Mt. Pleasant’s streak upended by Fort Madison

FORT MADISON — If there’s one thing we know for sure, it’s that the girls basketball game between conference foes Mt. Pleasant and Fort Madison on Friday night would be a hard-fought battle. It was.

The Panthers came into the contest looking for their fourth straight win, but were unable to get an edge on a tough Bloodhound team, falling 64-53.

Fort Madison outscored Mt. Pleasant in all but one quarter, with the third being the difference maker.

Mt. Pleasant kept it close throughout the first half, trailing only 29-26 at the half.

A big third quarter by the Bloodhounds would prove to be the Panthers’ downfall, but it didn’t start that way. The Bloodhounds missed their first 11 shots in the period and with just over 3:40 to go in the quarter the Panthers held a 36-32 lead; however, the Bloodhounds soon turned it around.

Mt. Pleasant would go on to be outscored 24-13 in the third, giving the Bloodhounds a 53-39 advantage heading into the final quarter of play.

The Panthers could never gain enough momentum, to retake the lead despite winning the quarter 14-11.

After being outscored by just three in the first half, Mt. Pleasant would go on to be outscored 35-27 in the second.

Andrea Lopreato continues to prove she’s one of the top players in the conference, finishing with yet another double-double: 27 points, 11 rebounds, six blocks, five assists and five steals.

Jadan Brumbaugh also picked up a double-double while dominating on the glass, grabbing a career-high 16 rebounds while tallying 12 points.

Rounding out the Panthers was Kenna Lamm with eight points. Kate Schimmelpfennig chipped in three points, while pulling down 10 rebounds. Elsie Lange ended with two points and Andi Scott added one.

The Panthers shot well on the night, connecting on 50% of their shots from the field, and 30% from three.

They also performed well on the glass, pulling down 45 rebounds, 19 of which were offensive.

Where Mt. Pleasant struggled was in the turnover column. The Panthers accumulated 25 turnovers over the course of the contest, which turned into an abundance of points for the opposition.

Mt. Pleasant falls to 4-7 on the season and 1-3 in Southeast Conference play. Next up, the girls will play host to another Fort Madison native, Holy Trinity Catholic, on Monday Jan. 10.