Panther JV downs Durant

Junior varsity

     Monticello opened the new year with a convincing junior varsity girls basketball win over Durant, 50-16, Jan. 3 in Monticello.

     “Balanced scoring and good team defense were keys to the victory,” Monticello coach Chuck Welsch said.

     Jaelyn Aitchison led the way with 11 points, and Katie Roher had nine points and five steals. Mia Jaeger made a pair of three-point shots and finished with six points. Emma Hynick and Kayla Simmons had five points apiece. Brea Stahlberg had four points and four rebounds. Piper Hansen had four points and four assists. Elise Kehoe also scored four points, and Madison Butterworth added two.

     The Panthers are 9-1.

Eighth-grade team

     The Monticello eighth-grade girls’ basketball team faced four opponents to close out its season, with the A team winning all four and the B team going 1-2-1.

     On Dec. 9, the Panthers played host to Bellevue. The A team won 30-17, as Keziah McQuillen scored 10 points. Marissa Kehoe and Kinzi Schlarmann scored seven points apiece, and Sami McElmeel added six.

     Monticello lost the B game 27-24. Panther scorers were Lauren Verhagen with 10 points, Abby Sharlow with six, Jordan Fangmann with five, and Rylee Kraus with three.

     At home against Anamosa  Dec. 10, the Panthers swept both games. Monticello won the A game 30-17, led by McQuillen with 10 points, Kehoe and Schlarmann with seven apiece, and McElmeel with six.

     The Panthers also won the B game, 26-14. Kraus and Sharlow scored eight points apiece, Verhagen added six, while Gabi Barnhart and Michelle Stoll each had two.

     Next, the Panthers played host to Northeast of Goose Lake, winning the A game 31-20. McElmeel scored eight points, McQuillen added four, Kehoe and Schlarmann had three apiece, and Verhagen chipped in with two.

     The B game ended in a 24-24 tie. For the Panthers, Sharlow and Verhagen had eight points apiece, Fangmann scored five and Kraus added three.

     Monticello split two games at home against Camanche Dec. 16. The A team won 44-16, as McElmeel led the way with 16 points. Kehoe added eight, Lacie Koppes had six, McQuillen and Sharlow had five points each, and Fangmann had two.

     The B team lost 6-5. Kaitlyn Weber and Sharlow had two points apiece; Barnhart added one.