Panthers prevail in OT thriller

FORT MADISON — After getting swept in the regular season by Southeast Conference rival Fort Madison, the Mt. Pleasant girls basketball team came to play in Wednesday night’s regional opener.

The Panthers and Bloodhounds played an instant classic as Mt. Pleasant avenged a pair of double-digit losses earlier this season with a 63-57 overtime win.

“I was elated for the girls,” said Mt. Pleasant head coach Curt Watson. “They’ve been playing so well.”

The win snapped a three-game losing streak to the Bloodhounds, dating back to last year. In previous meetings this season, Fort Madison pulled away late for 11-point victories.

“It feels really good,” said Kenna Lamm, one of just two seniors Panther seniors. “Especially because the last two times, we’ve really come close at the end, and they kind of took it away.”

Lamm hit the eventual game-winner, a 3-pointer midway through overtime that gave the Panthers a two-point lead. Mt. Pleasant scored 14 points in the extra four minutes including a 6-for-6 stretch of free throws to ice the game late.

When the final buzzer sounded, the Panther girls raced to the bench and were greeted by the traveling Mt. Pleasant student section, which Coach Watson credited for bringing a little Panther energy to the Hound Dome.

“I want to thank the student body, and especially the boys basketball team for being there tonight,” Watson said. “It felt like a home game.”

Minutes earlier, in the fourth quarter, Lamm made a huge play to steal momentum back when the Bloodhounds took their largest lead of the game. Trailing by four points with three minutes remaining, she stripped All-State guard Malarie Ross and hit a layup on the other end to bring the Panthers within two.

“When I took the ball, I saw an opportunity,” Lamm said. “When we're down four with just a couple of minutes left, you have to bring that energy up.”

Mt. Pleasant battled back from the two-basket deficit in the final minutes to take a 49-46 lead on a 3-point play by Andrea Lopreato, but Fort Madison’s Molly Knipe knocked down a corner 3-pointer with 1:45 remaining to tie the game.

The Bloodhounds had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Ross’ potential go-ahead layup rolled just off the rim with five seconds left.

Mt. Pleasant had the hot hand early. Lamm knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter, and Kate Schimmelpfennig hit three shots inside to eclipse her season average with six points in the opening minutes. After one quarter, the Panthers led 14-11.

“I thought Kate played really well,” Watson said. “She got us started in the first quarter.”

Lopreato didn’t score in the first quarter but tallied six in the second, including a banked-in 3-pointer in the last 10 seconds before halftime. Mt. Pleasant led 25-22 at the break, but the Bloodhounds had it tied at 36-36 after three periods.

“They are our rivals for our grade,” said Lopreato. “To take home a 'W' is something we've been waiting for.”

Lopreato scored 25 points, 19 of which came in the second half. She also yanked down 13 rebounds. Lamm finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, and Tristian Shull had 15 points of her own, her highest total since getting injured against the very same Bloodhounds in their first meeting of the season.

“We didn't have Tristian when we played them the first two times,” Watson said. “She came up big. She means a lot to us.”

Schimmelpfennig finished with six points. Jadan Brumbaugh and Andi Scott scored one apiece. Elsie Lange had two steals.

Ross, who had torched the Panthers with 60 total points in their two regular season meetings finished with a modest 23, one point below her season average.

Mt. Pleasant (12-10), which finished fourth in the Southeast Conference this season, has now beaten third-place Fairfield and second-place Fort Madison in back-to-back games. They play SEC champion Keokuk (17-3) in Saturday’s regional final.

“Keokuk has been kind of a house of horrors for us,” Watson said. “We’ve just got to go down and play our game.”