Monticello — The Monticello Lady Trojans met 12th Region foe Danville last Thursday

night at Danville HS Gym. Monticello entered the match-up with a 10-10

record and was coming off a disappointing 74-44 home loss to Monroe County

earlier in the week. The Lady Admirals owned an 11-8 mark and was coming off

a convincing 56-41 win at East Jessamine.

Monticello raced to an 18-11 first quarter lead and then pushed the lead

to double figures for most of the way en route to a 53-45 win. Lacey Alley

led all players with 18 points and 11 rebounds in over 30 minutes of play.

The senior forward shot 7 of 13 from the field with a 3 of 4 clip from

behind the arc to pace three winners in double digits.

Sophomore forward Malesha Hughes shot 5 of 8 from the floor and 4 of 8

from the free throw line to add 14 points with 7 boards while Cortney Morrow

connected on 5 of 6 free throws to net 13 points. Morrow finished with a

game high 9 assists as the Lady Trojans won for the second time in five

games.

"This was a good bounce-back win for our team on the road against a

quality opponent. Danville had beaten Monroe County earlier in the year in a

holiday tournament so we were certainly concerned going into the game. Lacey

had a really good shooting night from three-point range and really battled

on the backboards. Cortney stepped up and shot free throws well and

distributed the ball well plus it was good to see Malesha come back after a

tough game earlier in the week. We needed this type of effort and a win,"

said Monticello head coach Marla Kelsch.

Eighth grader Mariah Hughes had a solid stat line in the win. The

talented sparkplug netted 4 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists as the Lady

Trojans improved to 11-10.

"We looked like a tired basketball team on Tuesday night so we decided

to back off our full-court pressure and really concentrate on our half-court

man defense. I think that helped, plus we have over a week off before our

next game so going into an open week off a good win is nice," said Kelsch.

Danville, which dropped to 11-9, placed two scorers in double figures

led by the 17 points of Hannah Mountjoy. The junior forward was 6 of 8 from

the field and a perfect 4 of 4 from the free throw line, plus grabbed 5

rebounds in over 25 minutes of action.

Essence Gray, a talented eighth grader, made 7 of 8 free throws and 3 of

7 field goal attempts to total 13 points with 5 boards as five different

Lady Ads scored in the contest.

"Danville has a nice record and they have beaten some quality teams so

we know it would be tough. Mountjoy is a very experienced post player that

gave us problems in the past, while Gray is athletic and made some big

plays," said Kelsch.

Monticello opened 7 of 11 from the field and used the 8 points of

Malesha Hughes to race to an 18-11 first quarter lead. The hosts countered

with 3 of 9 field goal shooting but made 4 of 4 free throws as the Lady

Trojans connected on 3 of 7 free throws in the opening period.

Lacey Alley scored 10 points in the first half to help offset the 11 of

Hannah Mountjoy as Danville's 10-9 second stanza edge left the halftime

score at 27-21. Malesha Hughes led all players with 12 points in the half,

as Monticello owned the lead despite just shooting 3 of 9 from the charity

stripe in the first half.

"Free throw shooting has been a strength for most of the season but we

certainly struggled in this game. We left some points off the board with

missed opportunities in the first half," said Kelsch.

The Lady Trojans made just 3 of 7 free throws in the third frame but two

Lacey Alley 3-pointers helped the squad take a 14-12 tilt to push to 41-33

lead. Mountjoy kept Danville close with 6 points in the period as the hosts

tallied on 3 of 9 field goal attempts.

"We hit three 3-pointers in the third and pushed the lead out to as much

as 13 points but to their credit they battled back. We also substituted more

trying to stay fresh," said Kelsch.

Cortney Morrow totaled 10 points in the second half including 6 in the

final quarter as Monticello converted on 8 of 10 free throws to claim a

53-45 win.

"We did make our free throws late which was a positive, plus as a team I

thought we shot the ball pretty well. Our biggest concern or disappointment

was we didn't take care of the basketball, which led to way too many

turnovers," said Kelsch.

Monticello shot 17 of 39 overall for 44 percent, which included a 5 of

12 tally from 3-point range for 42 percent. The winners finished 14 of 26

from the free throw line for 54 percent and totaled 14 assists with 5 steals

against 25 turnovers.

Danville shot 14 of 20 overall for 35 percent and tallied on 2 of 10

3-pointers for 20 percent. The hosts tallied on 15 of 21 free throws for 71

percent and finished with 15 turnovers.

After a couple days off the Lady Trojans will return to practice to

prepare for games on Friday and Saturday.

The squad is out of region for both as Cumberland County is the first

opponent and Madison Southern comes to MHS Gym for a Saturday afternoon date

that is a rescheduled game from earlier in the season. Details on both games

in next week's edition of The Outlook.