JUDA - The Ponies needed a big win to boost their late-season confidence, and the Panthers wanted to maintain momentum with playoffs a week away. On Tuesday night, Monticello's girls basketball team got its wish and Juda got a tough loss, 40-38.
"Monticello made their free throws down the stretch, and that was the difference," Panthers head coach Curtis Brown said.
Juda took a 10-4 lead after the first quarter and went into halftime holding on at 12-11. After a rough third quarter, the Panthers' advantage grew to 26-22.
Then, Monticello went on an 18-12 run in the final frame to seal the win.
"We had a last-second shot available, but it just didn't fall," Brown said.
Taylor Pfeuti led the Ponies with 10 points. Sarah Silver scored nine, Becky Nelson had eight and Desiree Marty had seven.
For Juda, Ellen Kiser scored 13 points and Brittany Riese had eight.
Monticello hosts Black Hawk on Friday before traveling to Benton for the first round of playoffs Feb. 24.
Juda hosts Pecatonica on Friday and hosts Williams Bay to open up the playoffs.
"We have to find some intensity to close out the season. We have to challenge ourselves to get better and we need to shoot better," Brown said.
PECATONICA 45, ARGYLE 22
ARGYLE - Despite sitting on zero wins in conference so far this season, the Orioles were determined to give Pecatonica a run for its money.
Argyle played stellar defense and led 7-2 after the first quarter.
A tough second quarter had the Orioles trailing 16-12 at halftime, but Argyle coach Steve Dammen was hopeful his team could finish the game strong.
"We came out and played with a lot of emotion to start," Dammen said. "But our M.O. all year has been that we can't put together a whole game. We think we can do that."
The Vikings turned up their defensive pressure in the second half and closed the game on a 29-10 run.
"In the first half we controlled the tempo. In the second half, Pecatonica just took off. We have to find a way to slow them down, especially Kimee Chandler and Brittany Kent," Dammen said.
Argyle knows that if it keeps the turnovers down, positive outcomes are on the horizon.
"Hopefully this was an audition for next week. It's not impossible to think that we can beat (Pecatonica), because we can. We need to cut down on turnovers, control the tempo and make our shots. If we do that, anything is possible," Dammen said.
Chandler led all scorers with 16 points, Kent added 14 and Morgan Pien chipped in with nine for the Vikings.
Brooke Nipple scored eight points for the Orioles, but Dammen was impressed with everyone.
"Outside of the final score, I was pleased. We can't complain about our effort at all," he said.
DARLINGTON 61, MINERAL POINT 54
MINERAL POINT - The Redbirds needed more than huge second half to knock off the SWAL's second-ranked team.
Taking a 12-10 lead after the first quarter, Darlington fell behind 32-24 by halftime.
"The second half went really well for us," Redbirds head coach Kurt Cohen said. "We got to the free throw line and made our shots and really took the game over."
Darlington was 17-for-21 in the second half from the charity stripe after going just 3-for-6 in the first half.
"Katie Martin was huge for us. To score 13 points in the second half and go 4-for-4 from the line was just outstanding," Cohen said.
Also outstanding was Kelsey Fink. She scored a game-high 23 points, including five 3-pointers and kept Darlington in the contest throughout.
"(Fink) was our most consistent player tonight. She hit a 3 in every quarter and was 6-of-7 from the line in the fourth quarter," Cohen said.
Though Cohen said the win was likely his team's best of the year, he was reluctant to be content.
"We as a team are committed to finishing the season and don't want this game to be the highlight of the year," he said.
"We have conference leader Cuba City on Friday and then playoffs. We're hoping to make a lot of memories."
NEW GLARUS 53, WATERLOO 25
WATERLOO - The Glarner Knights pressured Waterloo all game en route to a big late-season win.
New Glarus led 8-2 after the first quarter and 28-10 at halftime.
Tanya Gruter scored 15 points for the Knights and nine New Glarus players scored in the game.
New Glarus has two days to prepare for its Capitol conference crossover game on Friday.
"Monticello made their free throws down the stretch, and that was the difference," Panthers head coach Curtis Brown said.
Juda took a 10-4 lead after the first quarter and went into halftime holding on at 12-11. After a rough third quarter, the Panthers' advantage grew to 26-22.
Then, Monticello went on an 18-12 run in the final frame to seal the win.
"We had a last-second shot available, but it just didn't fall," Brown said.
Taylor Pfeuti led the Ponies with 10 points. Sarah Silver scored nine, Becky Nelson had eight and Desiree Marty had seven.
For Juda, Ellen Kiser scored 13 points and Brittany Riese had eight.
Monticello hosts Black Hawk on Friday before traveling to Benton for the first round of playoffs Feb. 24.
Juda hosts Pecatonica on Friday and hosts Williams Bay to open up the playoffs.
"We have to find some intensity to close out the season. We have to challenge ourselves to get better and we need to shoot better," Brown said.
PECATONICA 45, ARGYLE 22
ARGYLE - Despite sitting on zero wins in conference so far this season, the Orioles were determined to give Pecatonica a run for its money.
Argyle played stellar defense and led 7-2 after the first quarter.
A tough second quarter had the Orioles trailing 16-12 at halftime, but Argyle coach Steve Dammen was hopeful his team could finish the game strong.
"We came out and played with a lot of emotion to start," Dammen said. "But our M.O. all year has been that we can't put together a whole game. We think we can do that."
The Vikings turned up their defensive pressure in the second half and closed the game on a 29-10 run.
"In the first half we controlled the tempo. In the second half, Pecatonica just took off. We have to find a way to slow them down, especially Kimee Chandler and Brittany Kent," Dammen said.
Argyle knows that if it keeps the turnovers down, positive outcomes are on the horizon.
"Hopefully this was an audition for next week. It's not impossible to think that we can beat (Pecatonica), because we can. We need to cut down on turnovers, control the tempo and make our shots. If we do that, anything is possible," Dammen said.
Chandler led all scorers with 16 points, Kent added 14 and Morgan Pien chipped in with nine for the Vikings.
Brooke Nipple scored eight points for the Orioles, but Dammen was impressed with everyone.
"Outside of the final score, I was pleased. We can't complain about our effort at all," he said.
DARLINGTON 61, MINERAL POINT 54
MINERAL POINT - The Redbirds needed more than huge second half to knock off the SWAL's second-ranked team.
Taking a 12-10 lead after the first quarter, Darlington fell behind 32-24 by halftime.
"The second half went really well for us," Redbirds head coach Kurt Cohen said. "We got to the free throw line and made our shots and really took the game over."
Darlington was 17-for-21 in the second half from the charity stripe after going just 3-for-6 in the first half.
"Katie Martin was huge for us. To score 13 points in the second half and go 4-for-4 from the line was just outstanding," Cohen said.
Also outstanding was Kelsey Fink. She scored a game-high 23 points, including five 3-pointers and kept Darlington in the contest throughout.
"(Fink) was our most consistent player tonight. She hit a 3 in every quarter and was 6-of-7 from the line in the fourth quarter," Cohen said.
Though Cohen said the win was likely his team's best of the year, he was reluctant to be content.
"We as a team are committed to finishing the season and don't want this game to be the highlight of the year," he said.
"We have conference leader Cuba City on Friday and then playoffs. We're hoping to make a lot of memories."
NEW GLARUS 53, WATERLOO 25
WATERLOO - The Glarner Knights pressured Waterloo all game en route to a big late-season win.
New Glarus led 8-2 after the first quarter and 28-10 at halftime.
Tanya Gruter scored 15 points for the Knights and nine New Glarus players scored in the game.
New Glarus has two days to prepare for its Capitol conference crossover game on Friday.
