MADISON — Behind 15 points from Alexa Smith, the William Monroe girls basketball team defeated arch rival Madison County, 41-32, on Tuesday night.
With the Mountaineers trailing 4-0 late in the first quarter, Madison guard Chandler Gentry scored six straight points to close out the quarter to give Madison a two-point lead after eight minutes of play. The Mountaineers extended their lead in the second quarter as a long two-pointer by Alexis Smith gave Madison its largest lead of the game at six.
After going almost six minutes without a field goal, William Monroe clawed its way back into the game with several key free throws as halftime neared. A put back by Smith with just over a minute remaining in the half gave Monroe just its second field goal of the quarter and cut the Madison lead to one. A buzzer beating 3-pointer by Breanna Allen capped an 8-0 Monroe run and gave the Dragons a two-point advantage at halftime.
“The run was huge for us,” William Monroe coach Phillip Lamb said. “We just wanted to capitalize of their mistakes. That three at the end was big.”
The tide turned in favor of Monroe in the third quarter. A late 6-0 run gave the Dragons an eight-point advantage, but Gentry led a Madison rally late in the stanza. A 3-pointer with time winding down cut the Monroe lead to five heading into the final eight minutes of play.
The Mountaineers cut the lead to three early in the fourth quarter before Smith took control of the game. Smith scored eight points down the stretch to ice the game for the Dragons.
“This is what we expect when we come to Madison,” Lamb said. “It’s a rivalry game and everything is thrown out the window. We knew it was going to be a fight and we were lucky to come out on the right side of that fight.”
In addition to Smith’s 15, Allen turned in 12 points while Alex Cave added eight. The Dragons have won five of their last six games and sit at 9-1 in the Bull Run District. William Monroe trails district-leading George Mason by half a game. With a rematch with Mason looming, Monroe is peaking at the right time.
“We got a great group of seniors who come to work every day,” Lamb said. “I just think they have played so many games together and they really rely on each other.”
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