Winning, but worried

His Lady Raiders (6-1) won 61-32, largely on the strength of a second quarter where Madison County shut out Heritage 21-0.

“The girls gave effort for one quarter this game,” Lampe said. “Really, that’s the story.”

It’s the other three quarters, which he categorizes as “lazy” and “uninspired,” that he takes issue with.

“We’re still not getting the effort,” Lampe said.

“Defensively, we’re not hustling, boxing out. We’re relying on our athleticism to win games.”

He says if Madison County plays that way against say Franklin County or Mill Creek, the result won’t be so pleasant.

“My gosh, if we play like we did tonight (Tuesday), they’re going hand it to us,” he said.

Madison County takes on Rockdale County Friday before a non-region showdown with Franklin County Saturday.

On Tuesday, the Lady Raiders travel to Loganville where they lost last year.

Looking a little further down the road, Madison County faces Mill Creek, a Final Four team in Class AAAAA last year, on Dec. 20 in a holiday tournament in Grayson.

Lampe said things have got to change.

“If we were to play that way against Mill Creek, Mill Creek is going to blow our doors off,” Lampe said. “Saturday (against Franklin County) will kill us if we don’t play well.”

Lampe said his team still hasn’t acquitted itself of a poor performance in 56-53 loss to Salem last week.

“I’m really not sure what to make of the team to tell you the truth,” Lampe said. “I hoping we turn a corner and really get to work.”

Specifically, the coach says the team is missing much of the leadership off last year’s Final Four squad.

“I hate to keep bring up losing T.T. (Allen) and Amber Pass and A.K. (Meadows), but we have yet to fill the void that we have from them leaving.”

In Tuesday’s win, Madison County led just 11-8 before burying the Lady Patriots in the second quarter en route to a 32-8 halftime lead.

Lampe noted that his team got some turnovers and hit some foul shots to distance itself from Heritage. He also said his post players did an admirable job of getting open for shots and noted the spark that Haley Peeples provided off the bench. She finished with eight points.

Courtney Freeman scored 16 points to lead the Lady Raiders.

Despite the coach’s disappointment, Madison County picked up its sixth win this season by 29 points or more.

“It was still a win, though,” Lampe said.


MADISON CO. 61, HERITAGE 32
MCHS 11 21 14 15 — 61
HHS 8 0 12 12 — 32

Scorers: C. Freeman 16, K. Freeman 13, Arnold 10, Peeples 8, Whieldon 5, Smith 7, Atkinson 2



Weekend Review

Lady Raiders face few obstacles in victories

Madison County whipped North Oconee by 33 points Saturday, concluding what turned out to be a weekend of glorified scrimmages for the Lady Raiders.

Behind 22 points from Courtney Freeman – most of that coming in the first half – Madison County cruised past the Lady Titans 59-26, a night after beating Monroe Area 76-20.

Coach Dan Lampe said that his team might have been better off, “having an intrasquad scrimmage,” instead of this weekend’s games.

“You like to be pushed a little bit,” Lampe said.

In Saturday’s victory, Kayla Freeman added 15 points in the victory, scoring 11 in the final two quarters as the Lady Raiders built upon a 30-10 halftime lead. The younger Freeman’s buzzer-beating lay-in at the end of the third quarter gave Madison County a 46-16 advantage heading into the final quarter.

Shantydra Arnold added nine points.

Madison County’s contest with Monroe Area one night earlier offered a battle of Final Four teams from last year, though one team proved to be a shell of its former self.

On the night the Lady Raiders raised a banner honoring its semifinals run last year, Madison County routed Monroe Area, 76-20, Friday to pick up its first region win of the year.

Monroe Area reached the semifinals Class AAA last year, but the Lady Purple Hurricanes lost all their stars to graduation.

That was evident early on as Madison County jumped out to a 14-0 lead and proceeded to dismantle the visitors from Walton County.

The under-skilled Monroe Area squad didn’t reach double digits until the 4:14 mark in the third quarter.

Madison County’s 76 points were a season-high.

Courtney Freeman led Madison County with 19 points, 16 coming in the first half. Shantydra Arnold added 12.

Eight different Lady Raider players got into the scorebook by halftime as Madison County led 42-5.

The score would have been even more lopsided had the Lady Raiders not missed 13 first-half free throws.

“And how many lay-ups? We missed a thousand lay-ups, too,” Lampe said.

MADISON CO. 59, NORTH OCONEE 26
NOHS 6 4 6 10 -- 26
MCHS 23 7 16 13 – 59
Scorers: C. Freeman 22, K. Freeman 15, Arnold 9, Smith 6, Peeples 4, Glaze 3

MADISON CO. 76, MONROE AREA 20
MAHS 2 3 9 6 -- 20
MCHS 20 22 23 11 -- 76
Leading scorers: C. Freeman 19, Arnold 12, Glaze 9, K. Freeman 8, Whieldon 8, Peeples 7, Smith 6, Fleming 4