By Laikyn Krueger
The Lady Mustangs hosted a Lou-Platte conference team on January 15 and lost by 4. Even with a non-conference and a C2 basketball team, the Lady Mustangs didn’t go out without a fight against the Doniphan- Trumbull Cardinals. The Mustangs put up 48 points but fell shy of the Cardinals’ 52. The top two shooters were MaKenna Karr and Sophie Schmidt. Schmidt had 16 points, and Karr had 17 pts. The Mustangs struggled to slow Charlee Ricther, who led all scorers with 18 points.
Head coach Kate Sinsel commented, “The difference in the game was rebounding and free throws. We preach that the team that pulls down the most boards will more than likely end up on top. We allowed them to get second or third chance opportunities. Also, we struggled from behind the free-throw line. We missed 8 free throws, which was a big game changer.” Doniphan-Trumbull grabbed 14 offensive rebounds while Silver Lake had 7. The top rebounder was sophomore Libby Soucek with 9 rebounds, and falling shortly behind with 8 rebounds was MaKenna Karr. Schmidt led the team in assists with 5 and steals with 6.
The girls didn’t have any time to dwell on the loss as they faced the newly co-oped Giltner/Harvard the following night. “One thing I truly admire about these players is their ability to overcome adversity and show mental fortitude each night. I didn’t have any doubts that they would rebound from the loss and come out ready to compete the next night,” said Sinsel. The Lady Mustangs came back with a 13-point win against Giltner/Harvard. The first quarter was a tight race, with the Mustangs leading by 2. However, after the first quarter, Silver Lake pulled away to lead 23-14 at halftime. In the second half, they outscored Gitlner/Harvard by 7 to end the match 44-31.
Once again, Schmidt and MaKenna Karr were the top scorers: Schmidt had 16 points, and Karr had 12. She earned another double-double with 11 rebounds as well. Schmidt led all players with 9 steals.
“We know that on any given night, we have to show up and give 100% effort defensively, and we have to clean up our errors offensively,” said Sinsel.