JUDA - The future of Lady Panthers hoops wanted to be the first unit to deliver for those that helped them develop so quickly.
Juda's 39-26 Parents Night victory was all but locked down when sophomores Rachel Bartels and Larissa Klemm tandemed on a 6-0 flurry in the final minute of the first half, part of a 13-1 overall run that staked their club to a 21-8 halftime lead.
"This has been a pretty good season in Juda when you consider our last five and it meant a lot to the girls to win for the first time on Parents Night," Juda coach Curtis Brown said.
Bartels got the 6-0 spurt going when she banked home a tough-angle 10-footer falling out of bounds right of the goal. Moments later, Klemm jumped a Sadi Hilliard pass at mid-court and nearly converted with contact but splashed a pair of high-arcing free throws just the same.
Bartels hit a pair of freebies of her own thereafter as the Ponies hit the half scratching their collective head over how to solve Juda's defense.
The two clubs, neither of them scoring juggernauts, further dampened the offensive pace by applying zones. The Panthers' roaming 2-3 look allowed Klemm to make a living on any pass that wasn't bounced or crisply delivered.
The sophomore duo scored 18 of their club's 21 first-half points as Bartels had a game-high 14 points and Klemm added 12. The latter, a prototypical point guard, banked an unconventional 3-pointer off glass from the top of the key to kick off Juda's scoring and remeasured her distance to splash another from the same spot to seize an 11-8 lead midway through the third.
"Against zones, she can really find her spots and hit open shots," Brown said. "This is a conference of great sophomore point guards like Kimee Chandler and others. We keep telling her she's coming along all the time."
No one knows that better than Monticello after Klemm torched them for 19 points in the first game of the series sweep.
Whereas Klemm is still growing into the few inches she added since her Junior-Varisty freshman season, Bartels has grown accustomed to playing the role of bully to go along with her solid shooting ability.
"She'll play hard and if any girl is in here playing Sunday nights with the guys it's her," Brown said. "She just loves the game of basketball and has that inner confidence."
Monticello made a 12-6 push in the third quarter as they shifted to a man-to-man full-court press, but foul trouble caught up with the Ponies in the fourth and Juda hit 21 free throws while Monticello attempted just 17.
The Ponies were led by MacKenzie Hilliard's 10 points and coach Heath Eliason also boasts a roster that may just be a year or two away.
"Playing in the Six Rivers East can be overwhelming at times when you're going against the Barnevelds, the Black Hawks and the Pecatonicas," Brown said, "but I told Heath after the last game that maybe we'll be the team beating everyone in a few years."
Juda's 39-26 Parents Night victory was all but locked down when sophomores Rachel Bartels and Larissa Klemm tandemed on a 6-0 flurry in the final minute of the first half, part of a 13-1 overall run that staked their club to a 21-8 halftime lead.
"This has been a pretty good season in Juda when you consider our last five and it meant a lot to the girls to win for the first time on Parents Night," Juda coach Curtis Brown said.
Bartels got the 6-0 spurt going when she banked home a tough-angle 10-footer falling out of bounds right of the goal. Moments later, Klemm jumped a Sadi Hilliard pass at mid-court and nearly converted with contact but splashed a pair of high-arcing free throws just the same.
Bartels hit a pair of freebies of her own thereafter as the Ponies hit the half scratching their collective head over how to solve Juda's defense.
The two clubs, neither of them scoring juggernauts, further dampened the offensive pace by applying zones. The Panthers' roaming 2-3 look allowed Klemm to make a living on any pass that wasn't bounced or crisply delivered.
The sophomore duo scored 18 of their club's 21 first-half points as Bartels had a game-high 14 points and Klemm added 12. The latter, a prototypical point guard, banked an unconventional 3-pointer off glass from the top of the key to kick off Juda's scoring and remeasured her distance to splash another from the same spot to seize an 11-8 lead midway through the third.
"Against zones, she can really find her spots and hit open shots," Brown said. "This is a conference of great sophomore point guards like Kimee Chandler and others. We keep telling her she's coming along all the time."
No one knows that better than Monticello after Klemm torched them for 19 points in the first game of the series sweep.
Whereas Klemm is still growing into the few inches she added since her Junior-Varisty freshman season, Bartels has grown accustomed to playing the role of bully to go along with her solid shooting ability.
"She'll play hard and if any girl is in here playing Sunday nights with the guys it's her," Brown said. "She just loves the game of basketball and has that inner confidence."
Monticello made a 12-6 push in the third quarter as they shifted to a man-to-man full-court press, but foul trouble caught up with the Ponies in the fourth and Juda hit 21 free throws while Monticello attempted just 17.
The Ponies were led by MacKenzie Hilliard's 10 points and coach Heath Eliason also boasts a roster that may just be a year or two away.
"Playing in the Six Rivers East can be overwhelming at times when you're going against the Barnevelds, the Black Hawks and the Pecatonicas," Brown said, "but I told Heath after the last game that maybe we'll be the team beating everyone in a few years."
