Three games, three sites, result in one MHS win

     Monticello played on three different stages in last week’s girls basketball action, the latter one being Loras College, site of the Wendy’s Classic, a day-long series of games.

     The Panthers went 1-2 for the week, losing at home to West Liberty, 38-28, on Dec. 10; rebounding to bounce Wilton 66-46 Dec. 13 at Wilton, and then falling to Cuba City, Wis. 46-37 Dec. 14 at Loras in Dubuque.

     It left the Panthers with records of 4-1 in the River Valley Conference, 4-3 overall.

     “I feel pretty good about where we are at right now,” Monticello coach Donnie Kremer said. “We have lost to some very good teams. We are a few things away from being a very good team.”

     The Panthers saw another good team, West Liberty, on Tuesday. The Comets’ Sailor Hall had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Macy Daufeldt had 12 rebounds, as West Liberty outrebounded Monticello 40-18.

     Monticello bounced back from an 11-4 first quarter deficit to outscore the Comets 10-2 in the second quarter and take a 14-13 halftime lead.

     “We did a nice job of controlling the tempo and executed the offense really well,” Kremer said. “We did a nice job on defense, and our intensity was excellent.”

     It changed in the fourth quarter. The Panthers led 23-20 after a basket by Gabrielle Guilford with 7:20 to go, but the Comets went on an 18-5 run the rest of the way, with Sailor accounting for 10 of those points.

     “We did not do a very good job of rebounding or taking care of the ball,” Kremer said. “Our decision-making was not very good as well.”

     Gabrielle Steiner led the Panthers with 11 points, while Jordan Kuper had seven points and seven rebounds. Guilford had five steals, and Tori McDonald had four.

     A 48-20 first half barrage was the key to Friday’s win at Wilton.

     “We wanted to play with more intensity and defend better,” the coach said. “I thought we ran the floor and caused turnovers with our pressure.”

     Kuper had a double-double that night with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Steiner shot 7-for-11 from the field and finished with 16 points, five assists and five steals. McDonald had six assists.

     The big lead allowed several players to get in the game; Karli Recker and Bronwyn Hodge took advantage by scoring eight points apiece.

     On Saturday, Cuba City outscored the Panthers in each of the first three quarters to build a 40-27 lead, then withstood a Monticello rally in the final period. The Panthers closed to within five points with about two minutes to play, but couldn’t catch up.

     “We had our chances to cut the lead even more, but missed a couple of shots down low,” Kremer said.

     He added that Cuba City has a solid team.

     “They have a very athletic and scrappy team,” he said. “They shot the ball very well and found the right person open at the right time.”

     Karli Recker came off the bench to lead the Panthers with 11 points, while McDonald and Guilford had seven points each. McDonald had six rebounds and five assists.

Dec. 10

W. Lib.  11   2   5 20 – 38

Monti      4 10   7   7 – 28

     WEST LIBERTY (38) – Haylee Lehman 0-4 0-0 0, Sailor Hall 6-12 2-3 17, Macy Daufeldt 2-5 5-7 9, Janey Gingerich 1-6 2-2 4, Austyn Crees 0-3 0-0 0, Finley Hall 3-13 0-2 8, Averi Goodale 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 12-44 9-14 38.

     MONTICELLO (28) – Gabrielle Steiner 5-12 0-0 11, Tori McDonald 1-5 0-0 2, Gabrielle Guilford 1-5 0-2 2, Carly Hayen 0-2 0-0 0, Jordan Kuper 3-8 1-4 7, Karli Recker 1-2 1-6 4, Lydia Recker 1-3 0-0 2, Emily Schlarmann 0-0 0-0 0, Bronwyn Hodge 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-37 2-12 28.

     Three-pointers: S. Hall 3, F. Hall 2; Steiner, K. Recker.

     Rebounds: West Liberty 40, Monticello 18 (Kuper 7, Steiner 4).

     Total fouls: Monticello 13, West Liberty 10.

Dec. 13

Monti   24  24   7  11 – 66

Wilton  10 10 10 16  – 46

     MONTICELLO (66) – Gabrielle Steiner 7-11 2-2 16, Tori McDonald 1-2 3-4 5, Gabrielle Guilford 1-4 0-0 2, Carly Hayen 1-6 3-5 5, Jordan Kuper 7-12 3-4 18, Karli Recker 3-4 1-2 8, Bronwyn Hodge 4-8 0-0 8, Lydia Recker 1-6 0-0 2, Emily Schlarmann 0-1 0-0 0, DeLainy Fellinger 1-2 0-0 2, Jaelyn Aitchison 0-0 0-0 0, Madison Butterworth 0-0 0-0 0, Katie Roher 0-0 0-0 0, Brea Stahlberg 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-56 12-17 66.

     Three-pointers: Kuper, K. Recker;

     Rebounds: Monticello 37 (Kuper 13).

     Total fouls: Monticello 13.

Dec. 14

(at Loras College)

Monti        12    6    9  10 – 37

Cuba City 15  11  14    6 – 46

     MONTICELLO (37) – Gabrielle Steiner 1-3 0-0 3, Tori McDonald 3-5 0-0 7, Gabrielle Guilford 3-4 1-1 7, Carly Hayen 0-2 2-2 2, Jordan Kuper 1-9 1-2 3, Karli Recker 4-5 1-1 11, Lydia Recker 1-2 0-0 2, Bronwyn Hodge 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 14-31 5-6 37.

     Three-pointers: K. Recker 2, Steiner, McDonald.

     Rebounds: Monticello 20 (McDonald 6, Kuper 5, Guilford 4).

     Total fouls: Monticello 10.