Published: February 26, 2008 04:07 pm            

Lady Trojans win at Clinton County, 61-45

Monticello — The Monticello Lady Trojans met 4th Region rival Clinton County last

Monday night at Bulldog gym.

The Lady Trojans entered the match-up on a three game winning streak and

were coming off a 61-59 win at Burgin. Clinton County, under the direction

of first year head coach Sam Gibson, entered with a 5-21 mark and was

coming off a 60-33 home loss to Bowling Green.

Monticello used the dominant inside play of Raven Frost and Leandra

Brown, plus a 23-12 fourth quarter run to claim a 61-45 road win.

Frost, a 6-0 junior forward, scored a season high 22 points, plus

grabbed 7 rebounds with 2 blocked shots in 23 minutes of action. The junior

shot an impressive 10 of 14 from the field and made 2 of 4 free throws, as

the Lady Trojans improved to 16-11 on the season.

"Raven had a very big night on both ends. I thought she shot the ball

extremely well and did a real nice job of finishing the play. Raven and

Leandra both played very well in the paint and made some good things happen.

We want to take advantage of our size and be aggressive around the basket.

Leandra had another double-double and just continues to improve. I was very

proud of her effort at the free throw line. As a team we once again shot the

ball well from the line, which is a big key with this team," said Monticello

head coach Marla Kelsch.

Brown, also a 6-0 junior forward, netted 18 points with a game high 13

rebounds, plus grabbed 3 steals in 25 minutes. The athletic forward shot 4

of 9 from the field and 10 of 12 from the free throw line, as Monticello

converted on 18 of 24 free throws as a unit.

Lacey Alley added 7 points and 2 rebounds, while Cortney Morrow totaled

6 points, 4 seals, 3 rebounds and 3 assists, as seven different Lady Trojans

scored in the win.

"We didn't play very well in the first quarter or the first half for

that matter. We missed some shots early and kind of dug a hole, which is

disappointing. Our last few games we've been coming out of the gate strong,

which is something we must get back to, if we want to be successful the rest

of the season," said Kelsch.

Clinton County, which dropped to 5-22, used a very balanced offensive

attack with four players scoring 9 points or more. Brittany Flowers led the

hosts with 12 points, aided by a 9 of 12 effort from the free throw line.

Bre Thurman added 10 points, while Brooke Boils and Chelsea Brown

finished with 9 points each.

"Clinton County has a nice young basketball team with a new coach, so

this was a good road win. Anytime you can get a win on the road out of

region against a border rival it's a positive. We just have to keep working

and try to improve each game as a team," said Kelsch.

The Lady Bulldogs used three different scorers in the opening quarter to

claim an 11-9 edge. Monticello opened a cold 3 of 11 from the field and was

paced by the 5 points of Leandra Brown.

Raven Frost scored 8 points in the first half and Lacey Alley tallied 5

in the second stanza, as the Lady Trojans used a 15-11 spurt to take a 24-22

halftime advantage.

Leandra Brown totaled 9 points in the third frame and the visitors

converted on 8 of 9 attempts from the charity stripe in the period to take a

14-11 tilt. Clinton County nailed two 3-pointers but still trailed 38-33

after 24 minutes.

Monticello made 9 of 11 field goals down the stretch and used the 11

points of Raven Frost to spark a 23-12 run en route to a 61-45 win. The Lady

Bulldogs totaled only one basket in the final quarter, but tallied on 9 of

16 free throw attempts.

Kayla West posted 4 points and 3 boards, while Whitney Owens and Jackie

Anderson totaled 2 points each to round out the locals in the scoring

column.

Clinton County finished with 12 field goals, with four of those coming

from 3-point range.

The squad made 17 of 26 free throws for 65 percent and finished with 18

turnovers.

The Lady Trojans shot 21 of 48 overall for 44 percent and tallied on 1

of 12 3-pointers for 8 percent. The winners marked on 18 of 24 free throws

for 75 percent and claimed a 34-22 rebound advantage with 9 steals and 6

assists against 17 turnovers.

"We didn't shoot the ball very well from three, but we made our shots

close in and capitalized on our free throws. We'll certainly take the win,

but we have to go back to work and prepare for a Somerset team that is

playing their best basketball of the season," said Kelsch.

Up next for Monticello was a senior night date and regular season finale

with rival Somerset on Friday night.

Details on the contest in a related story inside this edition of The

Outlook.

        

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