Monti JV ends season 16-4

     Monticello split two games to close out the junior varsity girls basketball season last week, finishing 14-3 against River Valley Conference opponents and 16-4 overall.

     “We played and beat some very good teams,” Monticello coach Chuck Welsch said. “I was very happy with what we accomplished. The girls improved throughout the year. It’s a great group of young ladies; it was a pleasure and honor to coach them.”

     Included in the season record were wins over previously unbeaten Iowa City Regina and North Linn, a win over Maquoketa Valley (one loss coming into the game), and two losses to Cascade, which finished undefeated.

     The Panthers started the week with a 34-24 loss at Cascade Jan. 31. It was a three-point game with five minutes to play until the Cougars pulled away. Scoring for Monticello were Caitlyn Cruise with six points, Jaelynn Kraus with five, Sydney Hansen and Emily Schlarmann with four apiece, Lydia Franzenburg and Carly Hayen with two, and Aspen Gillmore with one.

     Monticello ended its season with a victory, beating Tipton 45-18 at home as Hayen scored 12 points and Cruise had 11. Gabrielle Steiner scored seven points, Kraus had six, Gillmore had four, Hansen added three, while Marissa Recker and Schlarmann had one apiece.

     “We ended the year on a very high note,” Welsch said. “Everyone played well on both ends of the court.”