MONTICELLO — It took an extra four minutes, but Monticello came out on top of Benton 57-51 in an OT thriller on Monday, Nov. 29. The Ponies scored just 11 points in the first half but came back to tie the game at 46. Monticello then outscored Benton 11-5 in overtime for the win.
“Benton is a good team,” head coach Mark Gustafson said. “They played good defense in the first half. We just hit some shots in the second. It was really a tale of two halves.”
The first four minutes of the game were without event, as neither team’s shots were falling. Finally, Monticello got on the board with a free throw from Ellie Gustafson. Dalana Trumpy quickly followed it up with a bucket for a 3-0 lead.
Benton took the lead with back-to-back points from Halle Stluka and Elizabeth Ward. With another free throw, Ellie Gustafson tied the game at four. After a timeout, the Zephyrs regained their lead with four consecutive points from Zoe Stluka.
Freshman Molly Olson drew a foul on her way to the basket and went 2-for-2 from the free throw line. Paired with a shot beyond the arc from Karlee Wilkins, Monticello took a slim 9-8 lead.
The advantage didn’t last long, though, as Benton scored 12 of the final 14 points for a 20-11 lead at half.
Even though Mark Gustafson was happy with the shots his team took in the first half, he wanted to see more offensive production.
“Most of the shots we took in the first half were good,” Mark Gustafson said. “I just don’t think we were finishing our shots. We were half shooting them, so to speak, but 11 points is just miserable.”
The Ponies were able to turn it around in the second half, scoring 35 points.
It all began with Ellie Gustafson, who took just one offensive possession to find the basket this time around. She was fouled and made her free throw for the 3-point play.
After another Gustafson bucket, Trumpy went to the line, where she was 2-for-2. With another Monticello score, Benton called a timeout. The Ponies had scored nine unanswered points to tie the game at 20.
Although Kailey Fawcett scored to give the Zephyrs the lead again, it was short-lived. Ellie Gustafson went 2-for-2 from the free throw line, and Trumpy drained a three for a 25-22 Monticello lead.
For the last ten minutes of the half, though, Benton was in bonus as Ellie Gustafson picked up her third foul. Jocelyn Cummins made her first free throw, missed the second and got her own rebound for bucket.
With just over three minutes left — and Benton in the double-bonus — Trumpy picked up her fourth foul. She, along with Karlee and Sadie Wilkins had just one foul left to give in a tight 41-37 game.
Monticello caught a break, though, when Olson went to the line for her bonus shot. No one realized Olson had just one shot, so on her miss, Olson grabbed her own rebound and was fouled again. This time, she went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe.
Benton stormed back, though, to take a 44-42 lead. Cummins made a shot from beyond the arc, and Fawcett had back-to-back steals that led to layups on the other end.
The Ponies took a 46-44 lead with shots from Ellie Gustafson and Karlee Wilkins, but with 23 seconds left, Karlee fouled out of the game, forcing Mark Gustafson to go to his bench.
Out of a timeout, the Zephyrs scored to tie the game at 46, leaving just 2.4 seconds left on the clock for Monticello. Trumpy got the inbounds on the defensive end, took a couple dribbles and heaved the ball past half court. Her shot fell short, and the game went to overtime.
As she did in the halves before, Ellie Gustafson scored first in extra four minutes. Sadie Wilkins drew a foul and went 1-for-2 from the line, but fouled out on the defensive end. Faith Santigo completed the subsequent 3-point play to tie the game at 49. Benton tied the game again at 51 with a bucket from Halle Stluka but was unable to score again.
With a foul from Ward, senior Delenn Gillaspie went to the line for double bonus. Her free throws proved to be the winning points. In her subsequent trips to the line, Olson went 4-for-4 to secure the win.
Ellie Gustafson finished the night with 19 points and went a combined 7-for-11 from the charity stripe. Trumpy and Olson also chipped in 14 points apiece. Halle Stluka led Benton with 17 points.
Both Sadie and Karlee Wilkins fouled out of the game. Trumpy had four, while Ellie Gustafson and Olson had three fouls each. With little depth, it will be crucial going forward for the Ponies to play smart.
“Dalana didn’t foul out. She handled the ball the entire game and played smart,” Mark Gustafson said. “We will have to keep working on it. We’ve had two games so far, and each game we’ve had multiple girls in foul trouble.”
