Panther girls prevail

MT. PLEASANT - There were many emotional swings in Friday night's girls basketball grudge match between Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield, but the last one went in favor of the hosting Panthers.

Mt. Pleasant held off Fairfield 49-42 in a physical Southeast Conference contest to split the season series and grab some momentum before postseason play.

Mt. Pleasant opened things up with a 13-0 run to start the game. Fairfield punched right back, just two points harder, with a 15-0 run of its own, and the Trojans held a 15-13 advantage heading into the first quarter.

The Panthers won the next three quarters. Mt. Pleasant held Fairfield to single digits in the second period to take a 25-23 lead into halftime. They led 38-34 heading into the fourth, and pulled away late for a seven-point win.

Panther head coach Curt Watson said the key was his team's ability to flush away the feeling of giving up an early 13-point lead.

'The girls never lost their composure,” Watson said. 'I just thought we kept playing the whole game.”

Unsurprisingly, Mt. Pleasant's Andrea Lopreato filled the stat sheet again, scoring 15 points and pulling down 16 rebounds. More head-turning though was an 11-point night for Kenna Lamm, who came in averaging just above five points per game.

'Kenna stepped up and made a lot of shots for them,” said Fairfield head coach Pat Pacha. 'We wanted to make her beat us, and she did.”

Mt. Pleasant's Tristian Shull scored seven points and dished out four assists. Emma Rugg scored six points. Emam Huckabone had five. Karsyn Lamm scored three, and Ava Lowery had two.

'It feels amazing, especially this late in the season,” Kenna Lamm said. 'The bench even helped with the cheering, that really got us up and going.”

Fairfield had seven players with four or more points, but nobody over 10. The leading scorer, Danielle Breen, finished with 10 points, five assists and five rebounds. Anna Dunlap scored nine points on an efficient 3-for-4 shooting.

Hannah Simpson had five points and six rebounds for the Trojans. Delaney Breen and Mallory Lyon scored five each. Olivia Jones and Brynley Allison put up four apiece.

Fairfield lost another heartbreaker on Saturday. The Trojans dropped a 49-46 overtime game to Keokuk to finish out regular season play. Danielle Breen scored 14 points in the loss, while Delaney Breen added 13. The Trojans had to overcome a 23-12 halftime deficit to force overtime.

Mt. Pleasant finished the year 11-9 overall and 6-4 in conference play. They will travel to Keokuk on Wednesday for the Class 4A regional opener. Fairfield (9-8, 6-4) will host Burlington on the same night.