WCoutlook

Lady Trojans take important district win at Russell Co.

By MELODIE PHELPS

News Editor

Monticello took another important district win last Monday, when the Lady Trojans defeated Russell County 55-46. The victory put the Lady Trojans in line for a possible second seed in the district.

“This was just a great team effort,” said Coach Marla Kelsch, as she talked about the win. “This team didn’t quit when we were down by 9 points. They really played with character.”

The Lady Trojans trailed by 4 at the end of each quarter (11-7, 17-13, 33-29), but stepped it up in the final eight minutes to take the win.

“They didn’t get their heads down,” said Kelsch.

Almost perfect shooting from the charity stripe didn’t hurt the Lady Trojans. They were 19 of 20 from the stripe, which one of the best free throw shooting performances Kelsch has ever witnessed in a game.

“It was a good win for us,” noted Kelsch.

Monticello was led by point guard Sarah Beaty who finished with a game-high 25 points. Also in double figures was senior Wendy Parnell with 10 points.

Russell County was led by Chasity Shirley, who scored 18 points.

The game puts the Lady Trojans in a similar situation as last year—needing a win at McCreary Central to seal up the second place in the district. The Lady Trojans were set to play the Lady Raiders on Monday night.

A win would give Monticello second place outright. A loss at McCreary Central would mean a tie between the two schools and it would be decided with a coin toss. Last year, the coin was unkind to the Lady Trojans and the Lady Raiders hosted the district tournament opener, eventually defeating Monticello.

On Friday night, Monticello will host South Laurel in a boys-girls doubleheader as part of the Hall of Fame Game. (The boys will play Lynn Camp Friday night.)

On Saturday afternoon, the Lady Trojans will play at Pulaski County. Details in next week’s Outlook.