By KEVIN THOMPSON

Special to the Hays Daily News

LAKIN -- If you listen to Monarch coach Alan Billinger, you'd think his team had just escaped with a narrow victory.

If you look at the score, you might wonder which game he was watching.

Then one realizes that the Thomas More Prep-Marian girls' basketball team's 51-32 win against Goodland in the Class 3A sub-state semifinal Friday was more in line with getting prepared for a title game Saturday. Then you can understand that he was pleased with the win but concerned about Saturday night's final.

The Monarchs won all the statistical battles as well as the game on Friday. Sophomore Rachel Jacobs scored 24 points and grabbed 18 rebounds. TMP-Marian outrebounded Goodland 48-32.

The important thing is the Monarchs moved into the title game Saturday against defending state champion Kismet-Southwestern Heights, which beat TMP-Marian last year to get the state berth.

Southwestern Heights defeated Medicine Lodge 45-30 in Friday's other semifinal game.

Billinger acknowledged that fourth-ranked TMP-Marian (21-1), which won its 20th straight game, did struggle a bit against Goodland.

"We just didn't really seem to find our rhythm tonight," Billinger said. "But it always helps to have a Jacobs on your team. She had a terrific first half and really kept us going."

The Monarchs led 14-10 after the first quarter behind Jacobs' 10 points, including two 3-pointers.

In the second quarter, though, TMP-Marian started to shine. Jacobs hit two more 3s and scored 10 more points, and senior Jessa Stramel scored four points. The Monarch defense limited Goodland to just two baskets and a free throw, allowing only one point in the final five minutes.

That defensive intensity continued into the third quarter as the Monarchs held the Cowgirls to just two more baskets and three free throws, and caused four turnovers. Senior Sophia Schippers scored seven points and TMP-Marian held a 43-22 lead.

That 21-point lead came in handy as Billinger saw his team weary a bit in the fourth quarter, especially as senior Ashley Archer got hot. Archer scored off a rare turnover early, then hit three more baskets in the next two minutes

That cut the lead to 15. Goodland didn't score again until seven seconds were remaining in the game.

"It's nice to see everybody being a little productive, but our shooting wasn't very good," Billinger said of his team's 20-of-63 performance.

"I wasn't really happy with our defense, either. We gave up some very easy buckets and didn't do a very good job of blocking off the boards," Billinger said.

When Goodland (11-11) made its run in the fourth quarter, the Cowgirls did it by taking the ball inside and cutting to the basket, most of the time by Archer. Billinger noted that his team had a tough time stopping that play, mainly because of lack of communication.

"I told them at halftime we just weren't doing a good enough job talking, of communicating on the back side of that zone," Billinger said.

Stramel and Schippers added 10 points each for TMP-Marian, while Archer led Goodland with 17 points.