High School Basketball
The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team clung on to their conference win on the road 59-58, despite a furious comeback by Fort Madison. The Panthers exploded to 36 first half points thanks to seven three-pointers, three by Owen Vansickel and Payton Hagans. Mt. Pleasant appeared to be on cruise control late in the game, up 21 points with less than five minutes to go. However, the Bloodhounds captured a few steals and nailed a few threes of their own to outscore the Panthers 29-10 in the fourth quarter. Aaiden Ashton hit one free-throw with 9.9 seconds left to make it 59-55, and with no time left on the clock, Carson Rashid hit a three to give us the final score. Payton Hagans led the Panthers in scoring with 22 points with Ashton aiding the effort with 12 points. They will be back in action Monday, January 9th, against Albia at home.
The Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ team continued dominating their opponents as they defeated Lone Tree 70-29, thanks to 44-point second half, while allowing only 10 points. The boys’ team will be in action this afternoon against Holy Trinity Catholic at home at 3:30 pm. The girls’ team will play in a top 15 matchup Monday when they travel to battle with Mediapolis.
The WACO boys’ team handled Pekin last night 68-36. The Warriors scored 23 more points than the Panthers in the middle quarters. The WACO girls’ team improves to 9-2 on the season after defeating Pekin last night 53-29, holding the Panthers to only four points in the second quarter.
The New London girls’ team fell behind quickly 31-7 and could not crawl their way back into the game as they fell to Burlington Notre Dame 64-33. The Tigers will face off with the Warriors at WACO on Monday with the girls’ team scheduled to go at 6 pm.
The Danville boys’ team fell to West Burlington 49-38, despite a 17-7 run in the third quarter. The boys’ team will travel to play Hillcrest Academy this evening at 5 pm with the girls’ team scheduled to play Holy Trinity Catholic next Tuesday, January 10th.
The Holy Trinity Catholic Crusaders swept the night against Central Lee with the girls’ team winning 36-29 and the boys’ team getting the best of the Hawks 61-49. The girls’ team will host Mt. Pleasant Monday at 6 pm. Central Lee will travel to play Fort Madison today with the girls’ scheduled to start at 4 pm with the boys to follow.
High School Wrestling
The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team competed at the Highland Tournament last night and performed well. Ella McNamee continued to have a fine season as she placed 2nd after going 2-1 on the night. Natalie Parrott captured 3rd place and Alexis Wagner also nabbed 2nd place after notching two wins on the night. Jayden Housh finished in 4th place, while Zenlynn Lee was the top finisher for the Panthers getting 1st place winning all three of her matchups. Lastly, Natalie Albright finished in second place as she fell to Bralyyn Wagler of WACO.
The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will compete against Washington on Thursday, January 12th, on the road.
High School Bowling
The Mt. Pleasant Panthers girls’ and boys’ teams will be participating in the Rose Bowl today with Louisa-Muscatine being the host team.
Iowa Wesleyan Athletics
Coach Williamson became Iowa Wesleyan’s winningest coach in women’s basketball history after the Tigers 68-37 victory over Crowley’s Ridge College last night. Iowa Wesleyan outscored the Pioneers 27 to 15 in the second and third quarters. Four Tigers scored in double digits with Isabell West leading the team with 18 points, Megan Teal scored 14 points, Kyla Moore had 13 points, and Brielle Baker finished with 10 points. This win was Coach Williamson’s 275th at Iowa Wesleyan and his 353rd overall. The Tigers are back in action today against Northern New Mexico at 3 pm.
The men’s basketball team extends their win streak to 14 games after defeating Crowley’s Ridge College 76-48. The Tigers put up 50 points in the first half thanks to the offensive output by Henry Shannon, who scored 13 points, and Joey Brown IV and Francis Okwuosah both scoring 12 points. The Tigers will be back in action today against Northern New Mexico College at 5 pm.
The women’s wrestling team will resume action for day two of the NWCA Multi-Division National Duals Championship.
The women’s soccer team will have a new head coach next season after hiring Dr. Sofia Adams to take over the program. Adams has had experience coaching at the high school level at Mid-Prairie and represented Iowa’s Olympic Development Program for eight years. Additionally, she has also played soccer at the Division I level at Western Illinois University. She takes over a team that went 8-8 last year, their most wins since the 2011 season.
The men’s wrestling team will wrestle at Central Methodist University on January 10th.
The Tiger’s next indoor meet will be the Dutch Athletics Classic on January 14th.
This Day in Sports History
1927 – Harlem Globetrotters play their first game in Hinckley, Illinois.
1972 – Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Atlanta Hawks, 134-90 for their 33rd straight win, the longest winning streak in major professional sports.
2007 – Phil Jackson wins his 900th game as a head coach, becoming the fastest coach to reach 900 career wins.