Muenstermann leads Panthers with 15 points in 43-30 triumph, Jersey girls expect solid year
GODFREY – Most teams aren't going to win many basketball games when they shoot 18 percent from the field.
Fortunately for Jersey's girls basketball team, that 18 percent was enough for them Monday night as the Panthers, behind a 15-point effort from Bethany Muenstermann, defeated Cahokia 43-30 in the opening game of the Alton Tipoff Classic tournament at Alton's gym.
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“We were scattered in the first half,” said Panther coach Kevin Strebel, “taking wild shots and everything else. I didn't think we did that as much – there was a couple I questioned there – down the stretch; there was one in particular, but the person who was shooting it is a pretty confident shooter and a pretty competent shooter, so that was OK. We didn't just run down the floor and jack it up like we did in the first half.”
Neither team was particularly hot from the floor throughout the game, but the Panthers managed to hit enough free throws to grab a 21-18 lead at halftime and held the Comanches at bay long enough before Muenstermann got hot from behind the arc. “We talked about it,” Strebel said, “and she might have missed one more after I said 'hey, those were all good looks'. She had one blocked, but it was kind of a heck of an athletic play by the girl.
“Whenever we see a zone, she's one of those player who can knock those down.”
Jersey (who finished 8-19 last year) will have four seniors – Mikayla Kraut, Caroline Crawford, Lauren Davis and Ally Schroeder – on the roster this season, as well as three juniors (including Muenstermann) and three sophomores. “We lost our leading rebounder from last year,” Strebel said, “and it wasn't even close between what she had last year and everyone else. We talked about people doubling their average from last year because that's what had to happen. We're losing nine-and-a-half rebounds a game...Bethany had a bunch of defensive rebounds in there, and others had them too.”
Strebel believes this year's Mississippi Valley Conference race is going to be a difficult one. “We lost the second-most people in the conference,” Strebel said, “and we had Mckenzie Thurston hurt last year as well. One thing we do have for us is that we've had girls in our system for awhile now and I think we'll be all right as far as scoring goes.”
Crawford added 11 points for the 1-0 Panthers, with Thurston and Kiara Chapman each getting five points. The Panthers next take on Hardin-Calhoun at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, then play again Saturday evening at a time to be determined.
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