The Mount Vernon Mustangs varsity girls squad improved to 10-8 last week, falling Tuesday at home to the Marion Wolves, and picking up an overtime win Friday at home.
Tuesday, Jan. 25
The visiting Marion Wolves took their second game of the season over the Mustangs Tuesday, with a score of 72-52.
“The game was back-and-forth for much of the night,” said Mustangs head coach Nate Sanderson.
The Wolves opened the game with a 13-2 run, with Marion standout Sadie Struchen hitting a pair of three-point baskets.
The Mustangs talked it over in a time-out, and emerged from the huddle to answer with a 12-0 run, taking a 14-13 lead into the second quarter.
The Wolves responded by outscoring the home team 23-7 in the second period, partially aided by eight Mount Vernon turnovers during the quarter.
Despite trailing by 15 at the half, the Mustangs rallied to open the third quarter on a 9-0 run to cut the Wolves’ halftime lead of 15 down to six at 36-30.
Marion outperformed their hosts 18-8 in the fourth quarter to pull away with a 72-52 win.
“At the end of the day, both teams played well offensively, shooting 48 percent from the field,” Sanderson said.
“The biggest difference was that Marion managed 15 more shots than we did, due in large part to our 23 turnovers in the game. Marion deserves credit for causing many of those with their full court pressure,” said the coach.
Sanderson noted the key contributions of Liz Dougherty, a senior for the Mustangs, who has scored in double digits five out of her last six games.
“Liz Dougherty continues to play well for us. She has become a dynamic player for us in the high and low post areas, and really forces defenses to send help, which creates opportunities for our guards on the perimeter,” said Sanderson.
Friday, Jan. 28 The Mustangs won 46-42 in overtime against the West Delaware Hawks, for the last home game of the regular season.
“The game was a wild back-and-forth affair,” said Coach Sanderson.
West Delaware opened an early 9-3 lead over Mount Vernon in the first quarter, though the Mustangs would soon be in control — for a little while.
“Over the middle two quarters, we settled into a great rhythm on offense and rotated very well on defense,” Sanderson said.
The Mustangs outscored the Hawks 37-13 from the end of the first quarter until two minutes deep in the fourth quarter.
“Credit to the Hawks,” Sanderson said, “they ramped up the defensive pressure and forced us into some quick shots and untimely turnovers.”
Soon, the score was tied at 40 as regulation ended, setting up a showdown in overtime.
“Fortunately, we rebounded in the overtime period behind a strong finish from Liz Dougherty — she scored over Brooke Krogman, and followed that with two free throws to give us control of the game,” said Sanderson.
“While giving away an 18-point lead in under six minutes is generally not how you would like to closeout a game, our players deserve a lot of credit for how they responded by getting three key stops in the final minute of regulation, and converting in the overtime period to seal the victory,” Sanderson said.
“I’m not sure we would have had the same confidence earlier in the season.”
Mount Vernon shot 8 of 15 from the three-point line in the contest, establishing a new Mustang school record for three-point field goals in a season (142). The previous record was set in 2014-2015 (137 made in 24 games).
The win improved Mount Vernon’s record to 10-8.

Gallery • 1 Photos

Trent Bowman

Mount Vernon’s Lilly See advances the ball down the court in play last week.