Shantydra Arnold goes strong to the hoop Saturday night in Madison County’s region title victory over Loganville. Madison County faces Douglas County Saturday in the first round of the state tournament.
Champs have a challenge
Region champion, no. 1 seed MCHS faces dangerous Douglas County
If Madison County girls’ head coach Dan Lampe had his way, the Lady Raiders would have already played their first round state tournament game.
“The girls are excited, and they’re ready to go,” Lampe said. “I just wish we didn’t have this whole week off … We were kind of in a good groove. I would have liked to have played Wednesday or Tuesday.”
Top-seeded Madison County faces no. 4 seed Douglas County (20-7) Saturday at home at 7:30 p.m.
One can certainly understand Lampe’s eagerness to get things going. His team is coming off perhaps its best performance of the year, whipping Loganville 66-47 this past Saturday for the Region 8-AAAA title.
That gave Madison County a top seed for the tournament, but the Lady Raiders received quite a tough first-round draw with Douglas County, the last seed out of Region 5-AAAA.
Lampe and his coaches scouted the Region 5-AAAA tournament on an off day during Madison County’s own region tournament, and were surprised to be paired with Douglas County in round one of the Class AAAA tournament.
“I really didn’t expect them to be the fourth seed,” Lampe said. “I kind of expected them to be the third seed.”
The coach describes the Lady Tigers, who went 10-3 in region play, as possessing plenty of athleticism and size, a combination that will demand Madison County’s full attention.
“We’ve got to play like much like we did the last couple of days — just focused hard-nosed defense and make our shots,” Lampe said. “It’s definitely not an easy task.”
Douglas County’s top scorer is Kristina Wells, and the Lady Tigers have a dangerous post player in Christin Mercer.
Lampe said Mercer reminds him of a well-known former MCHS standout.
“She reminds me a little bit of Courtney (Freeman),” Lampe said. “She pulls it and just goes coast-to-coast with it.”
As a team, Douglas County reminds Lampe of Cedar Shoals — just as athletic, but possessing a better center.
The key for Madison County is maintaining the strong guard play it enjoyed during the region tournament.
Lauren Smith averaged 16.3 points per game in earning tournament MVP honors.
“Just keep Lauren going,” Lampe said. “When Lauren scores in double digits … I’m not sure we’ve lost.”
Meanwhile, Smith’s backcourt mate and fellow senior Shantydra Arnold averaged 14.3 in the tournament.
“I think a lot of it is Tydra feeds off Lauren,” Lampe said. “If Lauren gets going, then Tydra gets going, too. They’re hard to stop then.”
For the Madison County seniors, this is one last chance for a postseason run to punctuate four great years on the basketball court.
Madison County has gone to two Sweet 16s and a Final Four since the 2006-2007 season.
“Oh, yeah. I’m not ready for it to end,” Arnold said. “So that means I’m going to give it my all.”
REGION TOURNAMENT
REGION CHAMPIONSHIP: MCHS whips Loganville for Region 8-AAAA title
Madison County won the one that counted – convincingly.
The Lady Raiders beat Loganville 66-47 Saturday (Feb. 20) to claim their third region title in four years, dominating a Lady Red Devil team that handed them a rare lopsided loss during the regular season.
Loganville beat Madison County 64-47 back on Dec. 15.
“We felt that we owed them something,” junior post player Kayla Freeman said. “I mean, that’s probably the worst game we ever played.”
So was this Madison County’s best game?
“It almost feels like it,” said Freeman, who scored 16 points. “But we had a good game. Everybody stayed focused. Everybody was intense. We played team ball.”
Madison County won all three of its region tournament games by double digits, with an average margin of victory of 18.3 points.
Against Loganville, the Lady Raiders started pulling away during a second quarter in which they outscored the Lady Red Devils 26-11. Madison County hit four 3-pointers during the period and led 34-18 at the half.
“Everything was just going together,” senior guard Shantydra Arnold said. “We were just moving the ball well, making our shots and easy shots. In transition, we did really well today (Saturday).”
Arnold finished with 22 points, one of three Lady Raiders in double figures.
Afterward, the team conspired to ambush coach Dan Lampe with the water cooler. Lampe, who had avoided getting drenched during Madison County’s previous title runs, wasn’t able to avoid the celebratory dousing this time.
But he didn’t mind getting a little wet. After all he’s been part of all three of those region championships, serving an assistant coach for the first and as head coach for the last two.
“It’s nice, yeah,” Lampe said. “Three out of four ain’t bad.”
It was a big night all-around for the region champions.
Senior guard Lauren Smith earned tournament MVP honors, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 boards. Smith hit three 3-pointers in the second quarter and had 13 points by halftime.
“I was hitting my shot, but I was also looking for my other teammates so they could get the opportunity to score, too,” Smith said.
