Pandemonium! Monroe girls head to state Final Four

ALBANY – Down by 13 points midway through the third quarter, the Monroe Lady Nadas made an improbable comeback against the state’s No. 5-ranked team and beat White County 67-64 on Tuesday night to advance to the state Final Four in the girls’ Class AAA basketball tournament.

Monroe is scheduled to play No.2-ranked Hebron Christian (29-2) on Saturday at Savannah State University. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. The other semi-final will have top-ranked Weslyan (26-3) against No. 3-ranked Carver of Columbus (23-6).

Down by just one point after Monroe freshman Kie’Aundria Acree hit two crucial free throws, Acree blocked a White County shot on the other end before senior Ciarra Lunsford took the ball the length of the court and drove to the basket for two points to give Monroe its first lead since very early in the first quarter. Lunsford hit the baskets with 25 seconds remaining, then hit a free throw to put Monroe ahead 66-64.

Those 25 seconds seemed like an eternity with numerous time-out calls, restarts, etc. But when the final buzzer sounded, Monroe was ahead 67-64, and pandemonium ensued on Albany’s south side. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever been so pumped,” Lunsford said when things quieted slightly. “I am so happy.”

The large White County contingent of fans was not sure how this game got away.

The two teams were close early, but White County pulled up to a 19-14 lead at the end of the first quarter when Kylie Watkins swished a long three at the buzzer to end the quarter.  The Lady Warriors led 36-29 at the half though Monroe could have been closer — three missed free throws within the last seven seconds of the half set the Lady Nadas back.

Monroe did get close early in the third when the Lady Nadas made an inbounds pass to Taylor Mckinzy, who took the ball and nailed a long three that made the score 36-32. That was before White County went on a run to push its lead to 13.

With White County focused on stopping Acree, Monroe got six fourth-quarter points from Mckinzy, nine fourth-quarter points from Lunsford and, even with a shadow, 10 fourth-quarter points from Acree to make the comeback.

In all, Acree finished with 27 points, Lunsford scored 22 and Mckinzy added 15.

By Joe Whitfield
Sports EditorJoeWhitfield[email protected]
By Joe Whitfield
Sports EditorJoeWhitfield[email protected]

By Joe Whitfield
Sports EditorJoeWhitfield[email protected]