Strong starts lead to Panther wins


Lauren Ries takes a short jumper for Monticello in the Jan. 13 home game against Northeast. The following evening, Ries scored 30 points in a win at West Liberty. (Photos by Pete Temple)

Maddie Lambert drives toward the hoop for the Panthers.

Rylee Warthen of Monticello (40) looks to the hoop, guarded by Northeast’s Tonita Webster.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
By: 
Pete Temple
Express Sports Editor

     Two strong starts led to two River Valley Conference wins – and one particularly outstanding performance by Lauren Ries – in a pair of Panther girls basketball games last week.

     The story lines for the games – a 46-31 home win over Northeast of Goose Lake Jan. 13 and a 71-35 rout at West Liberty Jan. 14 – were pretty similar.       

     Against Northeast, the Panthers (8-3, 9-4) jumped to an 11-0 lead and held an 11-2 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

     At West Liberty, Monticello outscored the Comets 14-5 in the first quarter and 17-7 in the second.

     “We placed an emphasis on it (last) week,” Monticello coach Donnie Kremer said. “We talked about getting after it right from the beginning.”

     On Friday, the teams traded baskets in the second quarter, as Monticello took a 19-10 lead into halftime. But a 12-4 third quarter edge for the Panthers put the outcome beyond doubt.

     It was a marked difference from the first time the Panthers played Northeast, on Nov. 29. That one was close for three quarters before Monticello edged away to an eight-point win at the end.

     “The only thing different this time was that we played with more intensity and ran the floor better,” Kremer said. “We also rebounded much better than we have in the past.”

     Taylor McDonald led the Panthers in scoring with 15 points, while Rylee Warthen had nine. Shay Stephen led the team in rebounds with eight.

     Saturday was Lauren Ries’ night to shine. The junior shot 11-for-19 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free throw line on the way to 30 points, as the Panthers topped West Liberty. Ries also grabbed 10 rebounds to complete a double-double.

     “Lauren did a nice job finishing around the basket,” Kremer said. “She has been shooting really well. She was able to cause steals (Ries had three) that led to easy layup opportunities.”

     Monticello led 31-12 at halftime, then scored 26 third quarter points to put the game away.

     McDonald had 12 points, and Meredith Melchert came off the bench to score eight. Scoring five points apiece were Maddie Lambert, Jacqueline Petersen and Savanah Kremer. Stephen had seven assists and three steals. Rileigh Lambert made three blocks.

     Monticello has a three-game week scheduled, at Camanche Jan. 17, a makeup game at Anamosa Jan. 19, and at home against Mid-Prairie Jan. 20.

     “We will have to just focus on one opponent at a time,” coach Kremer said, “make sure we get our rest and prepare for each team.”

 

Jan. 13

N’east   2    8   4  17 – 31

Monti   11   8  12 15 – 46

     MONTICELLO (46) ­– Taylor McDonald 6-11 1-2 15, Shay Stephen 1-1 0-0 3, Lauren Ries 2-5 2-3 7, Maddie Lambert 2-4 1-2 5, Rylee Warthen 3-6 3-5 9, Jordan Kuper 2-2 0-0 4, Jacqueline Petersen 0-0 0-0 0, Maddie Fellinger 0-4 0-0 0, Savanah Kremer 1-1 0-0 3, Caitlyn Cruise 0-0 0-0 0, Paige Holub 0-0 0-0 0, Rileigh Lambert 0-0 0-0 0, Carly Hayen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-34 7-12 46.

     Three-pointers: McDonald 2, Ries, Stephen, Kremer.

     Rebounds: Monticello 33 (Stephen 8, Ries 5, Warthen 4, Fellinger 4).

     Total fouls: Monticello 14.

 

Jan. 14

Monti    14  17 26 14 – 71

W. Lib.    5   7  14   9 – 35

     MONTICELLO (71) – Taylor McDonald 4-9 3-3 12, Shay Stephen 0-3 1-2 1, Lauren Ries 11-19 5-6 30, Maddie Lambert 1-4 2-2 5, Rylee Warthen 2-4 0-0 4, Meredith Melchert 3-3 2-3 8, Jacqueline Petersen 2-6 1-1 5, Savanah Kremer 2-4 0-0 5, Maddie Fellinger 0-5 1-2 1, Jordan Kuper 0-0 0-0 0, Carly Hayen 0-1 0-0 0, Caitlyn Cruise 0-0 0-0 0, Macy McDonough 0-0 0-2 0, Paige Holub 0-1 0-0 0, Rileigh Lambert 0-0 0-0 0, Anna Loes 0-3 0-0 0, Samantha Fritz 0-1 0-0 0.

     WEST LIBERTY (35) – Haylee Lehman 1-7 0-0 2, Cora Wickham 3-10 0-0 6, Haddie Anderson 8-17 1-2 21, Austyn Crees 1-8 1-3 4, Madison McIntosh 0-6 0-0 0, Miranda McHugh 1-3 0-0 2, Morgan Petersen 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 14-52 2-5 35.

     Three-pointers: Ries 3, McDonald, M. Lambert, Kremer; Anderson 4, Crees.

     Rebounds: Monticello 45 (Ries 10, Stephen 8), West Liberty 31.

 

 

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