By SHANNON HUTCHINSON Sports Writer
CNHI
1-5-11 — The Monticello Lady Trojans met Knox Central on Saturday, December
18 in the third place game of the KSA Holiday Classic at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex.
The Lady Trojans opened the tournament with a 59-40 win over Holy Name (PA), before dropping a 63-35 decision to St. Mary's (MA) in the semi-finals.
Knox Central opened the event with a 52-49 win over Tellico Plains (TN), then dropped a 71-32 semi-finals match-up with with Lampasas High (TX). The teams met just one week earlier in the McCreary Central Showcase, with Monticello losing a big second half to take a
57-43 win.
"It's very odd to play an out of region team twice within a week and both times on a neutral floor, so I was very nervous that our kids might overlook Knox Central after winning by 14 points a week earlier. I guess it's kind of a weird situation to have to do that, but we responded pretty well," said Monticello head coach Marla Kelsch.
Cortney Morrow netted a game high 20 points and 6 assists as Monticello used 8 3-pointers en route to a 51-40 tournament win. The senior guard shot 5 of 11 from the field, with 3 3-pointers and converted on 7 of 9 free throws, plus grabbed 5 rebounds with 4 steals.
"Cortney had her best game of the tournament and maybe her best game of the season. I thought she played with a lot of poise and her experience showed up big. We needed her leadership in this game and in tough times we rely on that," said Kelsch.
Freshman guard Mariah Hughes added a double-double in the win with
11 points and a game high 10 rebounds. Hughes shot 4 of 10 from the field, which included a 3 of 5 mark from 3-point range, plus finished with 4 steals.
"Mariah really stepped up and shot the ball well from three, plus had a huge rebounding effort. They really allow you to play pretty physical without many whistles, which plays into Mariah's game pretty well," said Kelsch.
Malesha Hughes shot 2 of 13 from the floor and 4 of 8 from the charity stripe to net 8 points with 8 rebounds, while tallying 2 steals and 2 assists. Autumn Bell posted 5 points with 6 boards, while Tiara Duncan chipped in with 5 points and 3 assists. Tyra Burnette contributed 2 points, as six different Lady Trojans scored in the win.
"Mariah had a double-double, Autumn played her best game of the tournament and Malesha just missed a double-double, so this was a really good way to end the tournament. We finished third with a 2-1 mark and head into Christmas at .500 with a 4-4 overall record, so we have a lot to be excited about," said Kelsch.
The Lady Panthers, which dropped to 2-5, placed two scorers in double figures, led by the 11 points of Shakira Gregory. Gregory totaled 4 field goals and made 3 of 5 free throws, while Kayla Shelton finished with 10 points, as seven different Central players marked the scoring column.
"Knox Central is a typical 13th Region team that likes to play a physical brand of basketball, so couple that with the way the officials call in Florida and this was a tough ball game," said Kelsch.
Shelton totaled 6 points in the first quarter to offset the 4 3- pointers of Monticello, as the team battled to a 13-13 draw.
The Lady Trojans limited Knox Central to just 2 field goals in the second quarter and used the 10 first half points of Cortney Morrow to take a 26-20 halftime lead.
Morrow added 7 points in the third frame and the Lady Trojans converted on 4 of 4 free throw attempts to spark a 16-12 tilt to push to a 42-32 advantage.
Monticello missed 8 of 11 free throws in the first half, but shot 80 percent from the charity stripe in the clutch to hold on for a 51-40 win. Four different Lady Trojans scored in the final quarter, as the winners used a 9-8 scoring edge to end the contest.
"Our free throw shooting has to get better and thankfully it did in the second half. We're missing out on some easy scoring opportunities when we miss our free throws," said Kelsch.
Knox Central, which claimed a 39-34 rebound edge, shot 16 of 57 overall from the field for 28 percent and tallied on 1 of 10 3- pointers for 10 percent. The Lady Panthers connected on 7 of 14 free throws for 50 percent and totaled 20 turnovers, which Monticello converted into 13 points.
The Lady Trojans made 16 of 49 field goal attempts for 33 percent, which included an 8 of 27 effort from 3-point range for 30 percent.
The winners shot 11 of 22 from the free throw line for 50 percent and totaled 16 assists with 14 steals against 14 turnovers.
"This was my second experience going to Disney and playing in a KSA event and it was another good experience for our basketball team. We played good competition on the court, but off the court we were able to meet and socialize with teams from all over the United States. We also enjoyed Magic Kingdom and Epcot, so I really think the team enjoyed the experience, plus we were home the week before Christmas which is nice," said Kelsch.
Up next is an appearance in the Mercer County Circle Farms Holiday Classic. Details in next week's Outlook.