Monticello — The Monticello Lady Trojans met tournament host Southwestern, last

Thursday night at SW Gym, in the championship game of the 48th District

Tournament. Monticello entered with a 17-11 record and advanced into the

matchup with a 46-42 win over McCreary Central, in the opening round.

Southwestern topped Wayne County 49-46 in the other first round game and

owned an 18-9 mark. The teams split their regular season contests with the

Lady Warriors winning at MHS, on December 8th 72-45 and the Lady Trojans

returning the favor a month later 68-66, in overtime.

Southwestern used an 11-1 run to end the first quarter and never trailed

again, en route to a 52-39 championship win. Junior guard Danay Fothergill

led a very balanced attack with 17 points and senior Emily Walker added 4

3-pointers, plus made 2 of 4 free throws to total 14 points, as the Lady

Warriors made the most of a decisive 36-18 rebound advantage.

"Early on both teams battled hard and made some big shots, but the

difference was at 14-12 we cooled off and they kept their offense going. We

came out on defense trying to limit Danay Fothergill's penetration, but then

both Emily Walker and Destiny Molden stepped up to make some big threes. We

had to change that, which allowed Fothergill some looks, plus Jessica Pierce

just controlled the backboards. They killed us on the boards, Pierce is so

hard to box-out, plus sometimes when we managed to check-out we would fumble

the ball out of bounds," said Monticello head coach Marla Kelsch.

Fothergill tallied on 9 of 11 free throw attempts and totaled 4 field

goals, while Molden netted 10 points, aided by two 3-pointers. Jessica

Pierce converted 4 of 4 free throws to net 8 points, as five different Lady

Warriors scored in the win.

"We just didn't keep our offense going like they did, but we did manage

to cut the lead to three points in the second half. We had opportunities,

but missed a couple lay-ups and another easy shot, then had to foul.

Southwestern is a tough team to have to foul late and to their credit, they

made free throws to push their lead back out late. This game really was much

closer than the score indicated," said Kelsch.

The Lady Trojans, which had a four-game winning streak snapped to drop

to 17-12, placed two scorers in double figures led by the 15 points of

Malesha Hughes. The 5-9 sophomore forward made 7 of 12 field goal attempts

and 1 of 6 free throws, while Lacey Alley tallied on 4 of 9 floor attempts

to net 10 points with 3 rebounds.

"I thought we really played well at times, but this was one of those

games we just struggled to sustain anything. Our crowd was tremendous and at

times I thought they gave our team the momentum and a big boost. Their

involvement was a huge plus, so hopefully they'll travel with us to regional

play, I know it meant a lot to our kids," said Kelsch.

Cortney Morrow totaled 5 points with 5 assists and 3 boards, while

Autumn Bell grabbed a team best 5 rebounds, with 3 points. Mariah Hughes

netted 5 points and Tiara Duncan contributed 1 point, to round-out the six

Lady Trojans in the scoring margin.

Both teams opened hot out of the gate and traded baskets for most of the

opening quarter as Southwestern claimed a 14-12 lead. Emily Walker nailed

three 3-pointers for 9 points and Danay Fothergill totaled 8 points, as the

hosts ended the period with an 11-1 run to take a 25-13 advantage.

Monticello was led by the 6 points of Malesha Hughes.

"The first six minutes may have been exciting as any game I've been a

part of, I just wished we could've kept it going," said Kelsch.

Monticello used two 3-pointers in the second stanza to spark an 11-7

surge, to leave the halftime score at 32-24. The locals missed some

opportunities from the free throw line, shooting just 4 of 8 from the

charity-stripe in the half.

Defense dominated the third frame, as Malesha Hughes led all players

with 6 points and the Lady Trojans used an 8-7 tilt, to close the gap to

39-32 after three periods.

"We certainly had some chances in the second half, but just couldn't

make a shot or two, to get us over the hump," said Kelsch.

Southwestern connected on 11 of 15 free throws down the stretch to seal

the win, led by the 7 points of Danay Fothergill. Monticello missed some key

shots and was forced to foul, as the Lady Warriors rolled to a 52-39 win.

The winners shot 14 of 38 from the field for 37 percent and tallied on 7

of 23 3-pointers for 30 percent. Southwestern marked on 17 of 21 free throws

for 81 percent and finished with 14 turnovers.

"Give the credit to Southwestern, they made their free throws and had

several girls step up throughout the game to make big shots. I think they

can make some noise at the region, they are tough to defend," said Kelsch.

The Lady Trojans made 14 of 42 field goal attempts for 33 percent and

connected on 4 of 19 3-pointers for 21 percent. The squad converted on 7 of

14 free throws for 50 percent and totaled 13 assists with 5 steals, against

11 turnovers.

Up next for the squad is a Tuesday night date with 46th District

champion Mercer County. The Titans have the region's third best record at

20-9, led by the senior duo of Leah Flora and Abra Sickles. The

inside-outside tandum both average around 11 points each.

"Mercer County has a very nice ball club, but they are a team we do know

a little about after playing them in their Christmas tournament last year.

We just need to refocus our goals and this being a new experience for our

team, we must understand that anything can happen, once you reach the

regional tournament," said Kelsch.

The Titans won their district with a 65-45 title game win over East

Jessamine and knocked off Burgin 73-41 in first round play.

"We have had success going in as the Runner-up before, so hopefully we

can go up there with another good crowd and give a big effort," said Kelsch.

The winner of that match up will face the winner of Rockcastle County

and Garrard County, in the semifinals. Details on the contest in next week's

edition of The Outlook.