Moniteau girls allow just 31 points in victory over Keystone
CHERRY TWP — Moniteau’s girls basketball team won its seventh straight game Thursday night, but it managed to extend a more impressive feat in the process.
The Warriors earned a 39-31 decision at home against Keystone. Through 16 games this season, Moniteau has yet to allow 40 points to an opponent.
“The girls are really playing well together,” said Warriors coach Dee Arblaster. “We stress that everybody needs to do their job and I think it comes down to no player wanting to let the others down.”
The Warriors trailed 21-17 at halftime and the scored was tied at 25 entering the final quarter. They grabbed the lead for good when a steal by Kendall Sankey led to a layup from Sophia Fleeger for a 32-30 edge with 3:24 left in the game.
The Panthers (8-8) scored just a single point in the final four minutes — Natalie Bowser’s free throw with 1:37 remaining.
Nine turnovers in the second half was a major factor in Keystone scoring just 10 points in that span.
“It seemed like we were a second late with our passes, but that’s a really good Moniteau team we played,” said Keystone coach Andy Traister.
The Panthers had one spurt — the last four minutes of the first quarter — when their offense put Moniteau on its heels. Up to that point, the Warriors led 6-2, but Keystone caught fire from the outside. Jill Winters hit three treys and Emma Gruber another as the Panthers closed the period with a 12-5 run and led 14-11 as the second quarter began.
“Our main priority was to stop Bowser (senior center), but they started hitting those outside shots,” said Arblaster. “So we started pressuring their guards and that led to some of the turnovers we forced the rest of the game.”
The string of makes gave Keystone the lead and ultimately helped the Panthers remain in the game until late, but over the final three quarters, Traister saw his team make just seven of 32 attempts from the field.
“We got a few shots to fall there and it gave us some confidence,” he said, “but we’ve struggled with our shooting all year.”
Winters paced the Panthers with 13 points while Bowser was held to eight.
Catherine Kelly scored 19 for Moniteau (13-3), including the six points the Warriors scored in the second quarter.
While Moniteau is playing good team defense, Arblaster said Allie Pry, Sankey and Kelly have been catalysts of the effort.
KEYSTONE 31
Emma Gruber 3 0-0 7, Mia Traister 1 1-2 3, Jill Winters 5 0-0 13, Natalie Bowser 3 2-3 8, Amanda Reyes 0 0-0 0, Sydney Bell 0 0-0 0, Ava Patrick 0 0-0 0, Ashlee Albright 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12 3-5 31.
MONITEAU 39
Sophia Fleeger 2 1-2 6, Catherine Kelly 7 5-8 19, Autumn Stewart 2 0-0 5, Allie Pry 1 1-5 3, Davina Pry 1 4-6 6, Kendall Sankey 0 0-0 0, Mackenzie Arblaster 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 11-21 39.
Keystone 14 7 4 6 — 31
Moniteau 11 6 8 14 — 39
3-point goals: Keystone 4 (Winters 3, Gruber); Moniteau 2 (Fleeger, Stewart).
Saturday: Moniteau at Sewickley Academy
