Mt. Pleasant girls escape Washington

WASHINGTON — Friday night’s Southeast Conference contest between the Washington girls and Mt. Pleasant girls basketball teams was a game of runs, and it was the Panthers who finished with the final run, defeating the Demons 48-37.

Washington had Mt. Pleasant on the ropes at numerous times throughout the game, including a late third quarter spurt to take the lead, but the Panthers used a sturdy offensive and defensive effort to pull away down the stretch.

“I thought we really got after it in the second half,” Mt. Pleasant head coach Curt Watson said. “We really got out to the shooters and made it hard on them. We started to get more patient on the offensive end. Defensively, we’ve got to get better and we did a better job in the second half.”

Washington came out on a mission in the early stages of the first quarter. The Demons built up a seven-point lead, 10-3, with around three minutes to go in the first, but the Panthers had an answer. Mt. Pleasant used a 7-0 run to end the quarter, bringing the game back even at 10-10.

Mt. Pleasant showed no signs of slowing down in the second quarter. The Panthers outscored the Demons 17-6, to give the them a 27-16 lead at the half. Mt. Pleasant’s leading scorer Andrea Lopreato found her stride in the second, scoring 10 of her game-high 21.

Lopreato said that playing together and with confidence is the reason for both the Panthers and herself playing well.

“We were able to play as a team, and keeping to our game plan was also big,” Lopreato said. “I think it’s my confidence (leading to my performance), I didn’t really have much going into my freshman and sophomore year. Just letting things go and getting back on defense is big.”

Following the halftime break, it looked as if the Panthers were going to pull away, but the Demons had other plans.

Washington went on a shooting spree in the third, and the Panthers went stagnant on the offensive end. It took Mt. Pleasant just under six minutes to find a bucket and Washington went to work.

The Demons berated the Panthers with four shots from deep, seven total in the game, and took back the lead with a 13-1 run, 29-28.

Late in the quarter, Lauren Hinrichsen gave the Demons another lead, 32-30, from her third three-pointer of the game, but Lopreato hit two free throws late to knot the game at 32 all heading into the fourth.

For Mt. Pleasant, the fourth quarter couldn’t have gone much better. The Panthers leapt out to an early 37-32 lead from a Lopreato layup and a converted and one midrange jumper from Kate Schimmelpfennig.

Washington had just one more answer, as a three from the Demon’s Taylor Bartholomew brought the game to within two points, 37-35. It’s the closest the Demons would come for the rest of the game. Mt. Pleasant closed out the game with an 11-2 run to seal the victory.

Although the Demons fell, head coach Shannon Rugg said he’s proud of his team’s performance.

“It started last night,” Rugg said. “We probably had our best practice in two years. I told them it has to show up tomorrow night and it showed up. We put in a new offense and new defense last night and it worked. I’m proud of the girls. I can’t tell you how proud I am. We’ve struggled all year and these girls just keep showing up and keep grinding.”

The victory wasn’t the only positive for the Panthers. They got starting guard Tristian Shull back from an ankle injury.

Watson said she is a difference-maker on the floor.

“We got one of our leaders back,” Watson said. “We need Tristian on the floor whenever we can. She’s such a good leader and she plays good defense. She talks a lot on defense and communicates well, it’s like having another coach out there.”

Along with Lopreato’s 21, Kenna Lamm finished with 10. Jadan Brumbaugh scored nine. Kate Schimmelpfennig added three. Andi Scott and Tristian Shull both ended with two. Elsie Lange chipped in one.

For Washingotn, Alex Murphy led the way with 11 points. Kaylin Long and Lauren Hinrichsen both finished with nine. Taylor Bartholomew had six and Makenna Conrad had two.

The Panthers improve to 3-4 in the conference and 7-8 overall. Washington drops to 1-7 in league play and 1-13 overall.