REGION 1-AAA TOURNAMENT: Monroe girls win Region 1-AAA crown

ADEL — On Jan. 27th, the Monroe Lady Tornadoes suffered a loss to Cook in Adel that cost them the regular-season title.

Monroe returned to that same gym two weeks later determined to reclaim what they felt was theirs and got the job done. The Lady Tornadoes defeated the Cook Lady Hornets 44-35 to capture the Region 1-AAA championship and earn home-court advantage in the first-round of the Georgia High School Association state tournament that begins next Friday.

Alyssa Jones kicked things off for Monroe with a three giving Monroe a 3-2 lead in the opening moments, and the Lady Tornadoes would lead the rest of the game.

Monroe was aggressive in the first quarter, getting to the rim and the line and built a 15-11 lead at the end of the period.

Erica Hayes knocked down a three in the second, then Jada Hunt split a pair of free throws after an intentional foul to start the second quarter. The Lady Tornadoes held Cook to just three points in that period and went into the halftime break with a 22-14 lead.

Kelsey Davis attacked the basket to start the third for Monroe and give them their first double-digit lead of the night at 24-14.

Cook’s Keshona Hendley hit a three and Kamryn Hooks got a putback on the next Lady Hornets possession to cut the lead to just five with 3:45 left in the game. Monroe head coach Jennifer Acree said she urged her team to keep their foot on the gas pedal.

“We gotta keep playing, we gotta keep playing the whole entire time. Do not let up,” she said. “They’ve got a couple of shooters that can really make a game close. So we wanted to keep playing, I substituted a lot, tried to keep fresh bodies in there because it was a lot of adrenaline in that game as well. So we wanted to keep them fresh and we did that.”

The Lady Tornadoes got three quick steals and got the lead back up to 12 with 2:34 left. Acree said her team remained patient and looked to the coaches for direction on closing out the game.

Hayes led the Lady Tornadoes in scoring with 22 points, followed by Jones with 10.

It felt more like a home game for the Lady Tornadoes as Dougherty High fans stayed behind to cheer on their rivals after the Lady Trojans defeated Crisp County in the consolation game earlier. The impromptu student section had the gym rocking and Acree said showed that #AlbanyStrong is more than just a hashtag and helped power them to victory.

“I appreciate the love from Dougherty fans, my alumni, it was a special feeling to bring those two teams together,” she said. “It was wonderful. It played a big factor and even yesterday when we played against Dougherty, I’m not even gonna lie, Monroe girls were nervous. Dougherty fans came in and really repped their team and for them to turn around and do the same for us tonight, it just makes my heart feel really, really good.”

Acree said she hopes the support continues as they start the playoffs at home.

Dougherty girls 59, Crisp County 30

The Lady Trojans were able to bounce back from Thursday night’s loss and finished third in the region.

Shy’Keria Williams led the Lady Trojans in scoring with 16 points.

Monroe boys 68, Cook 61

Ulysses Williams was the high point man with 24 to lead the Tornadoes as they finished third in the region. Fred West finished with 16 and Kyler Hughes chipped in 12.