Third time's a charm - Panthers knock Lady Hounds out of regionals

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Lady Hounds sweep regular season with Mt. Pleasant, but can't get third win

BY JOHN BOHNENKAMP
PCC SPORTS

Fort Madison’s Aija Jenkins (0) drives to the basket against Mount Pleasant’s Jadan Brumbaugh (43) and Andrea Lopreato (22), behind, in the Class 4A regional quarterfinal Wednesday Feb. 16, 2022 in Fort Madison, Iowa.

FORT MADISON - Fort Madison’s girls basketball team swept the regular-season series against Mount Pleasant.
Getting a postseason win, though, was a different matter.
The Panthers ended the Bloodhounds’ season, taking a 63-57 win in Wednesday’s Class 4A regional quarterfinal game.
Fort Madison (17-5), which came into the postseason with a six-game winning streak and having won eight of its last nine, forced overtime with Molly Knipe’s 3-pointer with 1:45 to play. But a 3-pointer by Mount Pleasant’s Kenna Lamm two minutes into overtime gave the Panthers a 54-52 lead, and they would never trail again.

Mount Pleasant (12-10) will play at Keokuk (17-3) in Saturday’s semifinal.
“There’s no excuses,” Fort Madison coach Tony Sargent had. “I thought there were two good teams, equally matched.”
The Bloodhounds had a chance to win the game at the end of the fourth quarter, holding the ball for the last 30 seconds before Malarie Ross, who had 23 points, drove to the basket and had her shot roll off the rim. 
“I would have liked maybe a little better one, but it wasn’t terrible,” Sargent said. “We held the ball for the last shot, and we hope she either makes it or gets fouled or both.”
Fort Madison took a 52-51 lead in overtime when Camille Kruse converted a 3-point play. But Lamm’s three 14 seconds later put the Panthers on top.

Fort Madison’s Camille Kruse (21) passes against Mount Pleasant’s Andrea Lopreato (22) and Tristan Shull (13) in the Class 4A regional quarterfinal Wednesday Feb. 16, 2022 in Fort Madison, Iowa.

Ross missed a 3-pointer on Fort Madison’s next possession, then Tristan Shull knocked down a 3-pointer that gave the Panthers a 57-52 lead. Mount Pleasant closed out the game with six free throws in the final 40 seconds.
Fort Madison, which trailed for most of the second half, took a 44-40 lead with 6:04 to play on Ross’ driving shot, then after Andrea Lopreato missed two free throws, Sargent called a timeout.
The Bloodhounds tried to stay patient, looking for a clean shot, but had turnovers on back-to-back possessions that led to two Mount Pleasant layups. That started a 9-2 run that took away Fort Madison’s momentum.
“When we were up by four, I didn’t want to stall,” Sargent said.  “We lost the ball out on top a couple of times, which really killed us.”
Mount Pleasant had five 3-pointers in the first half to take a 25-22 halftime lead.
“They shot the ball better tonight than they have been,” Sargent said. “They banked in a few of those threes and if you take those away, we win. But that’s part of the game.”
Kruse, a junior, had 18 points.
“She just had an outstanding game,” Sargent said.
Lopreato led Mount Pleasant with 25 points. Lamm had 15. Shull had 13.
Fort Madison loses five seniors, including Ross, who scored 532 points this season.
“We won 17 games,” Sargent said. “Would you like to have won 20? Yeah. Would you like to be playing Saturday? You bet I would.”

basketball, Class 4A, fort madison, girls, Lady Hounds, Mt. Pleasant, Panthers, Regionals, sports

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