Morgan Academy head coach Jennifer Moore has said all season that she wanted her team to keep working so that it would be playing well at the right time of the season.

Now that the playoffs are here, the Senators seem to be peaking.

Morgan Academy opened up the Class AA, Region 2 tournament on Monday with a 25-7, 25-11, and 25-14 win over Pickens Academy.

“I told them play time was over and that it was time to work towards our goal,” Moore said. “We really want to get back to the final four and in order to do that we had to play consistently.”

Moore said her team had great communication and movement in the win.

“They were talking really well, especially the first game,” Moore said. “Everyone was moving and talking to each other. They were calling plays and actually executing plays. They were patient, which is something we had a weakness in all year.”

Following Monday’s victory, the Senators will continue their march towards a state championship Tuesday at Tuscaloosa Academy, where the remainder of the Class AA, Region 2 tournament will be held. If Morgan Academy wins their first game against Monday’s Kingwood-Autauga winner, the Senators will advance to the final four.

Although a region championship would be nice, Moore understands just how important the first game Tuesday is.

“I told them that it is all about that first game. I’m not worried about that second game,” Moore said. “I’m only worried about the first game. We have to get past that one to get to the region championship.”

All season, Moore has hinted that her team just needed to start playing well at the right time. After a rocky start to the season, Moore said her team is starting to play well now as the games start to be more meaningful.

“They’ve had some really good practices lately,” Moore said. “I think last week might have actually been good for us, playing the two hard teams that we did. It only makes you better.”

The Senators play the first game Tuesday at 12 p.m. If Morgan makes the regional championship game, they will play at 4 p.m.