By Michael Lindsay
The Jackson County Lady Blue Devils and Monterey Wildcats have advanced in the District 5-2A tournament following play-in game victories Tuesday night at Jackson County. The Lady Devils defeated Monterey, 54-41, while the Wildcats earned a 60-46 victory over Watertown.
Girls
A 20-point performance from Claire Williams led the Jackson County Blue Devils to a 54-41 victory over Monterey in Tuesday’s District 5-2A tournament opener.
“The game was much closer than what the final score wound up,” said Jackson County head coach Jim Brown. “Erin Davidson, our one senior, was in foul trouble the whole game. She does so many things for us, and I thought we were a little off balance. We were able to win by double digits and didn’t play well, and that says a lot about us.”
Along with Williams’ 20 points, Jalynn Meadows scored 14 for the Lady Devils. Haylee Trevathan led Monterey with 16 points.
Jackson County held a 10-8 lead after the first quarter and extended their advantage to 5 points in the second at 17-12. The Lady Wildcats responded to take an 18-17 lead via a Gracie Burgess three-pointer with 3:17 left until halftime.
The teams traded leads three additional times in the final 2:40 of the first half as Jackson County took a 22-20 lead into the locker room.
“We put them on the free-throw line entirely too much,” said Brown. “They had 10 points in the first quarter, and 8 of them were free throws. We needed to do a better job at moving our feet and to settle down and play.”
Jackson County opened the third quarter on a 15-5 run to take a 37-25 lead over Monterey via an Abbie Watson corner three-pointer with 2:59 left in the third. The Lady Devils held a 41-30 lead after three quarters.
“We did a better job defensively,” said Brown. “Claire Williams and Jalynn Meadows got going for us offensively and we were able to separate finally.”
Monterey cut their deficit to 7 points (44-37) with 4:30 remaining, but got no closer as Jackson County closed out to win by a 54-41 final score.
The Lady Wildcats wrapped up their season with the loss at 4-22 overall while Jackson County improves to 18-11.
Jackson County advances in the District 5-2A tournament to face #1-seeded York Institute (20-5) on Thursday.
“You want to advance, so you might as well play the best if that’s where you want to be,” said Brown. “It’s a big challenge for us, so hopefully we can come out and be aggressive and play with them.”
Thursday’s contest is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Jackson County while Smith County takes on Watertown in the other semifinal matchup at 7:30.
Boys
The magic of tournament basketball was on full display Tuesday in Gainesboro as the #5-seeded Monterey Wildcats defeated Watertown in the District 5-2A tournament, 60-46, following a winless regular season in district play.
“Confidence and togetherness,” said Monterey head coach William Putman. “These boys have fought all year and deserve this night. They wanted it, and I’m just so proud of my seniors. They’ve laid a solid foundation for the program to springboard off of, and I’m so happy they got this night.”
Watertown defeated Monterey twice in the regular season with both wins coming by double digits.
“You never know what to expect in this game,” said Putman. “You see upsets all the time; Watertown has been a part of some upset wins and going far, and coach Kevon Honeycutt is a phenomenal coach. We had to grind and they didn’t go away.”
Gustavo Galindez led the Wildcats with 18 points followed by Aiden Roberts with 14 and Colin Fowler with 12.
“Gustavo was phenomenal tonight,” said Putman. “Mekkiah Henry and Nick Jones played an awesome game. We got great contributions off the bench and it was a complete team effort.”
Monterey jumped out to a 7-3 lead early in the first period and held a 13-9 advantage to end the opening quarter.
Watertown scored first in the second period to cut Monterey’s lead to 13-12 before putbacks by Galindez and Mekkiah Henry gave the Wildcats a 19-14 advantage with 3:37 left in the second. Monterey held a 23-19 lead at halftime.
The Wildcats took control in the second half as they opened the third quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 29-19 lead via a Galindez basket with 6:28 left in the frame.
The 6-0 run was part of a larger 17-5 run over a 5:40 stretch to give Monterey a 40-24 lead late in the third period.
The Wildcats entered the fourth quarter with a 43-28 lead and held off Watertown over the final 8 minutes to win by a 60-46 final score.
Monterey advances to face #1 seed York Institute on Friday at 6 p.m.
“It doesn’t get any easier,” said Putman. “This is postseason basketball, and we understand what we’re up against. We know we’re going to go up against a York team that’s beat us both times, but we’re not going to back away from the challenge. We’re going to give it our all and see what happens.”
