Atlanta Monarchs celebrate 2018 wbcbl national title

St. Louis Surge lose by a point in title game For the second time in as many years, the St. Louis Surge came up one point short in a bid to win a third Women's Blue Chip Basketball League title. Sunday afternoon in Charlotte, N.C., the Surge fell 80-79 to the top-seeded Atlanta Monarchs. A year ago, at Fontbonne University, the host Surge dropped a 64-63 decision to the Georgia Soul. Seeded third in this year's eight-team national tournament, the Surge (11-3) were making their fifth consecutive championship game appearance. The Surge won championships in 2014 and 2016 and had their previous runner-up finishes in 2012, 2015 and 2017. The Monarchs (14-1), who split two regular-season meetings with the Surge, were down 79-77 when former Mizzou player LaToya Bond tied it with 33 seconds left. After an offensive foul and Surge foul for a hand-check, Bond made the first of two free throws with 9.4 seconds to play for the winning margin. In the waning seconds, the Surge missed on a 3-pointer and had an inside shot blocked. Rebecca Harris (5'8''-G-86, college: Illinois) (24), Kristi Bellock (6'1''-F-90, college: Texas A&M) (14), Brittany Carter (6'0''-PG-93, college: Illinois) (13) and Kelsey McClure (5'9''-G) (12) were top scorers for the Surge. Kellindra Zackery (6'1''-F-88, college: Newman) scored 21 to lead the Monarchs, whose lineup included Incarnate Word product Taylor Manuel (6'4''-F-93, college: Mississippi).
Courtesy of: stltoday.com ​