Monroe rolls past Columbia in Thanksgiving Shootout

ALBANY — The final game of the Westover Shootout invitational tourney was won somewhat easily by the Monroe Lady Tornadoes, who dispatched the Columbia Lady Eagles 46-37 Friday night at the Westover High gym.

The game was physical as the visitors’ frontcourt made points in the paint tough. Both the Lady Tornadoes and the Lady Eagles employed full-court pressure, leading to an uptempo approach from Monroe.

“We were able to control the tempo of the game,” Acree said. “We knew they came in with a lot of size, so we had to do something to combat that. I was hoping they weren’t as fast as they were big, but they were. It was a really good matchup. We both made it to the Elite Eight last year, so it was a very good game.”

Freshman Kelsey Davis and junior Toddriana Isler filled the stat sheet for the home team in the absence of junior Cekeya Mack. Key Key Price led the way for Monroe with 17 points and four rebounds. Isler snagged eight rebounds, dished out two assists, and grabbed three steals.

Junior guard Lynsey Washington also added eleven points. Davis tallied four steals and five rebounds in addition to twelve points, helping lead the Lady Tornadoes to a six-point lead at the break.

The game was highly contested the entire evening, with seemingly dozens of disputed foul calls. The Lady Tornadoes went 12-for-23 from the charity stripe, while the Lady Eagles shot 8 of 19 from the line. Monroe never seemed to be in much danger of losing — however, its largest lead was ten points.

“They’ve been playing exceptionally well throughout this season,” Acree said of Davis and Isler. “We’ve been playing without Cekeya [Mack], so when she comes back, with the experience that Kelsey’s getting right now as a freshman, we’re looking for big things from her when she gets back.”

Monroe outrebounded the Lady Eagles 23 to 14 and stole 15 passes, not including traveling violations and held balls. After a first quarter that showed signs of an eventual overtime finish, the Lady Tornadoes made adjustments that put them ahead comfortably as time closed.

“We were able to speed up the tempo of the game … when you’re playing against bigger girls like that, I think they have four girls who are at least 6-2 or 6-3,” Acree said. “You have to speed up the tempo, we didn’t want them to play a half-court offense against us, because we knew we’d be outmanned.”

The Lady Tornadoes, who moved to 2-1 with the victory, will face Jonesboro High tonight at Westover.

JONESBORO GIRLS 54, LEE COUNTY 15: Jonesboro built a big lead in the first half and ran away from Lee County in the second game of the tournament.

The Lady Cardinals then built a 24-4 before Lee County’s Charisma Barner sank a jumper at the 2:08 mark of the second quarter.

Jonesboro held a 26-9 lead at halftime before Jonesboro went wild again, opening the quarter on a 15-0 run before the Lady Trojans scored their first bucket of the second half.

TERRELL COUNTY GIRLS 58, ALBANY 12: Jamya McDaniel scored 16 points to help Terrell County pound Albany High in the first game of the tourney. McDaniel’s sister, Jamiel, added nine points , while Ticobia Whiting and Takandris Jordan added eight points each for the Lady Greenwaves, who built a big lead and never looked back.

Albany High was led by Kiera Wright’s four points.

Terrell County will meet Dougherty in the Shootout today at 4 p.m.