Shannon Hutchinson, Sports Writer
m — The Monticello Lady Trojans met Mercer County, last Tuesday night at Lincoln County High School Gym, in the final game of the opening round of the 12th Region Tournament.
Monticello entered with a 17-12 mark and was coming off a 52-39 loss to Southwestern, in the championship game of the 48th District Tournament. The Lady Titans owned a 20-9 record and claimed the title in the 46th District with a 65-45 rout of East Jessamine. The winner of the contest would advance to face Rockcastle County, a 63-50 winner over Garrard County earlier in the night, in Friday night's second semifinals game.
Sophomore forward Malesha Hughes totaled 20 points and 5 rebounds, as Monticello ripped through Mercer County's fullcourt pressure all night, en route to a 67-58 opening round win. Hughes connected on 6 of 12 field goal attempts and 8 of 10 free throws, in 27 minutes of action, to pace three winners in double figures.
Lacey Alley added 17 points and 6 rebounds, while Cortney Morrow posted
14 points with a season best 13 assists. Alley, a 5-9 senior forward, shot 4 of 7 from 3-point range and 5 of 9 from the field, plus tallied on 3 of 4 free throw attempts. Morrow slashed around the Mercer County defense all night to finish 4 of 5 from the floor and converted on 5 of 7 from the charity-stripe, while logging all 32 minutes of play.
"What can I say, other than I'm so proud of our team's effort. We came out really sharp, paid very good attention to the details of the gameplan and executed extremely well for four quarters. I thought this was a great atmosphere, with great crowd support and we played with great intensity on both ends of the floor, plus we shot the ball very well," said Monticello head coach Marla Kelsch.
Shooting was the difference in the game as the Lady Trojans shot 60 percent from the field, which included a 43 percent clip from 3-point range, while Mercer County shot just 29 percent overall and a dismal 14 percent from behind the arc.
"Mercer County has a big size advantage on the inside and really hurt us on the offensive glass, so it was a big key that we shot the ball so well.
We got a lot of good looks in transition and I really thought we shared the ball well, looking to make the extra pass," said Kelsch.
Eighth grade reserve Mariah Hughes gave a big lift off the bench with 6 points and 4 boards, aided by a 3 of 3 effort from the field. Autumn Bell grabbed a team best 7 rebounds, with 5 points, while Tiara Duncan and Maggie Hopper both finished with 2 points each. Brittney Crabtree added 1 point with 4 rebounds, as eight different Monticello players etched the scoring column.
The win marked the programs first 12th Region Tournament win, since a
2003 47-41 victory over South Laurel.
"I'm happy for our team and especially our seniors, to bounce back after a tough loss to Southwestern in the district championship game. Our focus and intensity were big keys, plus the third quarter, we kept our composure.
This was just a great team effort," said Kelsch.
Mercer County, which dropped to 20-10 and had a three-game winning streak snapped, was led by 6-2 senior center Abra Sickles. Sickles finished 10 of 16 from the field to total a team best 20 points, as the Lady Titans used 24 offensive rebounds to produce 22 second chance points.
"We had a tough time with our lack of size, keeping Sickles off the backboards. She's so tough to box-out and defend," said Kelsch.
Senior guard Leah Flora added 10 points, while Savannah Taylor and Tori Freeman finished with 9 points each, as eight different Mercer County players scored in the match up.
Lacey Alley nailed two 3-pointers in the early minutes and Malesha Hughes totaled 6 points, to offset the 6 points of Flora, as Monticello raced to a 16-8 lead.
Abra Sickles netted 8 of her 10 first half points in the second stanza, as the Lady Titans used an 18-13 tilt, to close the Lady Trojans lead to
29-26 at halftime. Cortney Morrow tallied 7 points in the period and led Monticello with 9 points at intermission.
"We got off to a very good start in the first quarter and I thought we made some big shots, which helped spark us," said Kelsch.
Lacey Alley added two more threes in the third frame and the Lady Trojans used six different scorers to tally a 20-13 surge to push to a 49-39 lead, after 24 minutes.
Malesha Hughes totaled 7 points down the stretch and Monticello connected on 10 of 15 free throws in the clutch, to roll to a 67-58 tournament win.
"We stepped up and made some big baskets late, plus I was glad we shot our free throws like we did earlier in the season. We made enough late to keep the pressure on and I think we forced Mercer County to shoot some tough shots, trying to come back," said Kelsch.
The Lady Trojans shot 22 of 37 overall from the field for 60 percent, which included a 6 of 14 effort from 3-point range for 43 percent. The winners made 17 of 25 free throw attempts for 68 percent and totaled 20 assists with 3 steals, against 18 turnovers, which Mercer County converted into 12 points.
The Lady Titans, which enjoyed a 39-29 rebound advantage, shot 22 of 75 overall for 29 percent and marked on 5 of 37 3-pointers for 14 percent.
The squad tallied on 7 of 16 free throw attempts for 44 percent and finished with 9 turnovers.
The win setup a semifinals match up with 4th ranked Rockcastle County.
The Lady Rockets own the region's best record at 25-4 and are the champions of the 47th District.
"Rockcastle County has one of the top teams in the state and they are athletic, experienced and deep. We know it will be a big challenge, we just need to play our game and build off of this effort," said Kelsch.
Details on the game in next week's edition of The Outlook.
