On a team where the future, and frankly present, is so obvious and clear, Hannah Carpenter gave William Monroe’s girls basketball fans a glimpse into how the Dragons’ tremendous season didn’t happen overnight Thursday.
It happened bit by bit. It happened, in part, because a group of seniors that was honored prior to the clash with rival Madison County stayed true to the process.
“The seniors as a whole have set a fantastic foundation for the young kids coming in,” said Monroe coach Jess Stafford. “A program doesn’t just explode over night…the groundwork has been laid for years in advance. Those four kids were a major part in that. It’s more than just basketball stuff.”
Carpenter, who got a rare start as one of the Dragons’ four seniors, scored Monroe’s opening bucket, then grabbed a rebound and helped force a turnover in the opening minutes of the game as William Monroe cruised to a 44-22 victory. The win put the Dragons (16-5) in position to challenge for a share of the regular season Bull Run title.
“It was awesome,” Carpenter said. “I haven’t been a starter the whole season, I’ve kind of been an underdog the whole season and to have the first shot, especially on senior night, was really awesome. It was like a whole new feeling on senior night — you don’t really expect it when you come out but you’re just kind of in the moment.”
Carpenter’s early playmaking flurry was a special moment for Stafford, who is in the process of putting her stamp on the program with a young crop of talent that includes star Sam Brunelle and junior Dajour Strother who’s been dynamic in the post of late.
“(Carpenter) is a fantastic human being, she’s seriously one of my favorite people I’ve ever known,” Stafford said. “She’s a great kid. She’s a senior, but she’s the one who is last out of the locker room picking up the trash, making sure the uniforms are gathered up. She’s our rock.”
Brunelle finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds in the effort against the Mountaineers and was thrilled to help boost the seniors to a win in their final regular season home game.
“It’s so exciting, the seniors have made so many contributions to the team,” Brunelle said. “They’ve helped me become a better player and person as well, I look up to them a lot.”
Strother finished with six points and 10 rebounds. Kristin Manz had six points. Ashtyn Shifflett finished with five rebounds while Autumn Pomeroy notched four points.
One of the Dragons’ four seniors (along with Carpenter, Pomeroy and Shifflett), Makayla Morris, a critical backcourt component for the Dragons was sidelined for senior night with a knee injury suffered against George Mason. She’ll learn more about the severity of her injury soon.
Monroe built an 18-7 lead in the first quarter, closing on a 14-0 run after dropping into a 7-4 hole early to Madison. By halftime the Dragons were in control up 25-14 and Madison managed just eight second half points as the Monroe defense ratcheted up the intensity after the break.
Madison’s Amanda Jasper and Morgan McClelland each had four points to lead the Mountaineers.
The Dragons face a tough test on the road against Central Woodstock Monday. A win there would tie Monroe with Woodstock for first place in the Bull Run.
