Danville falls to MA in regional
HANCEVILLE – Danville coach Paul Wilson felt like his team had the right game plan to defeat Madison Academy.
However, there was nothing that the Lady Hawks could do.
Madison Academy held Danville to just 23 percent from the 2-point range and 14 percent from 3-point range, as the Lady Mustangs won 46-26 Thursday night in the Northwest Regional at the Tom Drake Coliseum on the Wallace State Campus.
“It was like when you’re preparing for a Bible drill and you walk in the room to find out that Jesus is your opponent,” Wilson said. “We had a great plan. We had great practices, but we just didn’t have any answer for Madison Academy’s length.”
In particular, the Mustangs did a great job on Danville sharp-shooter Gracie George, who only attempted two 3-pointers in the game and finished with just three points.
Sydni Shelton was the top Lady Hawk scorer with nine points and six rebounds. Point guard Tara Tuck had just five points, followed by Jesse Oliver with four, Kellee Stiles with three and Morgan Weatherwax with two points.
On the other side, Madison Academy was led by Sierra Jones with 14 points, followed by Libba Gillam with 10 points.
Danville was held scoreless in the first quarter, as Madison Academy led 12-0 and 21-6 at the half.
Danville’s shooting woes improved in the third quarter, going 4-for-8 from 2-point range in the period.
However, Danville was just 3-for-22 from 3-point range.
Wilson, however, was not down on his team following the tough loss.
“We had a great year,” Wilson said.
“Sydni was in diapers the last time we played here at Wallace and we’ve got another in diapers playing point guard for us this year,” Wilson joked about his team’s inexperience.
“This team has worked hard all year long. I’m so proud of what they’ve done just to get to this point.”