While Madison County thrived offensively, Lampe credited the defense for sparking the Lady Raider win.
“We didn’t let them get into anything they wanted to do,” Lampe said. “We clogged up the middle. We didn’t give them any dribble penetration. Took away the threes. They played well.”
Lampe specifically pointed to the efforts of guard Juvonna Fleming, the team’s defensive specialist.
“Juvonna, defensively, just ate up all the help side,” he said. “She was there all the time.”
The team took the floor with a little added exuberance, too.
The Madison County boys’ team, which played in the consolation round prior to the girls’ game, beat Clarke Central with a buzzer-beating three from Bradley Raines.
Lampe said that got the girls “jacked” for their game, and Arnold agreed.
“I think the boys, when they beat Clarke Central with that three, it pumped like everybody up,” Arnold said. “When Bradley hit that three, we were like ‘we’ve got to do good.’ We’ve got to win.”
Now the state tournament awaits Madison County.
The team, which has two Sweet 16s and a Final Four over the last three years on its résumé, hopes it can maintain the same level of play it enjoyed in dominating the field at region.
“We came together as a team,” Smith said. “We had one goal: win region, go to state.”
SEMIFINALS: MCHS beats Salem to advance to 8-AAAA title game
Madison County clinched a spot in the region finals with a 50-35 victory over no. 1 seed Salem (23-4) Feb. 19.
The Lady Raider defense stymied the Lady Seminoles, holding Class AAAA’s sixth-ranked team to just 10 field goals the entire game.
“I felt we played with a focused aggression,” said Lampe, whose Lady Raiders also beat Salem 58-39 Dec. 1. “That’s what I kept telling them, ‘focused aggression’ … They saw the ball. They helped on everything. They just took everything away.”
Lampe noted that Madison County’s lineup of four guards and just one post held up quite well against Salem’s three-post, two-guard set up.
“Our girls played big, big, big, on the boards,” Lampe said.
Offensively, Lauren Smith scored 15 points to lead the Lady Raiders to the victory. Shantydra Arnold and Kayla Freeman added 10 points each.
FIRST ROUND: MCHS beats Heritage, clinches spot at state
The Madison County High School girls’ basketball team got past the first-game jitters at the region tournament, beating Heritage 49-28 Feb. 17 at Monroe Area High School to clinch a spot at state.
Lauren Smith scored 17 points as Madison County earned its fifth-straight trip to the Class AAAA tournament.
Defensively, Madison County held Heritage to just two first quarter points and nine at the half.
Shantydra Arnold threw in 11 points as Madison County notched its 20th victory of the season. The program has won 20 games each of the last four seasons.
“The girls are excited, and they’re ready to go,” Lampe said. “I just wish we didn’t have this whole week off … We were kind of in a good groove. I would have liked to have played Wednesday or Tuesday.”
Top-seeded Madison County faces no. 4 seed Douglas County (20-7) Saturday at home at 7:30 p.m.
One can certainly understand Lampe’s eagerness to get things going. His team is coming off perhaps its best performance of the year, whipping Loganville 66-47 this past Saturday for the Region 8-AAAA title.
That gave Madison County a top seed for the tournament, but the Lady Raiders received quite a tough first-round draw with Douglas County, the last seed out of Region 5-AAAA.
Lampe and his coaches scouted the Region 5-AAAA tournament on an off day during Madison County’s own region tournament, and were surprised to be paired with Douglas County in round one of the Class AAAA tournament.
“I really didn’t expect them to be the fourth seed,” Lampe said. “I kind of expected them to be the third seed.”
The coach describes the Lady Tigers, who went 10-3 in region play, as possessing plenty of athleticism and size, a combination that will demand Madison County’s full attention.
“We’ve got to play like much like we did the last couple of days — just focused hard-nosed defense and make our shots,” Lampe said. “It’s definitely not an easy task.”
Douglas County’s top scorer is Kristina Wells, and the Lady Tigers have a dangerous post player in Christin Mercer.
Lampe said Mercer reminds him of a well-known former MCHS standout.
“She reminds me a little bit of Courtney (Freeman),” Lampe said. “She pulls it and just goes coast-to-coast with it.”
As a team, Douglas County reminds Lampe of Cedar Shoals — just as athletic, but possessing a better center.
The key for Madison County is maintaining the strong guard play it enjoyed during the region tournament.
Lauren Smith averaged 16.3 points per game in earning tournament MVP honors.
“Just keep Lauren going,” Lampe said. “When Lauren scores in double digits … I’m not sure we’ve lost.”
Meanwhile, Smith’s backcourt mate and fellow senior Shantydra Arnold averaged 14.3 in the tournament.
“I think a lot of it is Tydra feeds off Lauren,” Lampe said. “If Lauren gets going, then Tydra gets going, too. They’re hard to stop then.”
