MP girls lose nailbiter in Fairfield

FAIRFIELD - The Mt. Pleasant girls put quite the scare into the No. 9 Fairfield Trojans on Monday, but the Panthers just couldn't pull off the road upset, falling 51-47.

The Panthers were throwing haymakers early, forcing turnovers, scoring on breakaway layups and hitting shots in the halfcourt set to speed out to a 16-7 lead after one quarter. Maddie Williamson had a particularly fast start, scoring six points on a pair of three-pointer in the first eight minutes.

Fairfield stormed back in the second quarter, winning it 13-4 to tie the game at 20-20 in the second. The only four Panther points came from Lydia Stewart and Emma Huckabone, who scored two apiece.

A frenetic third quarter ended with a 36-33 lead for Fairfield. Stewart scored six points in the third to lead the Panthers.

The fourth quarter was back-and-forth all period long. Fairfield stretched their lead early on but the Panthers clawed back to cut it to as low as two points in the final minute.

Mt. Pleasant had a shot to tie the game in the closing seconds. Trailing by three points, Isabel Ashton drove in and hit a layup, knocking into a Fairfield defender for what could have been a three-point play. She was called for a charge, however, negating the basket and giving Fairfield the ball.

Mt. Pleasant cut the lead back down to two points and had Fairfield's Destiny Gridley on the free throw line. Gridley sank both free throws and Mt. Pleasant couldn't score again.

After the game, Panther head coach Curt Watson said he was pleased with how the Panthers battled back in the fourth quarter after the opening run by the Trojans.

'We didn't get down,” Watson said. 'We got on a little mini run in the fourth quarter and cut it down to a one-possession game. They hit some free throws down the stretch, and we didn't. That was probably the ball game right there.”

Three Panthers ended the game in double digits. Williamson had 14, Ashton scored 11, and Stewart had 10. Sydni Coleman finished the night with eight points, and Emma Huckabone had four.

Mt. Pleasant is 0-3 overall and 0-1 in the conference. They'll be back in non-conference action on Tuesday, Dec. 4, when they head to West Burlington.