied for 7th in the NCHSAA Women’s Basketball Record Book).
Sherrill’s 56 points in a game puts her tied for 6th in the NCHSAA Women’s Basketball Record Book. She now has 1,416 points for her career and averages 22.5 points per game (according to MaxPreps, this puts her 5th in 1A and 17th for all classifications in North Carolina).
Sherrill recently signed to play basketball at Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute in Boone, N.C.
Charlotte Sherrill recently signed to play basketball at Caldwell Community College. Sherrill will be attending Caldwell on an academic scholarship. From left are Caldwell Women’s Basketball Coach Bynum Anderson, Elijah Reece, Charlotte Sherrill, Ashley Steinel, and Tim Mayse.
Sherrill said Caldwell is an awesome choice for her because it’s not too far from home and it’s a place she can go to improve her game and eventually go on to play somewhere else afterwards. She added that she’s excited to play at the collegiate level.
Highlands Hayley Borino flies down the court covered by BREC Vanessa Russell.
“I love basketball and it’s always been a happy place for me,” said Sherrill. “The competition will be more competitive and it’s a dream come true.”
Caldwell is a Division 1 member of Region 10 of the NJCAA (Caldwell is the only division 1 junior college in North Carolina).
Highlands Julia May Schmitt gets in the face of BREC Charlotte Sherrill midflight.
Caldwell Women’s Basketball Coach Bynum Anderson said he is excited for Sherrill to join the Caldwell family.
“Her communication skills set her apart from the get-go,” said Anderson. “She also is a dynamite scorer with great size and a tremendous upside. We’re expecting her to come be a hard worker, and that will allow us to be a part of her inevitable success story.”
Reese Schmitt stays on her mark while BREC Mahalah Stewart scopes out her offensive options.
He added Sherrill is a dynamic basketball player, who was put on their radar by Mayse.
“We reached out and me and my staff collectively fell in love with Charlotte’s personality, and identified her as a person that we want to go to work with everyday, and it didn’t hurt that she wasn’t that shabby of a ball player,” said Anderson.
Highlands Riley Connor and BREC Maddy Potts are both looking to box the other out.
Sherrill is attending Caldwell on a scholarship, but an academic scholarship, not an athletic one. Sherrill had multiple other scholarship offers but felt Caldwell was the best fit.
Blue Ridge Early College Seniors:
Chloe Fowler
Carlton, Chloe, and Cindy Fowler on Senior Night. Photo by Ingra Moss (Walters, you know who I’m talking about).
Miss most: I will miss the bonds that I have made with my teammates.
Favorite memories: Playing 4 years of solid basketball with my best friends.
Future plans: Attend college, earn a degree in Physical Therapy and live my best life.
BREC Chloe Fowler and Highlands Bella Wilson going for a rebound.
Maddy Potts
BREC Senior Maddy Potts and family on Senior Night. Photo by Ingra Moss
Miss most: I will miss playing with all my fellow teammates for the past four years and learning from amazing coaches.
Favorite memory: Watching Home Alone at our last practice, which was a party.
Future plans: Attend a 4-year university, undecided major
Charlotte Sherrill
BREC Charlotte Sherrill and family on Senior Night. Photo by Ingra Moss
Miss most: I will miss playing basketball with the same girls since I was in the 5th grade. Playing for a coach who made me the player i am.
Favorite memories: Hitting 1,000 points
Future plans: Playing basketball at Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute.
BREC Charlotte Sherrill looks to use a pick from Mahalah Stewart to possibly lose Highlands Reese Schmitt.
Editor’s Note: I took this pic hoping to highlight the posters of the Lady Bobcat seniors in the background, but all I can see is BREC Senior Kaleb Fugate popping out at me from the bottom.
Article and photos by Brian O’Shea
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