A win over Monroe Academy has the Pike Liberal Arts Lady Patriots poised to claim the Area 2 championship.

The Lady Patriots (12-5) defeated Volunteers 53-28 on Tuesday.

“We knew that we had already played them and beat them pretty good,” said Patriots head coach Robert Hawkins. “We knew we had a long bus trip ahead of us, but they stayed focused and took care of business.”

Hawkins has been in search of an inside presence from his players, and he got a glimpse of that on Tuesday.

“We have been really working hard in finding some kind of an inside game,” Hawkins said. “We don’t have any height, but we started to really concentrate on getting some points inside.”

One of the players who stepped up was Mya Terry, who finished with 15 points on the night. “It was huge,” Hawkins said. “None of us are big, but she is strong and aggressive. She does not mind getting in there and mixing it up. It’s amazing if you can get double figures out of someone other than Regine (Parker) and Lauren (Johnson). It opens up our offense.”

The Patriots jumped out to 37-13 lead at the half and extended that lead to 30 points in the third quarter. Hawkins was able to substitute from the bench in the final period.

“I was worried about the long drive and us not being focused,” Hawkins said. “We jumped on them early and had a comfortable lead all game long.”

Along with Terry’s 15 points, Johnson had 18, while Parker and Suzie Stell finished with 10 and nine points.

Following the Lady Patriots victory, the boys fell to Monroe Academy in a hard fought game 56-54. Hunter Jones led the Patriots with 24 points while Ethan Green finished with 10.

The Patriots will host Escambia Academy on Friday night for a chance to clinch the area championship at 6 p.m. The boys will follow at approximately 7:30 p.m.