JUDA - With senior Maddie Roth injured, the Juda girls basketball team has had to find new ways to score in her absence. Head coach Curtis Brown knew that he had a card up his sleeve.
"We had a tournament over the break, and in the first game (Mackenzie Byrne) had 18," Brown said. "I said to her that's what we're going to need every night. And she can shoot it."
Byrne scored a game-high 19 points, including 17 in the first half, as the Panthers routed Monticello Thursday night 55-29.
"I've always been the one bringing the ball up, but since our No. 1 shooter is out, I've stepped up and decided to take the ball into my own hands and just keep shooting," said Byrne, who was also a catalyst on defense all night, tipping and stealing passes throughout the game. "For me (defense) is a lot of work. I have to box out the tallest player on the weak side."
Juda opened the game with a tough zone defense and a smothering full court press. Byrne, the smallest player on the court at about 5-2, scored the first two baskets of the game off of steals - one created by sophomore Montana "Tana" Steinmann and the other intercepted and laid in all by herself.
"Those two have developed a chemistry - getting the ball back and forth to each other if there's a tip; they know to look up the court," Brown said of Steinmann and Byrne. "With Maddie Roth being injured Tana's gotten some time on the court to play some extra minutes and it's really paid off."
Steinmann has added a spark to the lineup in Roth's stead, and hit three 3-pointers in the first half that helped the Panthers build an insurmountable lead. Steinmann finished with 14 points.
"Tana is really good at reading and I have been able to find the open spot where she's at, and she's been our No. 1 shooter right now," Byrne said. "When I have two people on me I always know she's open."
Juda built an 11-0 lead over the course of the first 3:29 of the game before Monticello got on the board. Steinmann then scored 11 straight points and in less than eight minutes of game action Juda led 30-5.
"They did a good job of disrupting our guards. Juda deserves all the credit for making plays all night," Ponies coach Mark Gustafson said. "We definitely took a step back. We had some poor passes and then every time we turned it over they hit a three or took advantage."
Twice in the first half the Panthers led by 30, though after the 10-minute mark Brown pulled the press and went back to a simple half-court defense.
"We work a lot on our zone-press. We probably made (Monticello) play a little faster than they wanted to," Brown said. "We got some turnovers and that helped jump-start us a little bit."
Hannah Powers scored all 9 of her points in the half for Juda, and teammate Hailey Kammerer scored 6 of her 8 as the Panthers led 45-17 at the break.
"It wasn't just their press - we had horrible desire," Gustafson said. "Normally we handle presses. I don't know what was going on tonight, but it's something we'll have to think about. That first half was pretty much the game."
In the second half, Brown just wanted his team to work on a few different players and situations.
"We worked on about three different things (in the second half). So we never got into a rhythm. We had the option to press again, but at that point it's not doing anybody any good," Brown said. "We had some hiccups and some girls were in different places, but I got to see some things for the future."
Miah Brokopp scored a team-high 11 for the Ponies, and Hannah Zanow added all 7 of her points in the first half. If Monticello can take anything away from the game, it's that the Ponies outscored Juda 14-10 in the final 19:30 of the game.
"We've got to get simple. We've got to make a pass without it being tipped or intercepted," Gustafson said on how his team can improve from here on out. "We talk about going back to the basics, and that's the fundamentals."
Juda (4-6, 2-3 Six Rivers East) travel to Albany (4-8, 2-3) on Tuesday. Monticello (2-10, 1-4) hosts Williams Bay (6-4) on Saturday and then travels to Barneveld (4-7, 3-1) on Tuesday.
"Hopefully we keep building on," Brown said. "We led Barneveld at home, and we almost came back to tie Argyle. We've been in other games against some pretty good teams. Hopefully this second half we can move up the ranks in the conference."
"We had a tournament over the break, and in the first game (Mackenzie Byrne) had 18," Brown said. "I said to her that's what we're going to need every night. And she can shoot it."
Byrne scored a game-high 19 points, including 17 in the first half, as the Panthers routed Monticello Thursday night 55-29.
"I've always been the one bringing the ball up, but since our No. 1 shooter is out, I've stepped up and decided to take the ball into my own hands and just keep shooting," said Byrne, who was also a catalyst on defense all night, tipping and stealing passes throughout the game. "For me (defense) is a lot of work. I have to box out the tallest player on the weak side."
Juda opened the game with a tough zone defense and a smothering full court press. Byrne, the smallest player on the court at about 5-2, scored the first two baskets of the game off of steals - one created by sophomore Montana "Tana" Steinmann and the other intercepted and laid in all by herself.
"Those two have developed a chemistry - getting the ball back and forth to each other if there's a tip; they know to look up the court," Brown said of Steinmann and Byrne. "With Maddie Roth being injured Tana's gotten some time on the court to play some extra minutes and it's really paid off."
Steinmann has added a spark to the lineup in Roth's stead, and hit three 3-pointers in the first half that helped the Panthers build an insurmountable lead. Steinmann finished with 14 points.
"Tana is really good at reading and I have been able to find the open spot where she's at, and she's been our No. 1 shooter right now," Byrne said. "When I have two people on me I always know she's open."
Juda built an 11-0 lead over the course of the first 3:29 of the game before Monticello got on the board. Steinmann then scored 11 straight points and in less than eight minutes of game action Juda led 30-5.
"They did a good job of disrupting our guards. Juda deserves all the credit for making plays all night," Ponies coach Mark Gustafson said. "We definitely took a step back. We had some poor passes and then every time we turned it over they hit a three or took advantage."
Twice in the first half the Panthers led by 30, though after the 10-minute mark Brown pulled the press and went back to a simple half-court defense.
"We work a lot on our zone-press. We probably made (Monticello) play a little faster than they wanted to," Brown said. "We got some turnovers and that helped jump-start us a little bit."
Hannah Powers scored all 9 of her points in the half for Juda, and teammate Hailey Kammerer scored 6 of her 8 as the Panthers led 45-17 at the break.
"It wasn't just their press - we had horrible desire," Gustafson said. "Normally we handle presses. I don't know what was going on tonight, but it's something we'll have to think about. That first half was pretty much the game."
In the second half, Brown just wanted his team to work on a few different players and situations.
"We worked on about three different things (in the second half). So we never got into a rhythm. We had the option to press again, but at that point it's not doing anybody any good," Brown said. "We had some hiccups and some girls were in different places, but I got to see some things for the future."
Miah Brokopp scored a team-high 11 for the Ponies, and Hannah Zanow added all 7 of her points in the first half. If Monticello can take anything away from the game, it's that the Ponies outscored Juda 14-10 in the final 19:30 of the game.
"We've got to get simple. We've got to make a pass without it being tipped or intercepted," Gustafson said on how his team can improve from here on out. "We talk about going back to the basics, and that's the fundamentals."
Juda (4-6, 2-3 Six Rivers East) travel to Albany (4-8, 2-3) on Tuesday. Monticello (2-10, 1-4) hosts Williams Bay (6-4) on Saturday and then travels to Barneveld (4-7, 3-1) on Tuesday.
"Hopefully we keep building on," Brown said. "We led Barneveld at home, and we almost came back to tie Argyle. We've been in other games against some pretty good teams. Hopefully this second half we can move up the ranks in the conference."
