Monticello girls bball goes 1-1 in final week to force home play-in game

Monticello girls go 1-1 in final week to earn a home play-in game.
The Monticello girls basketball team was defeated in their last home game on February 11 by the Monument Valley Cougars. The final score favored the Cougars 68-20
The Monticello girls were led by Maron Freestone who scored 10, Braylee Freestone who had eight, and Shaydin Freestone who scored two.
The Monticello girls basketball team battled with region foe Pinnacle in the final regular season game of the year on February 13. The lady Buckaroos earned a 35-27 victory which came with late-game heroics for Monticello.
The Monticello girls earned a 10-8 lead at halftime. In a low-scoring first half one key basket came with five minutes left in the second quarter when seniors Braylee Freestone and Mechiayah Lansing executed a give-and-go to score.
Reflecting after the game Mechiayah shared she felt like the senior pair have telepathy.
“We try to have some of our other teammates pass the way we do to each other and it's just something me and Braylee have in common. We just know what to do and that little give and go is just another one of those.”
Braylee Freestone agreed sharing praise for Mechiayah.
“She's my teammate out there. There are just some points that we can connect and we get a good play down”
Finding teammates was critical for the Monticello girls as 10 of their 14 field goals were assists.
The lady Buckaroos found themselves in a hole however in the second half.
Monticello was down by seven points with four minutes left in the fourth quarter when Coach Stenson Freestone called a full timeout.
Monticello came out of the timeout down 26-19 when a full-court press went into effect. Mechiayah Lansing immediately stole the ball on the inbounds pass for a lay-up. Lansing stole the ball immediately after and was fouled to secure the momentum swing in Monticello’s favor.
Mechiayah reflected on where that comeback drive came from.
“Obviously I'm tired we’ve been running back and forth. I just got told to muster up whatever I had to muster up. We need this win. We want to play in our home court again and so I just gave it everything I had left.”
While Lansing missed her free throws Braylee Freestone grabbed an offensive rebound and earned a trip to the line herself where she drained both free throws giving Monticello a quick response to make the score 26-23 with 3:45 left in the game.
After the game Braylee reflected her thoughts at the line.
“All that's going through my head is you better not miss this or it's going to be so embarrassing.”
After a defensive stop, Braylee hit an 18-foot shot from the baseline. A shot she works on a lot.
After a few trades in possession, Maron Freestone faked a defender to get an open lane for a lay up off the glass to give Monticello the lead 27-26 with two minutes remaining in the game. A steal and layup by Peterson on the next possession gave Monticello a firm lead that they would hold on to eventually earning a 35-27 win.
Monticello was led in scoring by Braylee Freestone who finished with 12 points. Makenna Peterson scored eight and Maron Freestone added seven. Mechaiyah Lansing and Shaydin Freestone each scored four points as well in the win.
Monticello was led by Lansing who had eight rebounds, while Braylee and Maron Freestone each had seven. Makenna Peterson led the team with six steals and five assists.
Reflecting after the end of her Senior year regular season Mechiayah shared that being a Buckaroo is about drive.
“We're not the biggest, we just got to give it everything we have, Work with what we've got. In basketball, we do not have height advantage in sports and we just got to work with it and we really have to push ourselves to be the best and really have to give it everything.”
Braylee reflected on the camaraderie over her four years in the program.
“It's been great. We've made so many memories with each team. I love each girl that comes through here and it's just so great to play for Monticello. We have a really great program because of the girls and I just absolutely love it.”
Mechiyah added her thanks to parents and coaches supporting the program.
“I just like to thank everybody who came out. We really love the support and all the parents who let their kids play basketball with us. Parents are one of the main things that go unrecognized. My mom always says it starts from the home.”
The Monticello girls team will play Pinnacle for a third time this year in the 16/17 seed matchup with the winner advancing to the state tournament the following week in Richfield. The game will be on February 22 in Monticello and is tentatively scheduled for 1:00 pm. If you can’t make the game you can catch it on StreamUtah.Live and 92.7 FM.