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Back Again: William Monroe girls put away Skyline to earn state tournament berth

Photo by Bart Isley

William Monroe’s girls basketball team just hadn’t quite put Skyline away.

 

Iyanna Carey took care of that problem.

 

“She comes in and hit a huge three there at the end,” said William Monroe coach Jess Stafford. “We had a little bit of cushion but that was kind of where the separation was final.”

 

Carey buried the fourth-quarter three, giving the Dragons all the space they needed to earn their second-straight state tournament berth with a 50-33 win in the Region 3B semifinals.

 

“It’s not even about the winning, it’s about staying together as a team and having the bond that we’ve created,” said Monroe senior Emma Pickett.

 

Martha Apple carried the Dragons in the game, scoring 22 points while grabbing 13 rebounds on the night for a solid double double, with four steals and two assists thrown in for good measure. Apple has shouldered the load inside for the Dragons since the injury to star Sam Brunelle, and her expanded production is one of the chief reasons Monroe is back in the state tournament.

 

“She’s a force in the paint and when she is on she’s very difficult to stop,” Stafford said. “She had it in her mind that every rebound was hers. She emptied her tank early, you could tell she was tired but she gutted through it.”

 

She went to work early against Skyline, scoring 12 of the Dragons’ 14 in the first quarter to help stake Monroe to a 14-6 lead. Apple came out of the locker room on a tear too, scoring eight points in the third quarter.

 

“It’s really good to see her confident,” Pickett said. “She’s a huge part of our rebounding, of our scoring, everything.”

 

There are also signs that Brunelle, who suffered a foot injury in December that required surgery in January, could be set for a return to the lineup. She was in uniform and warmed up for the Dragons and was particularly active in the bench celebrations as the Dragons pulled away from Skyline.

 

“That’s not in our hands to decide,” Stafford said. “She’s well ahead of schedule and I think she will play again for us especially if we keep progressing.”

 

Skyline kept hanging around despite Apple’s efforts and Bryonna Woofter’s 14 points, six boards and five assists. Carey buried the three late though, her lone field goal in the game, and that helped finish off Skyline.

 

“Last year her shooting form was not what it is this year, she spent a ton of time in the gym,” Stafford said. “Starting last spring she’s like ‘coach I want to fix my shot’ so every morning we’re in the gym. We talk about victories paid for in advance, she paid for that 3-pointer in advance.”

 

Carey was, as usual a big part of the defensive effort along with Katie Beale and Hailey Morris. Beale had three steals on the night and helped spearhead the extended pressure in the second half that prevented Skyline from getting back into the game.

 

Monroe held Skyline to single digits in all but the fourth quarter where they squeaked out 11, and that’s usually a pretty good sign for the Dragons that they’re in control.

 

The Dragons will face Brentsville in the Region 3B championship game Friday at 7 p.m. with an eye toward avenging last year’s loss in the region title game. A win there would clinch a more favorable path in the state tournament.

 

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