Monroe, Dougherty split pair of games

ALBANY — It’s been an emotional week for both Monroe and Dougherty High, but the second installment of the girls Region 1-AAA battle was just as hard-fought as the first.

Dougherty mounted a massive comeback, whittling a 20-point deficit down in the fourth but the Lady Tornadoes hung on to earn a 57-48 victory Saturday night at the Cavalier Arena.

With 2:47 left, Dougherty’s Jah’Ne Brown converted a layup to make it 46-36. Tiana Martin drew the foul off a Dougherty steal and knocked down two free throws, making it an eight-point deficit.

Monroe then got baskets from Catriesa White and later Kelsey Davis to stretch the lead back to 10 with 2:03 left.

A few plays later, Martin stole an inbounds pass and found Brown for two. On the very next Monroe possession, Brown grabbed the rebound off the missed shot, took it coast-to-coast, missed the layup but drew a foul. She sank both, making it 50-44 with 1:29 to play.

Monroe’s Erica Hayes and Alyssa Jones hit free throws down the stretch to close it out. Monroe head coach Jennifer Acree said her team was coming off a tough region loss the night before and she wanted to see if they’d bounce back.

“It came down to heart,” she said. “We didn’t play particularly well last night in the loss against Cook, so I wanted to see how this team would respond. I’m happy with the results and how they responded.”

Dougherty got into foul trouble early in the first quarter, leading the foul count 7-3. Monroe took advantage, building their first double-digit lead of the night. They went into the second quarter up 16-4.

But Monroe also got into foul trouble and the Lady Trojans cut the lead to eight after free throws from Brown with 4:01 left in the first half.

However, the Lady Tornadoes close with a 12-3 run to take a 33-16 lead at the half. Acree said the defense picked up during that stretch.

“Everybody in the game played in that first quarter, I believe,” she said. “It was important for us to stay fresh and up our intensity on defense. And I was very proud of our defensive effort tonight.”

The Lady Trojans were able to hold Monroe to just six points for more than six minutes in the third and thanks to a pair of 3-pointers from Zetambria Hall, went into the fourth with a manageable deficit. Dougherty coach Khadijah Ali said she felt her team played well in the fourth.

“Even if we missed some layups that I felt like we should’ve made and we missed some free throws, the effort was still there,” she said. “The hustle was still there from some of the girls. It’s the same thing I’m always telling you, we’ve got to do it for four quarters. Fourth quarter ain’t gonna get it.”

Brown was the leading scorer for the Lady Trojans, finishing with 14 points. Hall was next with 13.

White came up big for the Lady Tornadoes, finishing with 16 points. Dee Jackson finished with 11 and Davis rounded out the top scorers list with 10.

With their loss to Cook Friday night, Monroe is tied for first in the region. Dougherty plays Cook Tuesday and should they win, Monroe would take over first. If Dougherty loses, then a tie-breaker comes in to play in order to determine who will host the region tournament.

Dougherty boys 59, Monroe 54

The Dougherty High Trojans were able to mount a second half come back and erase a double digit deficit to get the win.

Monroe led by as many as 12 in the first half and went into the beak leading 29-19.

Jamie Williams’ three in the fourth quarter cut the lead to just three. Williams then took a charge and got a block on the next two Monroe possessions. Delandrious Davis was sent to the line and hit two free throws for Dougherty to tie the game at 48 with 4:35 remaining.

From there, the Trojans got several consecutive defensive stops at the rim that forced Monroe to foul. Monroe head coach Keith Hayes said his team became frazzled at the end, forcing them to stray from the plan.

“Our guards are making mistakes at the wrong time of the game,” he said. “Situational basketball, they’re making bad decisions … they’re not learning from their mistakes. When we’re up, we don’t need to score, we’re still trying to attack the basket. Things that we keep preaching, we have to learn how to run an offense.”

Dougherty, on the other hand, kept its composure and knocked down six of its final 10 free throws to end the game, a stat head coach Rufus McDuffie was pleased to see. He noted that, coupled with his team’s second-half defense, helped them earn the win.

“We still missed a ton of free throws,” he said. “Down the stretch, I think we made five or six, something right there in the last minute, but I think we did a little better job defensively in second half. First half defensively, they basically got any shot they wanted in the first half. Second half, we did a little better job defensively.”

Williams led the Trojans with 17 points followed by Terry Lewis with 12.

Ulysses Williams led the Tornadoes with 18 points, followed by Jordan Taylor with 11.