3-0

GIRLS BASKETBALL

     Monticello used the same approach in a pair of River Valley Conference girls basketball games last week, finding ways to pull away in the second half.

     That’s how the Panthers were able to up their season record to 3-0, all in conference games, by winning a pair of RVC road games. Monticello made a fourth quarter run to beat Northeast 36-28 Nov. 29 in Goose Lake, and inched away in the second half of a Dec. 2 game at West Branch to win 61-45.

     At Northeast, Monticello coach Donnie Kremer said, “I thought we did a great job of communicating on defense and helping each other out. Plus we eliminated any dribble drive and second chance points.

     The teams traded leads throughout the first half. Monticello held the Rebels scoreless for more than four minutes to start the game, but Northeast was able to stay within one point, trailing 7-6, after one quarter.

     The see-saw battle continued in the second and third quarters, with Northeast holding a 14-13 advantage at halftime and the Panthers gaining a 25-24 edge after three periods.

     Northeast scored the first basket of the fourth quarter, but the Panthers then went on an 8-0 run to take a 33-26 lead with 1:33 to play. Lay-ups by Lauren Ries and Taylor McDonald, and a Ries pass to Jacqueline Petersen for another lay-up, keyed the rally.

     “We switched up our approach to their zone, and mixed up the defense on them,” Kremer said. “We were able to get some turnovers that let to easy buckets. I thought we did a great job during that stretch making the extra pass for an easy shot.”

     The Rebels scored to cut the marging to five with 1:16 to play, and got the ball back, but couldn’t score again. Two free throws by Rylee Warthen with 18.8 seconds left sealed the Panther win.

     Monticello had balanced scoring, with McDonald scoring 10 points, Ries and Warthen adding eight apiece. Warthen led the team in rebounds with eight, while Shay Stephen, McDonald and Ries had four each. McDonald and Stephen shared the assist lead with three apiece, and Ries had four steals.

     Against West Branch, Ries had an outstanding game, scoring 28 points as the Panthers gradually pulled away to a 61-45 win. Ries shot 11-for-14 from the field, including 4-for-7 from three-point range. She also led the team in rebounding with nine, and in steals with five.

     “Lauren played one of her best all-around games to this point of the season,” her coach said. “She shot the ball very well.”

     Monticello opened up a 30-22 lead by halftime.

     “I thought we did a great job of knocking shots down in the first half,” Kremer said. “I think our depth wore them down, because we just kept going faster and getting easy looks at the basket.”

     The Panthers then edged away in the second half for the 16-point win.

     “We distributed the ball very well in the second half,” the coach said. “We did a very good job of rebounding as well.”

     McDonald added 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Jordan Kuper came off the bench to score eight points. Maddie Lambert, Kuper and Warthen had five rebounds apiece. Caitlyn Cruise had three assists.

     This is the first of a pair of three-game weeks for the Panthers. Scheduled this week were the home opener against Camanche Dec. 6, and games at North Cedar Dec. 9 and at Anamosa Dec. 10.

     “We just try to focus on the game at hand and make sure we are enjoying what we are doing,” Kremer said. “If they are not enjoying or having fun, then it can be a grind.”

Nov. 29

Monti     7     6   12  11 – 36

N’east    6     8   10    4  – 28

     MONTICELLO (36) – Taylor McDonald 3-10 3-4 10, Shay Stephen 1-2 2-2 4, Lauren Ries 4-8 0-1 8, Maddie Lambert 1-2 1-2 3, Rylee Warthen 3-4 2-2 8, Jacqueline Petersen 1-2 2-2 4, Maddie Fellinger 0-2 0-0 0, Carly Hayen 0-2 0-2 0, Jordan Kuper 0-1 0-0 0, Rileigh Lambert 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-36 8-13 36.

     NORTHEAST (28) – Jacey House 0-3 0-0 0, Casidy Dondiego 2-3 0-0 4, Shawna McAleer 2-13 0-0 5, Brenna Seeser 3-6 0-0 6, Madlyn Maczinski 4-7 1-1 11, Jayna Farrell 1-1 0-0 2, Carly Hasken 0-3 0-0 0, Tonita Webster 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 12-38 1-1 28.

     Three-pointers: McDonald, Stephen; Kaczinski 2, McAleer.

     Rebounds: Northeast 25, Monticello 24 (Warthen 8).

     Total fouls: Northeast 15, Monticello 7.

Dec. 2

Monti   11  19 13 18 – 61

W. Br.    9  13   8  15 – 45

     MONTICELLO (61) – Taylor McDonald 2-7 7-8 11, Shay Stephen 2-5 0-0 4, Lauren Ries 11-14 2-3 28, Maddie Lambert 2-4 0-0 4, Rylee Warthen 2-3 0-2 4, Jordan Kuper 3-6 2-3 8, Maddie Fellinger 1-2 0-0 2, Jacqueline Petersen 0-2 0-0 0, Carly Hayen 0-1 0-0 0, Rileigh Lambert 0-0 0-0 0, Caitlyn Cruise 0-0 0-1 0, Macy McDonough 0-0 0-0 0, Paige Holub 0-0 0-0 0, Savanah Kremer 0-0 0-0 0, Meredith Melchert 0-0 0-0 0, Anna Loes 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-44 11-17 61.

     WEST BRANCH (45) – Abbey Fryauf 1-6 0-0 2, Paige Miller 3-6 0-0 6, Abby Knoop 2-4 1-1 5, Tatum Koenig 7-23 3-4 18, Haley Mullinix 4-16 2-2 14, Claire Bridges 0-7 0-0 0, Riley Vaughn 0-1 0-0 0, Allie Waterman 0-1 0-0 0, Mackenzie Heise 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 17-66 6-7 45.

     Three-pointers: Ries 4; Mullinix 4, Koenig.

     Rebounds: Monticello 38 (Ries 9, McDonald 7), West Branch 33.

     Total fouls: West Branch 15, Monticello 10.