Lopreato’s 35 leads Panthers to blowout win

MT. PLEASANT — In last year’s second game against Burlington, Andrea Lopreato scored 37 points to break the all-time record at Mt. Pleasant. On Thursday night, she nearly had a repeat, putting up 35 points in a 65-15 victory.

Lopreato led the Panthers to its second win over Burlington this season. Mt. Pleasant has swept the Grayhounds for the second-straight year.

Mt. Pleasant’s start of the game was something else. The Panthers put on a full-court press for most of the first period, and by the end of eight minutes, they held a dominating 32-2 lead.

“I told them to come out strong, and I thought we did that,” said Mt. Pleasant head coach Curt Watson. “Burlington is really young, and they're struggling a little bit, but you still have to go out and take care of business.”

Lopreato was red-hot from the get-go. She crushed the Grayhounds inside early and racked up ridiculous 21 first quarter points.

The Panthers would call off the press for the rest of the game, but Lopreato continued to score. Mt. Pleasant’s leading scorer put up 28 points in the first half alone, putting her nine away from her own school record and seven away from Taylor Shull’s previous junior record of 34.

“It was in my head,” Lopreato said after the game. “But at the end of the night, I just want to come out with a win.”

Coach Watson says he struggled with how long to keep her in the game. With a running clock all second half, it took till over halfway through the fourth to get the basket to hit 35.

“Andrea is Andrea. She does everything for us,” said Watson. “Sometimes you've got to reward her.”

Lopreato now has the overall scoring record at Mt. Pleasant, along with the scoring record for both sophomores and juniors.

Kenna Lamm added 16 on the night. Andi Scott scored eight. Kate Schimmelpfennig and Elsie Lange put in two apiece.

Mt. Pleasant moved to 9-10 overall and 4-5 in Southeast Conference play with the win.