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Washington Evening Journal
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Washington, IA 52353
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Mt. Pleasant girls basketball pressed in Danville
Panthers don’t have answer for Bears’ full court pressure in road loss
DANVILLE — Mt. Pleasant girls basketball began the new year on a hot streak, notching back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
That streak came to a halt on Monday night as the Panthers hit the road East to face the Bears of Danville in a non-conference matchup. It was a rough out for Mt. Pleasant (3-10) as Danville (8-4) defended its home turf, 76-34.
The Panthers struggled to get into their offensive sets which was largely in part to relentless full court pressure applied by the Bears.
Through the opening 16 minutes, Danville converted steal after steal into layups.
After a swipe turned into two for the Bears to begin the contest, Mt. Pleasant’s Kynlee White notched a layin herself to bring the game even. The Bears took control after that.
Mt. Pleasant scored just twice more with Juliana Burns scoring at 4:31 to make it 9-4 and White once against off the press break at 1:58 to cut the Bears’ lead to 15-6.
By the end of the first quarter, Danville held onto a 18-6 lead. Mt. Pleasant couldn’t find an answer.
Paityn Ensminger opened the second period with a two for the Panthers to cut it to 10, 18-8, but Danville began to pull away as the steals racked up.
The Bears outscored the Panthers 20-2 over the next four minutes to extend the lead, 38-10.
By the halftime whistle, Danville held a commanding 51-14 lead. The Bears outscored the Panthers 33-8 in the second frame.
Through the first half, Danville forced a whopping 30 turnovers, which in turned limited the Panther’s offensive possessions, as they attempted just 20 shots.
In the second half, things changed for the Panthers as they were able to find some success in their half-court sets, but the deficit was just too much.
Mt. Pleasant went on to edge the Bears 9-8 in the third quarter, but Danville closed strong with a 17-11 final period.
Kynlee White put together a pretty efficient performance for Mt. Pleasant, finishing with a team-high 12 points. Abby Carthey scored six and Paityn Ensminger ended with five.
