Cascade, Regina fall to Monti JV

     The disappointment of a Jan. 4 loss at Cascade didn’t last long for the Monticello High School girls basketball team.

     Less than 24 hours later, the Panthers (7-4, 8-4) were back in the win column, with a 45-34 home victory over Iowa City Regina Saturday, Jan. 5.

     Overall, Monticello head coach Donnie Kremer said he thought both games – the Panthers lost 38-29 at Cascade – were strong performances.

     “I was extremely proud that we put together back-to-back solid games,” Kremer said. “Each game was a step better than the last game before break. We are making the correct strides as a team.”

     Jordan Kuper recorded a double-double in the Regina game, with 15 points and 13 rebounds. It helped the Panthers surge to a 16-point lead in the third quarter. After that, the Regals never got closer than a 10-point margin.

     It helped that the Panthers controlled the first half, opening a 21-11 lead over the first two quarters.

     “We executed our half-court offense very well, and defensively we had hands in the faces of their shooters,” the coach said.

     Sydney Hansen contributed nine points in the win, while Tori McDonald, Maddie Fellinger and Karli Recker each scored six. McDonald and Fellinger had four assists apiece.

     The Friday night game at Cascade was close until the final two minutes. The first half was a see-saw affair; the Panthers opened a 14-7 second quarter lead, only to see the Cougars rally for a 16-14 lead by halftime.

     The teams traded leads through most of the second half. Monticello led 27-22 after a three-point play by Hansen with 7:05 to play and two free throws by Gabrielle Guilford with 6:01 to play.

     Then, Cascade’s Nicole McDermott took over the game. She sank a trio of three-point shots, and also went 4-for-4 from the line for 13 fourth quarter points, part of her total of 23 points.

     It was part of a 16-2 run over the final six minutes of the game, enabling the Cougars to grab the nine-point win.

     “I thought defensively we did a great job until the last two minutes, when we lost Nicole,” Kremer said.

     Kuper had nine points and five rebounds in the Cascade game, while Hansen had seven points and six rebounds. McDonald made five assists and two steals.

     “I thought we controlled the tempo of the game and did not allow them to get fast break points,” Kremer said. “We need to communicate a little better and have confidence in our shooting.”

Jan. 4

Monti      7   7   8    7 – 29

Cascade 7   9   6 16 – 38

     MONTICELLO (29) – Tori McDonald 1-5 0-0 2, Maddie Fellinger 2-5 0-0 5, Sydney Hansen 2-2 1-1 7, Karli Recker 0-2 2-2 2, Jordan Kuper 4-9 1-6 9, Carly Hayen 1-4 0-0 2, Gabrielle Guilford 0-0 2-2 2, Gabrielle Steiner 0-2 0-0 0, Aspen Gillmore 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 11-30 6-11 29.

     CASCADE (38) – Nicole McDermott 23, Skylar Dolphin 5, Rachel Trumm 4, Ally Hoffman 6. Totals 12 8-9 38.

     Three-pointers: Fellinger; McDermott 4, Dolphin, Hoffman.

     Rebounds: Monticello 24 (Hansen 6, Kuper 5).

     Total fouls: Cascade 10, Monticello 9.

Jan. 5

Regina   6    5 10 13 – 34

Monti   11 10 10 14 – 45

     IOWA CITY REGINA (34) – Elly Gahan 0-1 0-0 0, Annie Gahan 4-13 3-4 13, Claire Gaarde 1-4 1-2 3, Kennedy Wallace 2-13 0-0 6, Sam Greving 5-10 0-0 12, Abby Clark 0-3 0-2 0, Steph Stenger 0-2 0-0 0, Lily Simpson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-46 4-8 34.

     Three-pointers: A. Gahan 2, Wallace 2, Greving 2.

     MONTICELLO (45) – Tori McDonald 2-4 2-2 6, Maddie Fellinger 2-5 0-0 6, Sydney Hansen 4-6 0-0 9, Karli Recker 2-6 0-0 6, Jordan Kuper 7-17 1-5 15, Carly Hayen 1-4 0-0 2, Gabrielle Steiner 0-2 1-2 1, Aspen Gillmore 0-0 0-0 0, Gabrielle Guilford 0-2 0-0 0, Emily Schlarmann 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-46 4-9 45.

     Rebounds: Regina 33, Monticello 33 (Kuper 13).

     Total fouls: Regina 15, Monticello 9.