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Monroe girls surge past Madison

Photo by John Berry

Controlling your energy and emotions when getting ready for a rivalry game is a major challenge.

 

“You get so hyped up to play it because it’s a rivalry game and then you finally get out there and it’s kind of like, whoa I wasted a lot of energy getting hyped up,” said William Monroe girls basketball coach Jess Stafford.

 

In the middle of a long week, the Dragons managed to fight through that emotion, that hype and used a huge third quarter to power past a scrappy Mountaineers squad 49-19 Friday night.

 

“I told them in the locker room (at halftime) that the next three minutes are going to dictate how the game finishes out, it’s either going to be a tight one where it’s ugly or we’re going to come out and take control,” Stafford said. “The kids responded to that.”

 

The Dragons beat Clarke earlier this week and now are slated to play Skyline Saturday night in a make-up game.

 

Sam Brunelle scored 16 of her 31 points on the night in that frame as the Dragons’ star took control of the pace of the game and helped Monroe pull away. Brunelle also pulled down 13 rebounds and had eight blocks, finishing just two rejections away from a triple double. Brunelle also dished out four assists in a workman-like performance.

 

Kristin Manz chipped in seven points, five rebounds and three steals while Lindsay Knights had four points and eight rebounds. Dajour Strother went for seven rebounds.

 

After employing some stall tactics against the Dragons in their meeting earlier this season, Madison opted to play Monroe a little more straight up and the young Mountaineers scrapped and made Monroe work for most everything they got.

 

“Our program is getting better, we’ve lost nine games this year and eight of them have been by seven or less,” said Madison coach Dwight Brill. “Two years ago, we couldn’t score at all and now we’re at the point where we’re in games so I’m pleased with where we are.”

 

Makayla Taylor and MaKenna Santinga each had six points for the Mountaineers which wasn’t enough offense to overcome Brunelle’s assault.

 

“She’s a hard guard,” Brill said. “(And on offense) we’re getting good looks but the ball won’t go in.”

 

The Dragons will take on Skyline Saturday while Madison looks to bounce back on the road against another challenging opponent, George Mason.

 

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