Albany Monroe girls rout Richmond County in first round play off game

ALBANY – The Monroe Lady Nadas (19-9) got off to a slow start Tuesday night but put things together and blew out the Academy of Richmond County 70-29 in the first round of the girl’s AAA state basketball playoffs.

The Lady Nadas turned the ball over on the first possession of the game and Richmond County scored the first basket. Monroe responded with baskets from senior Ciarra Lunsford to take an 8-2 lead before Richmond County took a couple of more balls away and scored twice to make it 8-6.

That was the last time things got close. Monroe took the lead 15-8 heading into the second quarter and then Lunsford opened that second quarter with a three. Taylor Mckinzy followed with a three-pointer then Kie’Aundria Acree grabbed a rebound on the one end of the floor and raced all the way to the basket for another two points and Monroe was in control 28-10. The Lady Nadas led 35-12 at the half and cruised into the Sweet 16

“We had a lot of nervous energy in the first quarter,” said Monroe Head Coach Jennifer Acree. “But we were ale to persevere and put together a pretty good game. Ciarra (Lunsford) showed her seniority and really carried us in the first half until our babies came along. We are happy to move on.”

Acree finished the game with another triple double – 24 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists to go along with five steals and four blocked shorts. Lunsford scored 22, and Mckinzy added 16.

The Lady Nadas will now hit the road to take on Mary Persons (23-5) in Forsyth. The game is expected to be played Friday evening but it has not been finalized as of Wednesday morning.

By Joe Whitfield
Sports EditorJoeWhitfield[email protected]