West Liberty, Wilton defeat Monticello

     A pair of strong South Division opponents in the River Valley Conference handed losses to the Monticello girls basketball team last week.

     Included for the Panthers (3-2, 3-3) were a 40-28 home loss to West Liberty Dec. 7, and a 54-45 loss at Wilton Dec. 10.

     Against West Liberty, which was ranked ninth in the state in Class 3A, the Panthers took an early 5-1 lead on a basket by Lydia Recker and a three-point play by Jayden Kuper.

     But the Comets went on an 18-2 run from late first quarter to midway through the second, taking a 19-7 lead they never relinquished. West Liberty led 22-14 at halftime, and the Panthers pulled to within six by the end of the third quarter.

     “We started to execute the offense really well and forced some turnovers,” Monticello coach Donnie Kremer said. “I thought during that stretch we really took care of the ball and played sound defense.”

     Monticello kept the Comets off the scoreboard for a four-minute stretch and pulled to within two points on baskets by Katie Roher and Kuper. But a three-point play by Finley Hall and a put-back by Macy Daufeldt opened the lead back to eight, and the Comets scored the game’s final two baskets as well to win by 12.

     “They made some shots, and we kept turning the ball over,” said Kremer, whose team had 21 turnovers in the game to West Liberty’s eight. “In order to win these games we must be better down the stretch and value the ball more. But give them credit; they made some big plays.”

     Kuper led the Panthers with 14 points and five rebounds. Recker made five assists.

     A big run was key to Wilton’s win over the Panthers as well. The Beavers led 23-18 at the half, but started the second half with a 12-4 run that opened a 35-22 lead with about three minutes left in the period.

     The Panthers made several runs at Wilton in the first quarter. Down by seven with 6:25 to go, Monticello went on a 7-1 run to pull within one, 40-39. Included were a three-point basket by Jaelyn Aitchison and a baskets by Recker and Kuper.

     Monticello trailed 42-41 with 4:12 to go, before Wilton scored the next eight points to push the lead back to nine. The Panthers got back within five in the final two minutes, but no closer.

     “We did a good job of running the offense against their zone,” Kremer said. “We got some turnovers and converted them into points.

     “We have our moments where we look really good, and then we go on a stretch where we have mental breakdowns.”

     Kuper recorded a double-double in the game, with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Recker finished with 12 points; Aitchison had eight. Roher had six points and four steals.

     “We just need to get back to work and continue to improve in all aspects of our game,” the coach said.

Dec. 7

WL          9  13   6  12 – 40

Monti      5    9   8    6 – 28

     WEST LIBERTY (40) – Sophie Buysse 0-3 0-0 0, Sailor Hall 2-7 1-2 6, Finley Hall 3-12 1-1 9, Pearson Hall 5-11 0-0 14, Macy Daufeldt 5-8 1-6 11, Brooklyn Buysse 0-3 0-0 0, Paige Werling 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-44 3-9 40.

     MONTICELLO (28) – Lydia Recker 2-5 0-0 4, Jaelyn Aitchison 1-4 0-0 3, Bronwyn Hodge 0-3 0-0 0, Katie Roher 2-7 0-0  5, Jayden Kuper 5-8 3-3 14, Brea Stahlberg 1-2 0-0 2, Keziah McQuillen 0-1 0-0 0, Madison Butterworth 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 11-31 3-3 28.

     Three-pointers – P. Hall 4, F. Hall 2, S. Hall; Aitchison, Roher, Kuper.

     Rebounds – Monticello 26 (Kuper 5, Stahlberg 4), West Liberty 20.

     Assists – West Liberty 12, Monticello 8 (Recker 5).

     Steals – West Liberty 16, Monticello 6 (Aitchison 2, Roher 2, McQuillen 2).

     Blocks – West Liberty 0, Monticello 0.

     Total fouls – Monticello 12, West Liberty 9.

     Turnovers – Monticello 21, West Liberty 8.

Dec. 10

Monti     9  9  11 16 – 45

Wilton  15  8  14 17 – 54

     MONTICELLO (45) – Lydia Recker 6-10 0-0 12, Jaelyn Aitchison 3-7 1-3 8, Bronwyn Hodge 1-4 0-0 2, Katie Roher 2-9 0-0 6, Jayden Kuper 3-12 11-13 17, Brea Stahlberg 0-3 0-0 0, Keziah McQuillen 0-3 0-1 0, Madison Butterworth 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 15-48 12-19 45.

     WILTON (54) – Mallory Lange 0-4 0-1 0, Ella Caffery 7-15 3-4 17, Payton Souhrada 3-6 1-4 9, Charlotte Brown 1-4 2-2 4, Kelsey Drake 8-14 4-7 20, Payton Ganzer 2-5 0-2 4, Maddy Wade 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-48 10-20 54.

     Three-pointers – Roher 2, Aitchison; Souhrada 2.

     Rebounds – Wilton 40, Monticello 31 (Kuper 14).

     Assists – Wilton 15, Monticello 8 (Aitchison 4, McQuillen 2).

     Steals – Monticello 13 (Roher 4, Kuper 3), Wilton 10.

     Blocks – Wilton 2, Monticello 1 (Stahlberg 1). 

     Total fouls – Monticello 17, Wilton 16.

     Turnovers – Monticello 20, Wilton 15.