By Milla Butler
Starting out their week of conference games, the lady Mustangs were set to take on the Lawrence-Nelson Raiders. Already having taken down the Raiders once the previous week, the Mustangs were hoping for another round of success. Junior Makenna Karr comments on the team’s game plan heading into their first conference game of the season. “Our strategy going into Lawernce Nelson was to play to win our game to set the tone for the rest of our conference games.” Starting out the game strong, the Mustangs took the first quarter with a score of 8-2. The team seemed to take that momentum and carry it over into the second quarter, the next quarter tallying to 17-9. The Mustangs kept it coming in the third quarter, taking their score from seventeen to forty against the Raiders’ twelve. The Raiders picked up their game in the final quarter and gained another thirteen points getting them to twenty-five, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Mustangs’ forty-eight. The final score of the Mustang’s first Twin Valley Conference game of the season ended 48-25. “Even though we had a lead against the Raiders we really wanted to make sure that we stayed focused so that we didn’t leave any doubt on who was going to win,” Karr says. The Mustangs will advance to play in the semifinal game against the Blue Hill Bobcats. The Mustangs’ lead scorers against the Raiders were juniors Sophie Schmidt with sixteen points and Karr with thirteen. Schmidt also led the team in three-pointers, banking three for the Mustangs. Seniors Paige Faimon and Katy Soucek also had major contributions to the team’s win, both girls leading the Mustangs in rebounds. “Our next conference opponent is Blue Hill and some things we will work on are keeping our composure and getting out to a good start right away,” Karr says.
Heading into their second conference game against the Blue Hill Bobcats, head coach Sinsel comments, “Playing the same team twice, especially with Tim Streff as their coach, we always know we need to bring our A-game. I knew that they would have some different strategies that we would have to counter. Blue Hill has some quality shooters who can get hot, so I knew that it would be a tough match-up.” The first quarter immediately set the tone for the close game, the scoreboard tallying 19-19. The second quarter called for five more points from the Mustangs, with the Bobcats trailing right behind with three. The teams left the court at half with the Mustangs leading 25-22. The next quarter called for similar gameplay and the Bobcats were still down by two at the end of the third; the Mustangs went into the fourth quarter up 34-32. Neither team was done competing by the fourth quarter, and with ten seconds left, the Mustangs were down by one. In the last few seconds of the game, a screen set by Soucek and a rebounded layup shot by Karr put two more points on the board for the Mustangs, allowing the Mustangs to take the win by one point. Sinsel comments on the play, stating, “With 10 seconds left, I was pleased to see that the girls had determined looks on their faces. I felt confident when they came over for a time out that we could get a good look. They executed the play pretty well, but the missed bucket was definitely not a part of the plan. I was proud of Mak for sticking with the play and finishing the game for us. Katy played a huge role in that play by sealing off the Blue Hill defender.” The Mustangs’ point leaders were Schmidt with sixteen points and Karr with eleven. Schmidt also led in three-pointers scoring four, and freshman Libby Soucek trailed right behind her with two. Leading the team in rebounds were Karr and Faimon, with eight and seven rebounds, respectively. The final score ended 45-44, and the Mustangs were set to advance to the championship to play the Shelton Bulldogs. “Going into the Saturday game, I was excited to face another tough competitor. I knew that Shelton had some great weapons on the floor at all times, and I thought it would be a great challenge for us. After playing a hard-fought game late on Friday, I knew we would be physically and mentally drained, but I thought the girls stepped up to the challenge on Saturday and played hard for a full game,” Sinsel says.
The Mustangs hit the court ready to take on the Shelton Bulldogs for the championship game. After an intense first quarter which set the tone for the match, the Bulldogs led by 1, ending the first 11-12. Though the Mustangs tried to overcome the Bulldogs’ tough gameplay, the Bulldogs managed to widen the score gap and maintain their lead in the second and third quarters as well. Those quarter scores tallied to 18-23 and 22-35. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, the Bulldogs showed no restraint and were unwilling to back down. The Bulldogs took the fourth quarter, ending the game 34-45. After putting up a tough fight, the Mustangs took home the runner-up plaque to end a week of hard-fought conference tournament games. Point leaders for the Mustangs include Soucek with eleven, and senior Emma Schmidt with nine. Emma Schmidt also contributed in three-pointers, scoring three for the Mustangs. Leading the team in rebounds was Karr, who scored nine. Trailing right behind her with five were Sophie Schmidt, Soucek, and Faimon. The Mustangs fought hard in the TVC tournament, bringing home some hardware to prove it.