JV Panthers blitz three opponents

Junior varsity

     Monticello added three more double-digit wins to its junior varsity girls basketball resume last week, upping the Panthers’ record to 7-0 against River Valley Conference teams, 8-0 overall.

     It started with a 29-18 win at Anamosa Dec. 11.

     “It was a very hard-fought game. Not pretty at times,” Monticello coach Chuck Welsch said.

     Bronwyn Hodge led the Panthers in scoring with 12 points, and grabbed four rebounds. Karli Recker had seven points. Lydia Recker had six points, three assists and three rebounds. DeLainy Fellinger added four points.

     The Panthers played host to Tipton Dec. 14, and won 41-17, after taking a 20-4 halftime lead.

     “It was our best game of the year, against an undefeated Tipton team,” Welsch said. “The defense was outstanding, helping each other and playing with a lot of energy. (Assistant) coach Cory Recker did a great job working with the posts on post defense.”

     Hodge had 16 points, Karli Recker scored 13 points, including a trio of three-pointers, and had three assists and two steals. Fellinger had six points and five rebounds. Mallory Steiner scored three points, Kylee Van Dorn had two, and Kayla Simmons had one. Lydia Recker had five assists and three steals.

     The winning ways continued in a Dec. 15 home game against non-conference foe Midland. Monticello won 42-18, as Karli Recker made three more three-pointers and finished with 11 points, three rebounds and three assists. Lydia Recker had eight points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists. Hodge had eight points. Fellinger had six points, four rebounds and three assists. Emma Hynick added four points, Piper Hansen had three, and Emma Sperfslage score two. Van Dorn and Simmons had five rebounds each. Steiner made four steals.

     For the past two games, Monticello outrebounded its opponents by a total of 57-32.

Freshman team

     Monticello played a freshman girls basketball game at Anamosa Dec. 11, and lost by a score of 35-33. Mallory Steiner led the Panthers with 10 points, Emma Hynick scored seven, Kayla Simmons and Emma Sperfslage had six points apiece, while Piper Hansen and Kylee Van Dorn had two points each.