Muenstermann leads Panthers over Redbirds in Tipoff Classic, Brown scores 26 points
GODFREY – Jersey's Bethany Muenstermann isn't afraid to fire from outside.
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Like way outside.
Muenstermann, a junior, was perhaps the key figure in the Panthers' third-place matchup against host Alton in the Alton Tipoff Classic Saturday evening; she hit five times from behind the three-point arc, including back-to-back three-balls, as the Panthers took third from the Redbirds 44-42.
Alton coach Bob Rickman certainly knew that his team couldn't afford to let Muenstermann get hot from outside. “She did not get wide-open looks,” Rickman said, “and then we leave her wide open; I don't know how you can do that and expect to win.
“That was the key, not letting her get hot, and then we let her get hot in the first half. We talked about how we have to jump out and be the aggressor. I think we forced a lot of things; I think LaJarvia (Brown) felt like she had to force a lot of things. I think we got ourselves into a bad situation; when you play 1-on-2, 1-on-3, 1-on-4, bad things are going to happen.”
Despite the Redbird miscues, it was a tight game all night; the Panthers (2-1) held only an 8-3 lead at quarter time and it was tied both at the half and at three-quarter time. “You couldn't get a much closer game than that,” said Jersey coach Kevin Strebel. “With these girls, it's been kind of a long learning curve in terms of we didn't get a lot of close ones last year. We'd lose 43-39, or in this tournament, we lost two close ones, so it was great to see the smiles in the locker room at the end of the game.
“These girls are just thrilled with it and their hard work is paying off. We love to see that.”
In addition to Muenstermann's effort, Mackenzie Thurston took the floor for the first time this season and responded with a 15-point effort, which included going 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. “She has that kind of ability to make a play when there seems to be nothing going on,” Strebel said. “We lost her last year to a broken leg, and I felt we were coming along at that point anyway.
“From that, we won a couple without her, but then we had those close ones where she could had made a difference.”
The Redbirds (1-2) did bounce back from being 10-3 down in the second term to forge a tie, and things stayed close from that point, neither team really able to take control. Both teams did trade the lead a few times before Jersey finally was able to grab enough control to hold off Alton down the stretch.
LaJarvia Brown led the Redbirds in scoring with a game-high 26, with Jewel Wagner adding 12.
In the curtain-raising fifth-place match, Maria Cline's 20-point game helped Springfield Lanphier to a 53-26 win over Cahokia. Jeniya Griffin added 17 points for the Lions (1-2), while the Comanches (0-3) were led by Jacyelyn Brown's seven points.
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