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Something Extra: Monroe pulls away from Madison in the second half

Photo by Brian Mellott

Winning a rivalry game usually takes a little something extra and it took a little something extra for William Monroe to beat Madison County 43-28 Thursday night.

 

Like Iyanna Carey diving on the floor for a loose ball. Followed by Hailey Morris diving on a loose ball. And Martha Apple diving on a loose ball. And Emma Pickett diving on a loose ball.

 

“That’s who we are, we’re the team that dives on every loose ball, we want every rebound, and in the first half that’s not who showed up,” said William Monroe coach Jess Stafford. “Iyanna kind of started it and then you see everybody — Hailey starts diving, Martha starts diving. You’ve got to want the basketball.”

 

With Sam Brunelle heating up on the offensive end after halftime and finishing with 25 points and 11 rebounds, that extra effort on the floor was enough to put Madison County away and push the Dragons to 3-0 on the year.

 

“We came out in the first half a little low,” said Carey, who finished with seven boards. “But then the second half we got hyped. We came together a lot more in the second half and played our heart out.”

 

But that win only came after they survived an outright scare in the first half from a Madison team that was committed to its defensive plan of throwing a lot at Brunelle and the Dragons. Madison came out in a box-and-one before switching to an outright double team with MacKayla Arrington and Makenna Santinga among the players who took shots at trying to limit Brunelle.

 

The results were obvious — Madison led 20-15 at the break and went into the locker room fired up.

 

“We always play hard, we don’t have too many flat nights,” said Madison coach Dwight Brill. “If you stay and close the gap you can keep someone from shooting. Makenna has heart and then MacKayla Arrington did a good job on her. No matter who you guard, if you compete you have a chance.”

 

Brunelle scored 10 points in the third quarter as the Dragons exploded for a 15-2 run over the frame to take a 30-23 lead over the Mountaineers. Bryonna Woofter posted just four points but she was huge defensively with seven steals and five assists in a game that was loaded with tie-ups and jump balls typical of a Madison/Monroe rivalry clash. While Brunelle getting going changed everything for the Dragons, first-year player Martha Apple posting six points and nine rebounds gave Monroe a critical lift too.

 

“You’re coming in to a team that’s established so you’ve got to find your place,” Stafford said. “Tonight she was aggressive on the boards, she wasn’t afraid to bang around and that’s exactly what we need from her.”

 

Madison struggled offensively in the second half with just eight points and Santinga led the offense with 12 points while nobody else in the lineup managed more than four. But despite the second half struggle, it’s clear that Madison knows this was a solid step.

 

“We’re close, we’re not the same product we were three or four years ago,” Brill said. “We’ll worry about where we are at the end, this will help us.”

 

It might help Monroe too.

 

“We need to learn how to take a punch and get back up and I think those lessons will pay off in the end,” Stafford said.

 

Madison travels to take on East Rockingham Monday night while Monroe gets a short break before playing in a tournament late next week.

 

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