Panthers start out 3-0

   Three starts. Three wins.

   Monticello began the girls basketball season in impressive fashion, taking down three opponents in the space of five days.

   Included were a 56-33 victory at Tipton Nov. 29, a 60-50 pull-away triumph in the home opener against West Branch Dec. 2, and a 60-51 win at Western Dubuque Dec. 3 in Epworth.

   “We have done a pretty good job of keeping our heads up and pushing forward,” Monticello coach Donnie Kremer said. “I think we have distributed the ball very well and have made some shots. We have done a decent job of defending as well.”

   At Tipton, Monticello edged to a 23-17 halftime lead, then outscored the Tigers 26-12 in the third period to break the game open.

   “We settled down, and our defensive pressure caused turnovers that led into easy fast break points,” Kremer said.

   Indeed the Tigers made 35 turnovers for the game, as the Panthers recorded 21 steals, including seven by Jayden Kuper and four by Jaelyn Aitchison.

   Kuper established herself as the front-runner for team scoring honors, racking up 27 points on 11-for-25 shooting from the field. Freshman Kennedy Hermsen came off the bench to add 13 points, shooting 5-for-10 from the field. Brea Stahlberg had eight rebounds, and Katie Roher made six assists.

   The Panthers had more of a battle on their hands Friday against West Branch. The Bears led 18-13 at halftime before Monticello outscored them 47-32 in the second half.

   “We did not shoot well in the first half,” coach Kremer said. “We were rushing shots and not staying with the offense.”

   Kuper sparked the Panthers in the second half, and finished with 32 points.

   “Jayden had a really impressive second half; one of the best performances I have seen in a long time,” the coach said. “She took over and got everyone involved. Her energy sparked us in the second half.”

   Kuper shot 13-for-30 from the field, and grabbed 10 rebounds to complete a double-double. She also had six steals.

   Roher had seven points. Keziah McQuillen made six assists.

   Monticello had to come right back and play Saturday at Western Dubuque, and scored a 60-51 win.

   Unlike the Panthers’ first two games of the week, when a big second half propelled them to victory each time, at Western Dubuque Monticello’s strong start likely made the difference.

   The Panthers took a 19-11 lead in the first quarter, and led the rest of the way.

   “We did a really good job of getting off to a good start,” coach Kremer said. “They went box-and-one on Jayden early and we as a team stepped up and knocked down some open shots. We made our free throws down the stretch, which really helped. This was a team effort from start to finish.”

   Kuper had 22 points, six rebounds and six steals. Stahlberg had eight points and 10 rebounds. McQuillen had nine points and three assists. Aitchison had six points and five rebounds. Hermsen scored 12 points.

Nov. 29

Monti   11 12  26  7 – 56

Tipton    7 10  12  5 – 34

     MONTICELLO (56) – Keziah McQuillen 0-1 1-2 1, Jaelyn Aitchison 1-4 4-4 7, Katie Roher 1-4 0-0 3, Jayden Kuper 11-25 1-2 27, Brea Stahlberg 0-5 2-2 2, Kennedy Hermsen 5-10 0-0 13, Hailey Henderson 1-1 0-0 3, Reagan Schneiter 0-4 0-0 0, Bella Mullen 0-2 0-0 0, Sami McElmeel 0-2 0-0 0, Halle Recker 0-1 0-0 0, Natalie Henderson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-59 8-10 56.

     Three-pointers – Kuper 4, Hermsen 3, Aitchison, Roher, H. Henderson.

     Rebounds – Tipton 32, Monticello 26 (Stahlberg 8).

     Assists – Monticello 16 (Roher 6, Aitchison 3, Kuper 3), Tipton 9.

     Steals – Monticello 21 (Kuper 7, Aitchison 4, McQuillen 3), Tipton 5.

     Blocks – Tipton 5, Monticello 0.

     Total fouls – Monticello 12, Tipton 9.

     Turnovers – Tipton 35, Monticello 10.

Dec. 2

WB         10   8 10 22 – 50

Monti     10   3 17 30 – 60

     MONTICELLO (60) – Keziah McQuillen 0-2 3-6 3, Jaelyn Aitchison 1-4 3-4 5, Katie Roher 3-4 1-1 7, Jayden Kuper 13-30 4-5 32, Brea Stahlberg 2-6 1-4 5, Hailey Henderson 1-2 1-4 4, Kennedy Hermsen 1-3 0-0 2, Reagan Schneiter 1-4 0-0 2, Halle Recker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-55 13-24 60.

     Three-pointers – Kuper 2, H. Henderson.

     Rebounds – Monticello 33 (Kuper 10).

     Assists – Monticello 12 (McQuillen 6).

     Steals – Monticello 16 (Kuper 6, Hermsen 5, Roher 3).

     Blocks – Monticello 0. 

     Total fouls – Monticello 17.

     Turnovers – Monticello 20.

Dec. 3

Monti     19  9 12 20 – 60

W. Dbq. 11  9 12 19 – 51

     MONTICELLO (60) – Keziah McQuillen 3-7 3-4 9, Jaelyn Aitchison 0-5 6-6 6, Katie Roher 1-3 0-0 3, Jayden Kuper 7-17 7-9 22, Brea Stahlberg 3-3 2-7 8, Kennedy Hermsen 4-11 1-2 12, Reagan Schneiter 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-46 19-28 60.

     Three-pointers – Hermsen 3, Roher, Kuper.

     Rebounds – Monticello 39 (Stahlberg 10, Kuper 6, Aitchison 5), Western Dubuque 33.

     Assists – Monticello 9 (McQuillen 3, Roher 2, Kuper 2), Western Dubuque 9.

     Steals – Monticello 12 (Kuper 6, Stahlberg 3), Western Dubuque 8.

     Blocks – Western Dubuque 1, Monticello 0.

     Total fouls – Western Dubuque 22, Monticello 15.

     Turnovers – Monticello 15, Western Dubuque 13.