Monroe girls beat Dougherty, play for region title

ADEL — With a trip to the Region 1-AAA championship on the line, the third round of the Dougherty versus Monroe girls matchup was just as intense and hard-fought as the previous two.

In the end, the Lady Tornadoes came up big from behind the free throw line and outlasted Dougherty 52-49 at Cook County High Thursday.

Monroe advances to meet the Cook/Crisp winner tonight at 7 p.m. Dougherty, meanwhile, will play the loser in the consolation game at 4 p.m.

In the fourth quarter, Monroe knocked down 8 of 10 free throws to put the game away while Dougherty struggled, making 9 of 16 but missing six in a crucial point down the stretch. Dougherty head coach Khadijah Ali said that was the difference in the game.

“My daddy used to say defense wins games, offense sells tickets and free throws win championships,” she said. “In the fourth quarter alone, we missed eight and if I’m not mistaken, we were 14 for 31 in the entire game. They may have been tired, it may have been a mental block, I don’t know, but it’s region time … the time you’ve got to step up and knock them down.”

The Lady Trojans came out strong and held a 22-18 lead at the half. Monroe head coach Jennifer Acree said beating a team three times in a row takes heart and desire, and that’s what she reminded her team in the locker room.

“This game wasn’t about X’s and O’s,” she said. “It wasn’t about defensive strategy, offensive strategy, it was about heart and who wanted it. It wasn’t talent against talent, it was about who wanted the game.”

Kelsey Davis started the third attacking the basket for Monroe, but Dougherty’s Jah’Ne Brown answered right back. Erica Hayes would then take over going on a 4-0 run herself to give the Lady Tornadoes a 25-24 lead with 5:33 left in the quarter.

Dougherty tied at 29 and then again at 31 off four free throws from Erykah Taylor and Shy’Keria Williams. Monroe ended the third with a slight 36-33 lead.

Hayes and Alyssa Jones started the fourth quarter four for four from the free throw line in the opening minute to give the Lady Tornadoes some breathing room. From there, they’d hang on despite a steal and a layup in the final 10 seconds by Brown to cut the lead to three.

Williams and Kianna Lancaster led the Lady Trojans in scoring with 11 points each, followed by Brown with 10.

Hayes finished with a team-high 14 for Monroe, followed by Davis with 11.

While Acree was thrilled to get the win and said she was pleased overall with how her team played on both ends, she said they need to remain focused on what the coaching staff is telling them so late game blunders don’t happen again this late in the season.

“This time of year, they’ve got to learn to trust their coaches,” she said. “They’ve got to trust us to put them where they need to be, and all we ask from them is to play hard and leave it all on the floor.”

Worth County boys 74, Monroe 66

The Worth County Rams took the lead early and never looked back as they defeated Monroe to advance to the region championship game.

Worth wil meet the Crisp/Cook winner at 8:30 p.m. Friday night, while Monroe will play in the consolation game at 5:30 p.m.

Jakobe Nether and Austin Jackson got going early for the Rams, knocking down a combined four 3-pointers in the opening period to give their team a 20-11 lead at the end of the first.

Felix Wooden took over from there, hitting four 3-pointers of his own in the second. He finished the game with a total of six. The Rams hit 12 3-pointers on the night. Worth went into the halftime break with a 41-29 lead.

Monroe came out stronger in the second half and were able to cut it to six after a layup by Tymond Green and back-to-back baskets by Ulysses Williams.

In the fourth quarter, Fred West nailed a jumper and Williams followed it up with another basket. After Kyler Hughes went up and under for two, it was a 62-56 game with 4:11 left to play.

Worth County was able to milk the clock and knock down free throws late to hold on for the win.

Williams was the high point man for Monroe with 21 points, followed by West with 15 and Hughes with 14

Wooden finished with 21 to lead the Rams, followed by Nether with 18, Jackson with 14 and Chris Farley with 13.