PARAGOULD — Monticello coach Lucy Williams hadn’t seen the final statistics after her 5A quarterfinal game against Camden Fairview, but she was sure of one thing:
Chelsey Rhodes had a great game.
Rhodes scored 28 points, totaled five rebounds and made three steals in leading the Lady Billies to a 59-55 win over Camden Fairview on Friday at Greene County Tech. The win put Monticello (27-2) in a 6 p.m. semifinal today against Paragould, which beat Vilonia 54-47 in overtime Friday.
Monticello tied Camden Fairview at 38 with a 20-10 third-quarter run and managed to hold off the Lady Cardinals despite shooting only 37.5 percent from the field (21 of 56) for the game. Rhodes made 10 of 13 free throws, but Monticello struggled as a team, hitting 15 of 25.
Asked what helped the Lady Billies come back from a 10-point halftime deficit, Williams said: “I think Chelsey Rhodes went off. I think that’s what happened.
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“Our defense stepped up. We were playing man. We got some steals. We got rolling there, and then we had Sadie Lewis come in and make some big plays on defense,” Williams added.
Lewis had three steals, but Deanne Martin led the Lady Billies with seven.
Martin chipped in 16 points, hitting 7 of 12 from the floor, and Marquia Goffin finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Erin Campbell pulled down eight rebounds to go with two points.
Jermeka Marks led Camden Fairview with 16 points and 13 boards, Aysia Jackson followed with 11 points and 10 rips, Bre Bates scored 13 points and Jada Hoof tallied eight. The Lady Cardinals were saddled with 27 turnovers and 38.9 percent shooting, but outrebounded the Lady Billies 44-39.