Panthers throttle West Branch, Anamosa
They were two wins that were important for the Monticello High School girls basketball team for different reasons – one because it came against one of the River Valley Conference’s top teams, the other because it was a rivalry game.
The first was a home win over West Branch, a team that is tied for the lead in the River Valley Conference South Division. The Panthers (13-2, 13-4) overcame the Bears 55-45, taking a 28-19 halftime lead, opening the margin to 20 in the third quarter, and then fighting off a late rally.
“We got off to a good start,” Monticello coach Donnie Kremer said. “The girls were mentally focused. We just needed to bottle up their shooters and take care of what we could on offense, and I thought we did that. I thought our inside game caused them trouble.”
Gabrielle Guilford had her best game of the season, scoring 23 points on 9-for-14 shooting from the field, and grabbing eight rebounds.
“Gabby played extremely well offensively and defensively,” Kremer said. “Their inability to stop her left hand was big for us.”
Jordan Kuper recorded a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Gabrielle Steiner scored eight points.
Monticello won on Friday also, defeating neighboring rival Anamosa 53-18.
“I thought we defended them way better than we did the first time,” the coach said. “Defensively I thought we played really solid. They had trouble finding open shots. Any time you hold a team to no more than five points a quarter, that’s a huge deal.”
The Panthers led 20-4 after one quarter and 29-9 at halftime.
Steiner led the way with 15 points.
“Gabby Steiner played really well,” Kremer said. “Defensively she causes a lot of fits with her length.”
Jan. 27
W. Branch 11 8 16 10 – 45
Monti 12 16 18 9 – 55
WEST BRANCH (45) – Mackenzie Heise 0-0 0-0 0, Sasha Koenig 3-15 1-2 9, Rylan Druecker 1-10 0-0 2, Kaiya Luneckas 1-3 1-4 3, Taylor Thein 3-8 0-0 8, Taya Young 4-14 1-1 11, Lexie Peak 2-2 0-0 6, Delaynie Luneckas 3-7 0-2 6. Totals 17-59 3-9 45.
MONTICELLO (55) – Gabrielle Steiner 3-6 2-4 8, Tori McDonald 1-2 1-4 3, Gabrielle Guilford 9-14 4-6 23, Karli Recker 1-4 2-2 5, Jordan Kuper 5-7 2-4 14, Carly Hayen 1-1 0-0 2, Emily Schlarmann 0-0 0-0 0, Lydia Recker 0-2 0-0 0, Bronwyn Hodge 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-36 11-20 55.
Three-pointers: Koenig 2, Thein 2, Peak 2, Young 2; Kuper 2, Guilford, K. Recker.
Rebounds: Monticello 34 (Kuper 14, Guilford 8), West Branch 30.
Total fouls: West Branch 17, Monticello 14.
Jan. 31
Anamosa 4 5 5 4 – 18
Monti 20 9 13 11 – 53
MONTICELLO (53) – Gabrielle Steiner 6-8 2-3 15, Tori McDonald 2-7 0-2 6, Gabrielle Guilford 2-3 3-4 7, Karli Recker 1-3 0-1 3, Jordan Kuper 5-11 1-1 12, Carly Hayen 2-4 2-2 6, Emily Schlarmann 0-0 0-0 0, Bronwyn Hodge 1-3 0-0 2, DeLainy Fellinger 0-1 1-2 1, Brea Stahlberg 0-2 1-2 1, Jaelyn Aitchison 0-1 0-0 0, Katie Roher 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-43 10-17 53.
Three-pointers: McDonald 2, Steiner, K. Recker, Kuper.
Rebounds: Monticello 42 (Kuper 11, Steiner 5, Hodge 5, Hayen 5).
Total fouls: Monticello 8.