MONTICELLO - Who better to shine on senior night than the seniors?
Monticello's two Taylors - Taylor Pfeuti and Taylor Klitzke - combined for 33 points in Saturday's 62-43 win over Benton.
"Klitzke had 18 and Pfeuti had 15. It was a good night to do it - on senior night," Monticello Ponies coach Tom Eveland said. "Taylor Klitzke has a really nice left handed shot - a nice soft touch. She really should be shooting more than she does on the outside. We've been trying to get her to shoot more. She's been getting better.
"Taylor Pfeuti's been starting to come along and is getting better. She had a slow start to the season and is starting to get in double figures now every game for us."
Benton (1-11, 0-6 Six Rivers West) had only scored 43 points one other time this season - in a 43-30 win over Madison Abundant Life. But on Saturday, the Zephyrs came out on fire, scoring 17 points in the first quarter. Monticello (5-7, 2-4 Six Rivers East) scored 19 in that opening frame, but pulled away starting in the second quarter.
"We tend to start out slow a lot ," Pfeuti said. "But at halftime, coach always comes in with his speech about needing more intensity and this, that, and the next thing. Our man defense needs some work. But once we started manning-up our defense started to work a lot better."
The Ponies led 37-24 at halftime and opened up a 21-point lead in the third quarter, effective closing the door on Benton.
"At the beginning of the season our offense was sluggish and slow. We weren't taking our shots. Now our shots are falling," Eveland said. "If we put our offense and defense together, I think in the second half (of the season) we're going to surprise some people."
Monticello now has to get ready for the second half of the conference season. In the first half the Ponies saw themselves play solid defense but fail to put the ball into the net as much as needed. In Monticello's first seven games, the Ponies averaged just 39.4 points per game, but in the last five, that number has risen to 50.8. It's not a coincidence that Monticello is 4-1 in that stretch, with the single loss coming to No. 2-ranked Black Hawk in a game that Monticello trailed by just five points with under three minutes to play.
"We've been on fire a lot lately," Pfeuti said. "Taylor Klitzke's been knocking down shots. (Marissa Berg) Bergi's been knocking down shots, Becky's been knocking down shots. Becky's driving the lane a lot more, and that helps because it creates space."
The scoring isn't just coming from the two Taylors - eight of Monticello's nine players scored in the Benton game. Tanya Smith had 10 points and Becky Nelson added eight for the Ponies.
"We have a lot more confidence this year. We've had a lot of people step up and it's really helped me," Klitzke said. "Our intensity is a lot better than it's been the past couple games. Our offense is definitely coming together. I think we're going to pick up some momentum and it's going to help us throughout the rest of the season."
Monticello looks to continue its hot streak on the road Tuesday at Argyle (2-11, 0-6 Six Rivers East).
Monticello's two Taylors - Taylor Pfeuti and Taylor Klitzke - combined for 33 points in Saturday's 62-43 win over Benton.
"Klitzke had 18 and Pfeuti had 15. It was a good night to do it - on senior night," Monticello Ponies coach Tom Eveland said. "Taylor Klitzke has a really nice left handed shot - a nice soft touch. She really should be shooting more than she does on the outside. We've been trying to get her to shoot more. She's been getting better.
"Taylor Pfeuti's been starting to come along and is getting better. She had a slow start to the season and is starting to get in double figures now every game for us."
Benton (1-11, 0-6 Six Rivers West) had only scored 43 points one other time this season - in a 43-30 win over Madison Abundant Life. But on Saturday, the Zephyrs came out on fire, scoring 17 points in the first quarter. Monticello (5-7, 2-4 Six Rivers East) scored 19 in that opening frame, but pulled away starting in the second quarter.
"We tend to start out slow a lot ," Pfeuti said. "But at halftime, coach always comes in with his speech about needing more intensity and this, that, and the next thing. Our man defense needs some work. But once we started manning-up our defense started to work a lot better."
The Ponies led 37-24 at halftime and opened up a 21-point lead in the third quarter, effective closing the door on Benton.
"At the beginning of the season our offense was sluggish and slow. We weren't taking our shots. Now our shots are falling," Eveland said. "If we put our offense and defense together, I think in the second half (of the season) we're going to surprise some people."
Monticello now has to get ready for the second half of the conference season. In the first half the Ponies saw themselves play solid defense but fail to put the ball into the net as much as needed. In Monticello's first seven games, the Ponies averaged just 39.4 points per game, but in the last five, that number has risen to 50.8. It's not a coincidence that Monticello is 4-1 in that stretch, with the single loss coming to No. 2-ranked Black Hawk in a game that Monticello trailed by just five points with under three minutes to play.
"We've been on fire a lot lately," Pfeuti said. "Taylor Klitzke's been knocking down shots. (Marissa Berg) Bergi's been knocking down shots, Becky's been knocking down shots. Becky's driving the lane a lot more, and that helps because it creates space."
The scoring isn't just coming from the two Taylors - eight of Monticello's nine players scored in the Benton game. Tanya Smith had 10 points and Becky Nelson added eight for the Ponies.
"We have a lot more confidence this year. We've had a lot of people step up and it's really helped me," Klitzke said. "Our intensity is a lot better than it's been the past couple games. Our offense is definitely coming together. I think we're going to pick up some momentum and it's going to help us throughout the rest of the season."
Monticello looks to continue its hot streak on the road Tuesday at Argyle (2-11, 0-6 Six Rivers East).
