Basketball Game Preview: Monroe Golden Tornadoes vs. Dougherty Trojans

The Monroe Golden Tornadoes are taking a road trip to challenge the Dougherty Trojans at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Monroe is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 61.1 points per game this season.

Last Friday, Monroe came up short against Dorman and fell 62-52. While losing is never fun, the Golden Tornadoes can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 104th in Georgia, while the Cavaliers are ranked 31st in South Carolina).

Kie'aundria Acree

Steals

12/27/24 vs Dorman	4
12/20/24 vs Lovejoy	4
12/13/24 @ Calhoun County	6
12/05/24 @ Lee County	5
11/26/24 vs Windsor Forest	6

Despite the defeat, Monroe got top-tier performance from Kie'Aundria Acree, who dropped a double-double on 24 points and 15 rebounds. Acree has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more steals the last 43 times she's played. Taylor Mckinzy was another key player, putting up 16 points.

Even though they lost, Monroe smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive boards in ten consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, Dougherty was not able to break out of their rough patch on Monday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They took a hard 52-34 fall against Richmond Hill. The game marked the Trojans' lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

Monroe's defeat dropped their record down to 8-4. As for Dougherty, they now have a losing record at 7-8.

Monroe was able to grind out a solid victory over Dougherty in their previous meeting back in November, winning 61-50. The rematch might be a little tougher for Monroe since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.