Panthers pop Bloodhounds in opening round

MT. PLEASANT - The Panthers took the Bloodhounds to the pound in Wednesday night's regional opener. Mt. Pleasant rushed out to a double-digit lead and never looked back, knocking Ft. Madison out 44-29.

Mt. Pleasant scored the first eight points of the ballgame and held Ft. Madison to just one made basket in the entire first period. The trio of Panther seniors; Isabel Ashton, Sydni Coleman and Lydia Stewart combined to score every Mt. Pleasant point of the first eight minutes, and the Panthers led 15-3 after one quarter.

'I think the big key for us in the last four games is, we've had a heck of a start,” said head coach Curt Watson. 'We've come out and got the lead and we haven't relinquished it.”

Mt. Pleasant allowed just six points in the second quarter. In fact, Ft. Madison had just three baskets in the entire first half combined, all 3-point baskets.

'They're sticking to the game plan,” Watson said about the team's defensive effort. 'Overall our team defense was pretty good, plus we limited them to just one shot for most of the game.”

Mt. Pleasant led 23-9 at halftime and 29-13 going into the fourth quarter. Ft. Madison outscored Mt. Pleasant 16-15 in the fourth quarter, but the damage had already been done.

Ashton finished the game with 11 points and seven rebounds to lead the squad. Lydia Stewart had 10 points. Emma Huckabone scored eight points and co-led the team with two steals.

Sydni Coleman scored five points. Tristian Shull had four points and two assists. Andrea Lopreato had four points, and Elli Liechty scored two.

The Mt. Pleasant girls have now won four games in a row. Before the winning streak, they had just four wins all season.

'After Fairfield, we came out with that momentum,” said Ashton, one of three seniors playing their last games on Mt. Pleasant's home floor. 'We knew coming into this game that we needed the same great start to just get that lead, and to keep that lead the whole game.”

The Panthers will now gear up for their toughest test of the season, No. 1 North Scott, on Saturday. That game will have a 5 p.m. start time and will be played at North Scott High School. The winner of that game plays the winner of the Keokuk-Fairfield game in the regional final.