Burlington, IA- In the first Southeast Conference (SEC) showdown of the season, Mt. Pleasant was looking to kennel the Burlington Grayhounds; instead, the Panthers spent the night in the doghouse, getting swept 71-56 in the girls’ game and 59-42 in the boys’ game.
Girls’ Game
#11 Burlington had won the previous four matchups against Mt. Pleasant with the last two having the Grayhounds jump out to instant double-digit leads. That was not the case in last night’s action as a lack of offense from the hosts saw the Panthers trail by only six at the end of the first quarter, 13 to 7.
Burlington got out to a fast start in the second quarter, increasing their lead to eight, 16 to 8, before Mt. Pleasant roared back with a 10 to 3 run to only trail 19 to 17. This is where the game slipped away from the Maroon and Gold as the Grayhounds saw Mylee Stiefel and Vanessa Woodsmall combine for five of the team’s six three-pointers in the second quarter.
A two-point deficit turned into a 17-point deficit at the half and the Panthers were never able to keep up with the hot hands of Burlington. The Grayhounds were led by their big three of Daphne Brown, who led the way with 26 points, Stiefel, and Woodsmall, as the trio scored 66 of the team’s 71 points.
For Mt. Pleasant, there is reason to be confident in the team’s performance. Their 56 points are the most the squad has put up in a game since the 2023 season. Additionally, seven of the eight players that saw time on the floor put up at least three points, including a team-high 12 points from Abigail Shelangoski.
The biggest positive was Elodie Rawson being one of the eight in the rotation. Originally, the freshman was not slated to see the court until January. Nevertheless, the young guard saw action and played some solid minutes.
Mt. Pleasant will attempt to get their first win of the season on Monday, December 8th, at 7:30 pm in their home opener.
Boys’ Game
Another game, a similar story for Mt. Pleasant. The Panthers were held under 10 points in a quarter 30% of the time last season, while allowing 20 or more points 20% of the time. So far this season, it is 25% and 37.5%, respectively.
Burlington, in their first game of the season, strutted out almost a completely new starting squad from a year ago. The starting lineup included a sophomore named Jett Morris. If you did not know his name before the game, you do now.
The sophomore exploded onto the scene, scoring 28 points as Burlington outscored the Panthers 34 to 18 in the middle frames. One of the problems for Mt. Pleasant was a lack of three-point shooting. As a team that buried over 150 threes last season, the Panthers managed to knock down just one in the contest.
Overall, it was a night that lacked offense. Moreover, it is the fourth consecutive game for the Panthers going back to the end of last season that they failed to eclipse the 50-point plateau. Still, there’s reason to be excited about Mt. Pleasant.
Isaiah Lange, a sophomore, netted 16 points in the effort, while Carter Gehling, another sophomore, knocked down the only three-pointer. Additionally, the Panthers are without the services of Noah Lange and Ryan Helling, two of their starters from a season ago.
If the three-point can start falling, then the Panthers could be looking at a fun season. However, they will be tasked with traveling to Burlington Notre Dame on Tuesday, December 9th, at 7:30 pm.
Both Burlington teams will play Muscatine on the road with the boys’ team playing today and the girls’ team facing off on Monday.
Other Conference Games
The Keokuk girls’ team will be looking to reclaim the conference crown, and they got off to a good start by beating Washington last night 49-41, while the Fort Madison girls’ team knocked down Fairfield 47-30.
On the boys’ side, Keokuk demolished Washington 78-42 and Fairfield snuck past Fort Madison 47-44.