For the Madison County seniors, this is one last chance for a postseason run to punctuate four great years on the basketball court.
Madison County has gone to two Sweet 16s and a Final Four since the 2006-2007 season.
“Oh, yeah. I’m not ready for it to end,” Arnold said. “So that means I’m going to give it my all.”
REGION TOURNAMENT
REGION CHAMPIONSHIP: MCHS whips Loganville for Region 8-AAAA title
Madison County won the one that counted – convincingly.
The Lady Raiders beat Loganville 66-47 Saturday (Feb. 20) to claim their third region title in four years, dominating a Lady Red Devil team that handed them a rare lopsided loss during the regular season.
Loganville beat Madison County 64-47 back on Dec. 15.
“We felt that we owed them something,” junior post player Kayla Freeman said. “I mean, that’s probably the worst game we ever played.”
So was this Madison County’s best game?
“It almost feels like it,” said Freeman, who scored 16 points. “But we had a good game. Everybody stayed focused. Everybody was intense. We played team ball.”
Madison County won all three of its region tournament games by double digits, with an average margin of victory of 18.3 points.
Against Loganville, the Lady Raiders started pulling away during a second quarter in which they outscored the Lady Red Devils 26-11. Madison County hit four 3-pointers during the period and led 34-18 at the half.
“Everything was just going together,” senior guard Shantydra Arnold said. “We were just moving the ball well, making our shots and easy shots. In transition, we did really well today (Saturday).”
Arnold finished with 22 points, one of three Lady Raiders in double figures.
Afterward, the team conspired to ambush coach Dan Lampe with the water cooler. Lampe, who had avoided getting drenched during Madison County’s previous title runs, wasn’t able to avoid the celebratory dousing this time.
But he didn’t mind getting a little wet. After all he’s been part of all three of those region championships, serving an assistant coach for the first and as head coach for the last two.
“It’s nice, yeah,” Lampe said. “Three out of four ain’t bad.”
It was a big night all-around for the region champions.
Senior guard Lauren Smith earned tournament MVP honors, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 boards. Smith hit three 3-pointers in the second quarter and had 13 points by halftime.
“I was hitting my shot, but I was also looking for my other teammates so they could get the opportunity to score, too,” Smith said.
While Madison County thrived offensively, Lampe credited the defense for sparking the Lady Raider win.
“We didn’t let them get into anything they wanted to do,” Lampe said. “We clogged up the middle. We didn’t give them any dribble penetration. Took away the threes. They played well.”
Lampe specifically pointed to the efforts of guard Juvonna Fleming, the team’s defensive specialist.
“Juvonna, defensively, just ate up all the help side,” he said. “She was there all the time.”
The team took the floor with a little added exuberance, too.
The Madison County boys’ team, which played in the consolation round prior to the girls’ game, beat Clarke Central with a buzzer-beating three from Bradley Raines.
Lampe said that got the girls “jacked” for their game, and Arnold agreed.
“I think the boys, when they beat Clarke Central with that three, it pumped like everybody up,” Arnold said. “When Bradley hit that three, we were like ‘we’ve got to do good.’ We’ve got to win.”
Now the state tournament awaits Madison County.
The team, which has two Sweet 16s and a Final Four over the last three years on its résumé, hopes it can maintain the same level of play it enjoyed in dominating the field at region.
“We came together as a team,” Smith said. “We had one goal: win region, go to state.”
SEMIFINALS: MCHS beats Salem to advance to 8-AAAA title game
Madison County clinched a spot in the region finals with a 50-35 victory over no. 1 seed Salem (23-4) Feb. 19.
The Lady Raider defense stymied the Lady Seminoles, holding Class AAAA’s sixth-ranked team to just 10 field goals the entire game.
“I felt we played with a focused aggression,” said Lampe, whose Lady Raiders also beat Salem 58-39 Dec. 1. “That’s what I kept telling them, ‘focused aggression’ … They saw the ball. They helped on everything. They just took everything away.”
Lampe noted that Madison County’s lineup of four guards and just one post held up quite well against Salem’s three-post, two-guard set up.
“Our girls played big, big, big, on the boards,” Lampe said.
Offensively, Lauren Smith scored 15 points to lead the Lady Raiders to the victory. Shantydra Arnold and Kayla Freeman added 10 points each.
FIRST ROUND: MCHS beats Heritage, clinches spot at state
The Madison County High School girls’ basketball team got past the first-game jitters at the region tournament, beating Heritage 49-28 Feb. 17 at Monroe Area High School to clinch a spot at state.
Lauren Smith scored 17 points as Madison County earned its fifth-straight trip to the Class AAAA tournament.
Defensively, Madison County held Heritage to just two first quarter points and nine at the half.
Shantydra Arnold threw in 11 points as Madison County notched its 20th victory of the season. The program has won 20 games each of the last four seasons.
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