Panthers drive to regional final, fall to top-rated D-NH

     A dominating run for the Monticello High School girls basketball team to the Class 3A, Region 5 championship game came to a halt Feb. 22 in Center Point, as the Panthers lost to top-rated Dike-New Hartford 54-38.

     The loss ended the season for the Panthers, who had enjoyed lopsided victories over Mount Vernon and Vinton-Shellsburg to climb within one win of a state tournament berth.

     “I am extremely happy with our season,” Monticello coach Donnie Kremer said. “We came a long way from the beginning of the year.”

     A 17-1 third quarter run for Dike-New Hartford, combined with Monticello’s 25 turnovers, contributed to the Wolverines’ victory.

     “We did not take very good care of the ball,” Kremer said, “and their full court pressure really rattled us.”

     The Panthers battled D-NH throughout the first half and the first minute of the third quarter. Karli Recker set the tone early, sinking a three-point basket just seconds into the game to give Monticello an early 3-0 edge.

     The teams traded leads for the rest of the quarter before the Wolverines took a 16-13 lead.

     D-NH opened a seven-point lead midway through the second period, but the Panthers held the Wolverines scoreless over the final four minutes of the half, and picked up a free throw from Gabrielle Guilford and a basket by Gabrielle Steiner. At the break, Monticello trailed by just four, 22-18.

     Less than a minute into the third quarter, the Panthers didn’t trail at all. Quick baskets by Steiner and Guilford tied the game 22-22.

     “The game plan was to take care of the ball, eliminate their second chance points, and stop their penetration,” Kremer said. “At various times in the game we did a good job of this.”

     Then Dike-New Hartford took over, outscoring the Panthers 17-1 over the next six minutes of playing time and taking a 39-23 lead.

     Jordan Kuper scored twice before the quarter ended, making it a 12-point margin.

     After D-NH regained a 15-point lead, the Panthers scored the next five points on two free throws by Guilford and a three-point basket by Tori McDonald. That made it 42-32 with just over six minutes to play, but the Panthers couldn’t bring the margin back to a single digit.

     The Wolverines then went on a 12-4 run over the next 3½ minutes to take an 18-point lead and seal the outcome.

     D-NH was led primarily by two players, Morgan Weber (22 points) and Ellie Foster (17).

     Guilford led the Panthers in scoring with 10 points, while Kuper had nine points and 10 rebounds. Karli Recker finished with six points. Steiner had five assists.

     The Panthers finished the season with a record of 18-6, including 16-3 in the River Valley Conference.

     “As a whole I thought these girls came together as a team, and that was why we were very successful,” the coach said. “Our last three losses were all to teams ranked number one.

     “I thought our group of seniors really stepped up their leadership this season,” Kremer added. “They put a lot of time and effort into basketball, and the results are evident. Jordan and Carly are four-year varsity players. Gabrielle (Steiner) is a three-year varsity player and Emily (Schlarmann) is a two-year varsity player. They have produced some memories that will last a lifetime. Their leadership will be missed.”

Panthers rout V-S

     Monticello had some fun prior to the regional final, scoring a convincing 47-20 win over Vinton-Shellsburg in the semifinals Feb. 19 in Monticello.

     The Panthers outscored the Vikettes in all four quarters, opening an 11-3 first quarter lead and surging to a 21-9 halftime margin.

     “I thought we moved very well with each pass and closed the gaps so they could not penetrate,” Kremer said. “By moving with the pass, we were able to get touches and steals that led to easy transition baskets.”

     Monticello led 32-17 after three quarters, then scored the first 13 points of the fourth quarter to break the game wide open. Ten of those points came on five consecutive layups by Panther players, from Guilford, Kuper (twice), Lydia Recker, and Guilford again. Carly Hayen contributed two free throws to cap that run.

     “I thought our execution in the fourth quarter was flawless,” the coach said. “We ran our offense very well and were able to get easy layups.”

     Kuper had a double-double in that game, with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Guilford finished with seven poings, three assists and two steals. Karli Recker and Hayen had six points apiece, and McDonald had five points, four assists and three steals. Steiner also had four assists.

Feb. 19

Class 3A

Region 5 Semifinal

(at Monticello)

V-S          5    4    8    3 – 20

Monti  11 10 11 15 – 47

     MONTICELLO (47) – Gabrielle Steiner 1-4 0-0 3, Tori McDonald 2-6 1-2 5, Gabrielle Guilford 3-9 1-1 7, Karli Recker 2-4 2-2 6, Jordan Kuper 8-12 1-1 17, Carly Hayen 2-2 2-2 6, Lydia Recker 1-4 0-0 2, Emily Schlarmann 0-0 1-3 1, DeLainy Fellinger 0-0 0-0 0, Bronwyn Hodge 0-2 0-0 0, Jaelyn Aitchison 0-0 0-0 0, Madison Butterworth 0-2 0-0 0, Katie Roher 0-1 0-0 0, Piper Hansen 0-0 0-0 0, Brea Stahlberg 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-46 8-11 47.

     Three-pointer: Steiner.

     Rebounds: Monticello 36 (Kuper 12, Steiner 7).

     Total fouls: Monticello 8.

Feb. 22

Class 3A

Region 5 Final

(at Center Point-Urbana)

Monti  13   5    9  11 – 38

D-NH   16   6  17 15 – 54

     MONTICELLO (38) – Gabrielle Steiner 2-6 0-0 4, Tori McDonald 1-6 2-2 5, Gabrielle Guilford 2-8 6-10 10, Karli Recker 2-7 0-0 6, Jordan Kuper 4-8 1-2 9, Lydia Recker 0-3 0-1 0, Carly Hayen 1-3 2-2 4, Emily Schlarmann 0-0 0-2 0, DeLainy Fellinger 0-0 0-0 0, Bronwyn Hodge 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-41 11-19 38.

     DIKE-NEW HARTFORD (54) – Ellie Foster 7-20 1-2 17, Morgan Weber 9-12 3-3 22, Katie Knock 3-9 0-0 7, Sophia Hoffmann 1-9 0-0 2, Jill Eilderts 0-3 0-0 0, Ellary Knock 0-4 4-6 4, Taylor Kvale 1-1 0-1 2, Abby Sohn 0-0 0-0 0, Taylro Hoehns 0-0 0-0 0, Chloe Schipper 0-0 0-0 0, Alli Fobian 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-58 8-12 54.

     Three-pointers: K. Recker 2, McDonald; Foster 2, Weber 1, K. Knock 1.

     Rebounds: Monticello 39 (Kuper 10), Dike-New Hartford 32.

     Total fouls: Dike-New Hartford 16, Monticello 11.