Panther performances lead to quarterfinal win, semifinal loss at State

     Monticello girls basketball coach Donnie Kremer put it in perspective, after the Panthers’ impressive season ended in the state Class 3A semifinals at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

     “As I told the girls, to lose down here is better than losing and not getting to play down here,” Kremer said.

     Monticello, ranked ninth at the end of the regular season, both won and lost at this year’s state tournament, beating fifth-ranked Clear Lake 61-50 in the quarterfinal round Feb. 27, and losing to second-ranked Sioux Center 65-57 in the March 1 semifinals.

     “We wanted to come down here and make a good showing, and I think we did that,” Panther senior Taylor McDonald said. “I think we made Monticello proud.”

     Coach Kremer agreed: “We’ve come down here other times and played well one game, but never put two together, and I thought in both games we played probably our best ball of the year.”

     Here is a look at the Panthers’ two state tournament games of 2018.

STATE QUARTERFINALS

MONTICELLO 61,

CLEAR LAKE 50

     Lauren Ries scored 22 points to surpass the career 1,000-point mark, Jordan Kuper added 15 points and 10 rebounds, Taylor McDonald had 14 points, and the Monticello Panthers made a first half lead hold up throughout the second half in a 61-50 quarterfinal win over Clear Lake in the State Girls Basketball Tournament Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 27.

     Monticello’s all-around game, scoring both inside and on the perimeter, was a factor in the victory.

     “(It was a) huge advantage,” Ries said, “because they didn’t really have anyone that could match up to our posts, Jordan especially. So that really helped us. And on defense we were able to switch screens, and there was never a mismatch, so we could guard anyone on the floor, all five of us, at any time.”

     It also helped the Panthers that they were ahead from the mid-first quarter on.

     “I think it calmed their nerves a lot, kept them focused, and they did some nice things,” Monticello coach Donnie Kremer said.

     “We treated it as any other game,” Kuper said. “And when we play as a team, we always do a lot better.

     Monticello trailed just twice in the game, 3-2 and 7-6 in the first quarter. But when Ries made the first of her three, three-point baskets to give the Panthers a 9-7 lead, Monticello led the rest of the way. It was just a one-point lead after one quarter, 15-14, but the Panthers opened it to 33-26 by halftime.

     Clear Lake made some runs at the Panthers in the second half. Monticello held a 37-30 lead before the Lions scored six straight in the third quarter to cut the margin to one.

     Ries answered with a three-point play, on a layup and a foul. The layup gave her 16 points for the game, and 1,000 for her career, and the free throw put her past that mark.

     “I know not many girls have done it at Monticello, so it’s a special thing,” Ries said. “And Taylor (McDonald) did it earlier in the season, so that’s pretty cool.”

     The Lions closed it to 40-38 with 3:03 left in the third quarter, but the Panthers answered again, with two free throws from Ries and a three-point basket from Maddie Lambert.

     Clear Lake’s last run was in the middle of the fourth quarter, when it made back-to-back three-pointers to pull within three, 51-48. But the Panthers finished on a 10-2 run – including six consecutive free throws by Taylor McDonald – to seal the win. McDonald finished 8-for-8 at the line.

     “If they were going to make runs, we had to answer their runs,” Kremer said. “That’s what quality teams do.”

     “We just stayed calm,” Ries added.

     Taylor McDonald finished with five assists. Ries had four steals.

STATE SEMIFINALS

SIOUX CENTER 65,

MONTICELLO 57

     Second-ranked Sioux Center shot 11-for-26 from three-point range, held off several Monticello rallies, and ended the Panthers' girls basketball season with a 65-57 win in the state Class 3A semifinals Thursday, March 1 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

     “We just gave it everything we had to the very end,” senior Taylor McDonald said. “We never stopped until the buzzer sounded, I know that.”

     This game was very much the opposite of Monticello's quarterfinal win over Clear Lake Tuesday. This time, the Panthers fell behind and got close several times. And this time, Sioux Center was the one answering those rallies while staying ahead.

     “Every time we got within two or four, they seemed to hit a shot and get it back to seven,” senior Lauren Ries said.

     It put a damper on an outstanding performance by senior guard Taylor McDonald, who scored 26 points.

     “I just gave it everything I had, just trying to do everything I could for my team,” McDonald said.

     The loss also ended a string of giant-killer wins for the Panthers, who had knocked off fourth-ranked Osage to get to State, then beat No. 5 Clear Lake in the quarterfinals.

     “I can’t fault our effort,” Monticello coach Donnie Kremer said. “Our effort was awesome. We never gave up, we attacked, got easy looks. I thought they played well as a group, as a team. It didn’t matter who I put in. They all worked together.”

     Early on, Monticello took a 5-4 lead on a three-point basket by Maddie Fellinger. Sioux Center scored the next six points to take a 10-5 lead, and led 15-14 after one quarter.

     Jordan Kuper scored off a pass from McDonald to give the Panthers a 16-15 lead early in the third quarter, but that was the last time the Panthers led. The Warriors hit a pair of three-pointers as part of an 8-0 run. Monticello closed to within two, 33-31, on a three-pointer from McDonald with 35 seconds left in the first half, but Sioux Center scored the last five points of the first half to grab a 38-31 halftime lead.

