When the year is over, William Monroe will be able to say they’ve seen everything, absolutely everything that an opposing coach can throw at them to try and stop its marquee player in Sam Brunelle. It’s a good problem to have, but something the Dragons find themselves trying to solve each and every game. Monroe saw a new wrinkle on Friday, but that didn’t stop it from cruising to a 42-18 victory over visiting rival Madison County.
“It’s a big deal, we held them to one field goal in the second half,” said Dragons coach Jess Stafford. “We told them that this was going to be a defensive game, that the defense would be our staple, to take pride in it. We came out in the first quarter and forgot about that with four offensive rebounds in the first three minutes. We can’t do that. That allowed Madison to stay in it in the first half. But I’m so proud of the kids for adjusting, responding. They came back out and took pride in what they do.”
It was a slow start for both squads, but Madison was able to keep pace with Monroe, trailing 4-3 midway through the first and down just 15-13 just the first few minutes of the second quarter. And then things got interesting.
“We’re short and they were in a double bonus situation,” said Mountaineers coach Dwight Brill. “We just wanted to keep things close because we were having a real hard time trying to score from outside. So that was the mindset.”
Madison found a way to keep things close a bit unconventionally, although not unheard of locally. With the Dragons up by five midway through the second quarter but the Mountaineers facing the reality of their considerable foul trouble a decision was made. Madison jumped into a proverbial basketball time machine and simply pressed fast forward to the second half. The Mountaineers held the ball, literally, for four minutes before running their offense with 13 second left until the break.
“It was surprising at first and you just look over at your coach asking what to do,” said Monroe freshman Allie Whiteheart, who had a big game defensively with four steals and four rebounds. “At the half we talked about just playing our hardest and staying on it defensively.”
It turned out to be quite the strategy because the lid was on the basket for Madison the rest of the night. The Monroe defense held its opponent to one field goal in the second half and just four total points. Meanwhile, the Dragon’s offense came out attacking the basket and getting the job done at the free throw line.
“It was definitely our passion, getting to the basket,” said Monroe’s Lindsay Knights. “We had to control the tempo and know that we were in charge of that. We had to move the ball and not rush for shots. This was different for us, but it gave us good practice in a physical game where we had to go to the free throw line a lot.”
With an 18-2 run, Monroe rolled through the third and fourth quarters before working in its bench to finish out the game. It’s the second game in a row that the Dragons have held a Bull Run District opponent to under 22 points. And after falling three times in four games including last week’s loss to George Mason, Monroe is suddenly back playing the kind of basketball it did towards the end of the 2015-2016 season.
“It’s been a blessing in disguise (losing to Mason),” Stafford said. “It has lit a fire in some bellies. It’s gotten us to drive to the basket, to want to get inside.”
Madison was led by Makayla Taylor who had seven points including a pair of three points. Allie Burbridge had four points.
“We had some shots in the second half, they just didn’t go,” Brill said. “We’re young with freshman and sophomores trying to find our way. We shot it and got everything right on the rim but just couldn’t get anything to fall.”
For the Dragons, Brunelle found her usual way to get hers. She finished with a game high 20 points led by an 8-for-13 night at the free throw line as she refused to settle for perimeter shots and worked all night in the paint. The sophomore had 12 rebounds and three blocks. Dajour Strohter had nine points and six rebounds. Knights had five points and seven rebounds.
Monroe (7-6) travels to Warren County while Madison (2-10) travels to Clarke County on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
