Durand girls claim 14th, 15th victories

The Durand Panthers girls basketball team picked up its fourteenth and fifteenth victories last week, starting with a 64-43 Middle Border Conference win over New Richmond January 27.
The Panthers took the lead in the first quarter, outscoring the Tigers 18-10.
The Panthers extended their lead, putting up 17 in the second while holding New Richmond to 12, taking a 35-22 lead at the half.
The Panthers also took the third quarter, 16-14, to pull ahead of the Tigers even further.
To finish the game, the Panthers held New Richmond to 7 while adding 13 points of their own, leading to the 64-43 conference win.
Morganne Gruber led the Panthers with 22 points, followed by Marisa Koller with 15, Whitney Tomlinson with 12, and Ambree Schlosser 11.
Gruber also led in rebounds with 8, followed by Nicole Berger with 5. Maisie Radle pulled down 4. Gruber also dished out 10 assists, and snagged 6 steals.
Schlosser and Koller each tallied 4 steals for the Panthers.
The Panthers totaled 26 rebounds, 23 assists, 15 steals, and 7 turnovers. They shot 25 of 54 field goals, and 3 of 15 attempted 3-pointers. Durand shot 11-for-20 from the line.
Gruber shot 8-for-16 from the line. Schlosser went 2-for-2, and Berger went 1-for-2.
The Panthers next visited Ellsworth January 30 and caged the “other Panthers” with a 70-31 win.
Durand took a 15-10 lead after one quarter, and held Ellsworth to just 7 in the second. Durand scored 24 in the second quarter to take a 39-17 lead at the half.
Durand again held Ellsworth to single digits in the third quarter, 17-9, and allowed Ellsworth only 5 in the final quarter while putting up 14 of their own to secure the 70-31 victory.
Gruber again led the Panthers with 20 points, followed by Koller with 14, Schlosser with 13, and Tomlinson 11.
Koller pulled down 8 rebounds, followed by Tomlinson with 6, Gruber 5, and Radle 4. Gruber handed out 8 assists, Radle followed with 5.
Gruber also tallied 8 steals, followed by Koller with 5, and Schlosser 4.
The Panthers recorded 32 rebounds, 19 assists, 20 steals, and 17 turnovers.
Durand shot 24 of 54 in the field, and sank 3 of 13 attempted 3-pointers. They went 17-for-23 from the line.
Durand was led by Schlosser, who shot 5-for-5 from the line. Gruber and Tomlinson each went 4-for-6. Mandy Wegener shot 3-for-4.
The Panthers are now 15-1 on the season, and 10-0 in the MBC. They visited Prescott Tuesday, but results were unavailable at press time. They visit Osceola on Thursday, and Colfax Saturday. See next week’s Courier-Wedge for results.