     The Warriors then opened the margin to 10 to start the third quarter. Fellinger scored off a pass from Kuper, and McDonald converted a three-point play, pulling the Panthers to a 45-40 deficit with 3:08 left in the third quarter. Neither team scored again in the period, as relentless pressure defense on both ends kept each team off the scoreboard.

     “Their defense is a lot more aggressive than the (other) ones we’ve played,” Sioux Center junior Victoria Rensink said after the game. “They came with a lot of pressure. A lot of teams don’t get up in our face the way we get up in theirs. Just the way they pressure is something different for us.

     “They’re a really good team.”

     The fourth quarter was a mix of Monticello getting close, and Sioux Center opening up the lead again. A basket by Kuper pulled the Panthers within 45-42, but a three-pointer by Jordyn Van Mannen extended the Warrior lead to six.

     Two free throws by McDonald and a steal, drive and layup by Kuper made it a 53-51 game with three minutes to play, but the Warriors answered again, with a three-pointer by Lexi Toering and a basket by Rensink.

     After McDonald’s third three-pointer of the game cut the margin to four with 1:54 to play, Rensink hit a three, and then scored after a Sioux Center steal, and the Warriors led 63-54 with 1:09 left.

     A free throw by Kuper and a basket by Ries trimmed the deficit to 63-57 with 3:48 to play, but two free throws by Shayla Post with 22.3 seconds left sealed it for Sioux Center.

     Kuper had her second double-double of the tournament, scoring 11 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. She also blocked five shots. Ries finished with eight points. McDonald had three blocks and two steals.

     The loss ended the season for the Panthers, who finished 20-6, including 13-4 in the River Valley Conference.

     It was the final game for seniors McDonald, Ries, Maddie Lambert, Caitlyn Cruise, Savanah Kremer and Meredith Melchert.

     “It’s really hard to lose these seniors,” Kuper said.

     “It’s a very talented group of seniors,” Kremer said. “They’ve done a lot for our program. We had a four-year starter, a three-year starter, a two-year starter; two 1,000-point scorers, including one who did it in three years (Ries), the first one in my coaching era that did that. That’s pretty awesome.”

Feb. 27

State Class 3A

Quarterfinal

(at Wells Fargo Arena,

Des Moines)

Monti     15 18 12 14 – 61

Cl. Lake 14 12 14 10 – 50

     MONTICELLO (61) – Taylor McDonald 2-9 8-8 14, Maddie Fellinger 0-2 0-0 0, Lauren Ries 7-10 5-6 22, Maddie Lambert 3-5 0-2 7, Jordan Kuper 6-11 2-4 15, Caitlyn Cruise 1-1 0-0 2, Carly Hayen 0-1 1-2 1, Gabrielle Steiner 0-0 0-0 0, Sydney Hansen 0-0 0-0 0, Savanah Kremer 0-0 0-0 0, Meredith Melchert 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-39 16-22 61.

     CLEAR LAKE (50) – Sara Faber 5-12 1-2 12, Chloe Mueller 1-6 0-0 3, Gretchen Jones 0-2 0-0 0, Lexi Fasbender 4-5 0-0 10, Jordyn Barragy 8-19 2-2 20, Ali Maulsby 1-2 0-0 3, Zoe Fasbender 0-3 2-2 2, Julie Merfeld 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-50 5-6 50.

     Three-pointers: Ries 3, Ta. McDonald 2, Kuper, Lambert; L. Fasbender 2, Barragy 2, Faber, Mueller, Maulsby.

     Rebounds: Monticello 29 (Kuper 10), Clear Lake 27.

     Total fouls: Clear Lake 16, Monticello 8.

March 1

State Class 3A

Semifinal

(at Wells Fargo Arena,

Des Moines)

Monti         14 17  9 17 – 57

Sioux Ctr. 15 23  7 20 – 65

     MONTICELLO (57) – Taylor McDonald 9-19 5-8 26, Maddie Fellinger 1-2 1-2 4, Lauren Ries 3-14 1-1 8, Maddie Lambert 2-7 0-0 4, Jordan Kuper 5-9 1-2 11, Carly Hayen 1-2 0-0 2, Gabrielle Steiner 1-2 0-0 2, Sydney Hansen 0-0 0-0 0, Caitlyn Cruise 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-55 8-13 57.

     SIOUX CENTER (65) – Victoria Rensink 5-11 1-3 13, Jordyn Van Mannen 4-12 3-4 13, Camryn Cleveringa 2-6 0-1 5, Shayla Post 4-10 3-6 14, Lexi Toering 7-12 1-3 18, Dana Den Herder 1-3 0-0 2, Sydney Gesink 0-0 0-0 0, Alyssa Mulder 0-2 0-0 0, Hope Arends 0-1 0-0 0, Mandy Sitzmann 0-0 0-0 0, Aftyn Vermeer 0-0 0-0 0, Kacey Hulshof 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-57 8-17 65.

     Three-pointers: Ta. McDonald 3, Fellinger, Ries; Post 3, Toering 3, Rensink 2, Van Mannen 2, Cleveringa.

     Rebounds: Monticello 37 (Kuper 13), Sioux Center 37.