Mt. Pleasant girls draw Fort Madison

FORT MADISON — After losing two heartbreakers to the Fort Madison Bloodhounds this season, the Mt. Pleasant girls basketball team is going to get one more chance.

The Panthers (11-11) will face off with the Bloodhounds in the first round of the Class 4A Region 7 tournament on Wednesday night.

In two previous matchups, the Panthers have fell by five. Fort Madison knocked off Mt. Pleasant 41-36 on Dec. 2, and then on Jan. 6, the two squads played in a defensive struggle that saw Fort Madison pull out a 24-19 win.

It will be the second year in a row that the two teams play three times in the same season. Last year after losing twice in the regular season, Mt. Pleasant upset Fort Madison 63-57 on the same Bloodhound home floor where the two will meet on Wednesday.

It will be a matchup of the two top scorers in the league as Mt. Pleasant’s Andrea Lopreato (19.9 ppg) goes at it with Fort Madison’s Camille Kruse (18.3 ppg) in a matchup of marquee Southeast Conference seniors.

The winner of Wednesday’s game will play at Clear Creek-Amana in the regional semifinals on Wednesday. On the other side of the bracket, Keokuk and Burlington will play to see who gets No. 2 North Scott in the other regional semi.