Quick starts lead to Panther wins

GIRLS BASKETBALL

     Early leads helped the Monticello High School girls basketball team pick up two more River Valley Conference wins last week.

     The Panthers led Camanche 8-0 early in a Tuesday, Dec. 6 game in Monticello, which Monti won 47-45. On Dec. 9 at North Cedar, Monticello rode an early 7-0 advantage to a 58-55 win.

     On Tuesday, Monticello outscored Camanche 17-10 in the fourth quarter, as Rylee Warthen scored the winning basket on a put-back with 32 seconds to play.

     “This team never gets really rattled,” Monticello coach Donnie Kremer said. “They just continue to play hard and battle. They have complete confidence that they will get the job done if they play hard and play as a team.”

     Monticello trailed for much of the Camanche game. The Panthers took an early 8-0 lead, but only led 13-12 by the end of the first quarer. Camanche went on a 13-3 run in the second quarter to take a 25-16 lead, but the Panthers closed to within two, 28-26, by halftime.

     The Indians then inched to a 35-30 lead after three quarters, and led 37-34 with 6:30 to play.

     That was when the Panther rally began, a 10-2 run with Lauren Ries scoring all 10 Panther points, on a pair of three-point shots and four free throws.

     Ries, who finished with a team-high 17 points, scored five of those in an unusual situation. She drained a three-pointer from the left corner, and then was fouled after the shot. She went to the line for a 1-and-1 and sank both free throws, essentially making it a five-point play that put the Panthers up 41-39.

     Camanche worked the game back to a 45-45 tie. After Warthen’s go-ahead basket, the Indians had one more chance with 1.8 seconds to play. Warthen came up big again, tipping the in-bound pass to teammate Shay Stephen, and the game was over.

     A key to the game was slowing down Camanche’s Courtney Schnoor, who was dominant in scoring 14 points in the first half but was held to just two over the final two quarters.

     “We took away the high-low they were running on us,” Kremer said. “We did not allow her to set up and pin us for easy buckets like she did in the first half.”

     For the Panthers, Warthen finished with nine points and Taylor McDonald had seven. Shay Stephen led the team in assists and steals with four in each category.

     On Friday, Dec. 9, the Panthers traveled to Clarence to play North Cedar. A strong start enabled Monticello to hold the lead for most of the game, and it held on for a 58-55 victory.

     “We got out to a 7-0 lead early,” Kremer said. “We executed the offense very well and got great looks at the basket. I thought we did a great job taking care of the basketball, and distributed the ball very well.”

     The Panthers led by as many as 14 early in the third quarter, thanks to a defense that held the Knights scoreless for five minutes in that period.

     In the fourth quarter, however, North Cedar came back and made it close.

     “North Cedar shot the ball very well in the fourth quarter,” the coach said. “I thought we rushed some shots late, and had some turnovers that led to easy buckets.”

     It was a big game for Stephen, who shot 5-for-10 from the field and totaled 15 points, along with four rebounds and four assists. Taylor McDonald shot 5-for-7 from the field and had 14 points, to go along with three assists and three steals. Ries also had 14 points. Maddie Lambert and Warthen added six apiece.

     Free throws made a big difference; the Panthers were 13-for-15 from the line. Ries made all five of her attempts.

Anamosa rescheduled

     Monticello was scheduled to play at Anamosa Dec. 10, but the game was postponed due to inclement weather. It has been rescheduled for Thursday, Jan. 19.

Dec. 6

Cam     12  16    7  10 – 45

Monti   13  13    4  17 – 47

     CAMANCHE (45) – Lea Lefebure 6-10 0-0 12, Sami Puckett 0-5 0-3 0, Marly Bussa 5-14 0-0 15, Alexandra 0-6 0-0 0, Courtney Schnoor 7-12 2-2 16, Hanna Nissen 1-4 0-0 2, Madi Parson 0-0 0-0 0, Paige Waltz 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-52 2-5 45.

     MONTICELLO (47) – Taylor McDonald 3-12 1-4 7, Shay Stephen 2-9 0-0 6, Lauren Ries 5-13 4-5 17, Maddie Lambert 2-6 1-4 5, Rylee Warthen 3-10 3-4 9, Jacqueline Petersen 1-2 0-0 3, Rileigh Lambert 0-1 0-0 0, Maddie Fellinger 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan Kuper 0-3 0-0 0, Carly Hayen 0-0 0-1 0, Caitlyn Cruise 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-56 9-18 47.

     Three-pointers: Bussa 5; Ries 3, Stephen 2, Petersen.

     Rebounds: Monticello 40 (Stephen 8, Ries 6, Warthen 5), Camanche 37.

Dec. 9

Monti    18  13  12  15 – 58

NC        14  13    7  21 – 55

     MONTICELLO (58) – Taylor McDonald 5-7 3-4 14, Shay Stephen 5-10 2-3 15, Lauren Ries 4-7 5-5 14, Maddie Lambert 2-3 2-2 6, Rylee Warthen 3-6 0-0 6, Jordan Kuper 1-3 1-1 3, Maddie Fellinger 0-2 0-0 0, Caitlyn Cruise 0-1 0-0 0, Jacqueline Petersen 0-0 0-0 0, Rileigh Lambert 0-0 0-0 0, Carly Hayen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-39 13-15 58.

     NORTH CEDAR (47) – Emily Hay 5-12 3-4 15, Lexi Crist 6-12 2-2 17, Kourtney Bendixen 0-2 0-0 0, Darby Hawtrey 3-6 2-4 8, Leah Crock 3-6 1-4 7, Tessa Fields 2-7 0-0 4, Grace Proesch 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 21-49 8-14 55.

     Three-pointers: Stephen 3, McDonald, Ries; Crist 3, Hay 2.

     Rebounds: North Cedar 28, Monticello 23 (Stephen 4, Ries 4, Kuper 4).

     Total fouls: Monticello 17, North Cedar 14.