The two schools are separated by just a few hundred yards. One is a small private school that has a student enrollment of 240, the other a Group AA school that boasts 1155. In a defacto battle for Millcreek Drive, the Monticello girls basketball squad was able to pick up their fifth straight victory against a scrappy Tandem Friends team, 55-38.
“I wouldn’t say (our opponent) had one weapon, I’d say they had weapons,” said Mustangs coach Mike Mountjoy. “They’re a talented team and pretty much 5-foot-11 across the board and well coached. We had to play hard and had to play well and we knew that coming in.”
In the first 12 minutes, the Badgers gave the Mustangs a run for the money, thanks in large part to forward Hattie Nguyen who scored eight of her team’s first 10 points with three of her four opening baskets coming on well defended jump shots.
However, with her team trailing by two points in the middle of the second quarter, Lisa Marshall led Monticello on a 10-0 run, hitting a pair of 3-pointers and a long range jumper to score eight points during that span.
“I made a big mistake in the first quarter that kind of got me down,” Marshall said. “But after that I was able to put it behind me and was able to execute on what we needed to do.”
At the half the Mustangs were up by six points, and in the third quarter they went straight back to work, extending their lead by 11. Again it was the hot hand of Marshall doing a lot of the heavy lifting with Britney Holleran and Carla Brooks helping along the way. It also didn’t hurt for Monticello that the hot Badgers shooting hands cooled off.
The fourth quarter was much more like the first 12 minutes of the game, with both teams exchanging baskets until the final two minutes. With the Mustangs up by 14 points, Tandem was forced to try and foul their way back into the game, but Monticello held serve, hitting their free throws and hanging on for the win.
“I was glad that some of kids were able to come off the bench at the end because those were still meaningful minutes.” Mountjoy said. “You know never know, they might hit a 3-pointer, steal the ball, hit another and all of the sudden it’s a five or six point game in a really hurry.”
Marshall and Holleran combined to score 34 of their team’s 55 points. Marshall led all scorers with 19 behind a quarter of 3-pointers. Holleran put 15 points with just under half of those coming at the free throw line. Brooks chipped in eight points while Brittany Haun led the Mustangs with seven rebounds.
For Tandem, Nguyen put together a quality line for the night. The senior had 16 points, four rebounds, six steals and two blocks. The Badgers also got a quality game from sophomore Lizzie Stewart who scored nine points and led all rebounders with 12 boards. Emma Perkinson contributed six points.
“Overall I was really pleased with our effort,” said Tandem coach Gordon Fields. “We’re growing up. We’ve got a tenth and a ninth grader trying to play point guard and we can only get better. Tonight was about growing up.”
Just a little over two weeks into the season, Fields is happy with the production he’s getting out of his forwards, but the coach is hoping that his team can develop scoring options from his guards.
“Our things is going to be to try and find that second and third option (to Nguyen),” Fields said. “Lizzie can be that second player and so can Hannah Hellman. We just have to give them some confidence.”
For Monticello, starting the year by winning five straight has its players excited about the rest of the year. According to Mountjoy, the victories have come from his players “buying into a nature of selflessness.” The Mustangs struggled in years past, but even though the season is quite young, they have put themselves in solid position for the remainder of their schedule.
“We’ve definitely established ourselves as a threat now,” Marshall said. “We’re hoping to add a banner to our wall that doesn’t have anything for girls basketball.”
The Badgers (4-4) will head to Highland on Saturday at 2 p.m.
The Mustangs (5-0) will travel to Western Albemarle on Friday ay 6 p.m.
