Post-break surge: Two wins leave Panthers 6-1 since the holidays

     Things keep rolling for the Monticello High School girls basketball team, which picked up two more River Valley Conference girls basketball wins last week.

     The Panthers (10-3, 12-4) have won four games in a row, and six of seven since the holiday break. Last week’s conquests included a 54-50 home win over Camanche Jan. 16, and a 71-52 win at Mid-Prairie Jan. 19.

     “Since break, the girls have stepped up their game and played hard,” Monticello coach Donnie Kremer said. “They believe they are never out of any game, and know they must play at their own level each game.”

     Against Camanche, the Panthers trailed for much of the first half. They were down 17-12 after one quarter, and the teams traded leads throughout the second quarter, with the Indians leading 25-23 at the break.

     Monticello took the lead in the third quarter. The Panthers went on an 11-3 run, including an offensive rebound and three-pointer from the corner by Maddie Fellinger, and led 34-28. A three-pointer by Lauren Ries moments later made it a 37-30 game, but Camanche scored the last eight points of the quarter to lead 38-37 with eight minutes to play.

     The Panthers took control in the fourth, going on an 11-1 run to lead 48-39 with 2:30 to play.

     “We were able to execute the offense and get some easy looks at the basket,” Kremer said. “We were also able to get some easy transition buckets after a rebound.”

     Camanche nailed three shots from beyond the arc in the final two minutes, getting as close as 52-50 with 15.3 seconds to play, but two free throws by Fellinger with 10.4 seconds left made it a four-point game.

     The Indians still had a foul to give, so Monticello took advantage by fouling with 7.2 seconds to go. A last-second three-pointer by Camanche missed the mark.

     Ries finished with 16 points, Fellinger had 10, Taylor McDonald had nine, Jordan Kuper had eight, Sydney Hansen scored six and Carly Hayen had five. Taylor McDonald had four assists, and Fellinger had three. The Panthers blocked three shots, one each by Kuper, Ries and Hayen.

     Rebounding was a big factor; the Panthers outrebounded Camanche 40-18, led by Kuper with 13 and Ries with nine.

     At Mid-Prairie, the Panthers trailed 32-27 at halftime, but outscored the Golden Hawks 44-20 in the second half.

     “We did a much better job in the second half of taking care of the ball, and we executed on the offensive end very well,” the coach said. “We also did a very nice job of creating turnovers that led to easy scoring opportunities.”

     Ries scored 21 points in that game, shooting 7-for-9 from the field, including 3-for-4 from three-point range. Kuper had 16 points and eight rebounds. McDonald had 13 points, nine assists and four steals. Felinger had seven points, six rebounds and three steals.

Jan. 16

Cam.    17  8  13 12 – 50

Monti   12 11  14 17 – 54

     CAMANCHE (50) – Lea Lefebure 2-8 0-0 4, Madi Parson 5-6 0-0 12, Sami Puckett 3-12 1-2 9, Hanna Nissen 2-8 0-0 5, Marly Bussa 7-16 0-0 20, Camaryn Carstensen 0-2 0-0 0, Emily McElroy 0-0 0-0 0, Paige Waltz 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-52 1-2 50.

     MONTICELLO (54) – Taylor McDonald 2-5 4-4 9, Maddie Fellinger 3-7 2-2 10, Sydney Hansen 3-7 0-0 6, Lauren Ries 6-12 1-4 16, Jordan Kuper 1-7 6-8 8, Caitlyn Cruise 0-1 0-0 0, Carly Hayen 2-2 0-0 5, Meredith Melchert 0-0 0-0 0, Lydia Franzenburg 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-41 13-18 54.

     Three-pointers: Bussa 6, Parson 2, Puckett 2, Nissen; Ries 3, Fellinger 2, Ta. McDonald, Hayen.

     Rebounds: Monticello 40 (Kuper 13, Ries 9), Camanche 18.

Jan. 19

Monti     16 11  21  23 – 71

M-P        17 15    9  11 – 52

     MONTICELLO (71) – Taylor McDonald 3-7 7-8 13, Maddie Fellinger 2-3 2-2 7, Lauren Ries 7-9 4-7 21, Maddie Lambert 2-4 4-4 8, Jordan Kuper 4-11 8-11 16, Caitlyn Cruise 0-0 2-2 2, Savanah Kremer 0-1 2-2 2, Meredith Melchert 0-0 2-2 2, Aspen Gillmore 0-0 0-0 0, Tori McDonald 0-0 0-0 0, Sydney Hansen 0-0 0-0 0, Lydia Franzenburg 0-0 0-0 0, Emmi Sampson 0-0 0-0 0, Carly Hayen 0-2 0-0 0, Marissa Recker 0-0 0-0 0, Gabrielle Steiner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-37 31-38 71.

     MID-PRAIRIE (52) – Addie Rath 9-12 1-4 19, Phelan Hostetler 3-5 2-2 8, Anna Vilovchik 3-9 0-1 7, Myah Lugar 2-6 0-0 6, Delaney Smith 2-9 0-0 6, Shaw Becker 2-5 0-0 4, Kessa Jones 1-1 0-0 2, Abby Frantz 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-48 3-7 52.

     Three-pointers: Ries 3, Fellinger; Lugar 2, Smith 2, Vilovchik.

     Rebounds: Monticello 33 (Kuper 8, Fellinger 6, McDonald 5), Mid-Prairie 21.

     Total fouls: Mid-Prairie 22, Monticello 13.