The Mustangs have come a long ways.
The Mount Vernon girls varsity team, underdogs at the beginning of the season, have surged ahead to a 12-7 record for the regular season and 7-5 in the WaMaC-East conference, enough to take second place behind rivals Solon.
The ‘stangs clashed with the Spartans Friday, dropping an achingly-close game 50-49 at the end of regulation.
First up for head coach Nate Sanderson’s team were the Marion Wolves at Marion, where the Mustangs pulled off a 37-34 win.
Tuesday, Jan. 31
It didn’t look good for Mount Vernon in the first half, and the two teams headed to their locker rooms to talk things over with a 20-12 Marion lead.
The Mustangs owned the third quarter, outscoring the home team 19-7 and assuming a 31-27 lead with eight minutes to play.
The Wolves shaved a point off the Mustang lead in the fourth, ending the period with a 7-6 advantage and the game with a 37-34 loss.
Peyton Simpson led the way on offense with 12 points, also contributing five rebounds and four assists.
Lilly See provided nine points in the win, along with nine boards, two steals, and a block.
First year Mustang Courtney Franck put in another six points.
Kameron Brand pulled in six boards and six steals, along with two assists.
Friday, Feb. 3 It looked like it could be smooth sailing for the Mustangs when they traveled south to take on the second-rated Solon Spartans, and opened by scoring the first 10 points of the game.
Sophomore Chloe Meester, still nursing a sprained ankle, put in seven of her team-leading 16 points in the first four minutes of the contest.
The Spartans soon struck back, tying the quarter at 14 after sinking four three-pointers.
Solon’s offensive onslaught continued, ultimately amounting to a 19-2 run and 21-14 lead with six minutes to play in the second period.
The Mustangs dusted themselves off and made the game competitive at halftime, with the Spartans now up just 32-28.
The third quarter found Solon putting some more space between the two teams, wrapping up the period with a 39-31 lead.
Sophomore Eryn Jackson made it a game again in the early moments of the fourth quarter with a three-pointer pulling them within three at 43-40.
The Spartans scored the next seven points to put them up 50-40, and then, curiously, did not score again in the game.
Lilly See scored on an old-fashioned three-point play, while Kameron Brand hit a three-pointer shortly after, to cut the lead to 50-46.
The Mustangs denied the Spartans at the other end, and See further cut the lead to 50-48 on a step-through at the rim.
With just 50 seconds remaining on the clock, Brynley Rasmussen made a free throw to make it 50-49, where it would stay.
See finished the game with 14 points. Brand contributed eight boards and six points.
Post-season begins SaturdayThe Mount Vernon Mustangs will host Tipton in the first post-season game, this Saturday at Mount Vernon High School at 7 p.m.
The winner of that match will advance to face the winner of Davenport Assumption and Washington, which will be played Feb. 15 at Mount Vernon High School.
The final regional match will be played Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. at a site to be determined.
Tuesday, Jan. 31
Mount Vernon vs. Marion
MAR 10 10 7 7 34
MV 7 5 19 6 37
Mount Vernon
Points | Peyton Simpson, JR PTS 12 FG 4/12 3PT 2/8 FT 2/2
Points | Lilly See, SR PTS 9 FG 4/11 3PT 1/4
Points | Courtney Franck, FR PTS 6 FG 1/3 FT 4/4
Rebounds | Lilly See, SR RBD 9 OFF 2 BLK 1 STL 2
Rebounds | Kameron Brand, SR RBD 6 OFF 2 STL 6
Rebounds | Peyton Simpson, JR RBD 5 OFF 2
Assists | Peyton Simpson, JR AST 4 TO 3 A/TO 1.3
Assists | Kameron Brand, SR AST 2 TO 2 A/TO 1.0
Assists | Chloe Meester, SO AST 2 TO 1 A/TO 2.0
Friday, Feb. 3
Mount Vernon vs. Solon
MV 14 14 7 9 49
SOL 14 18 9 14 50
WaMaC-East Standings
Solon 12-1 W4 18-2
Mount Vernon 7-5 L1 12-7
Marion 6-5 W2 10-9
West Delaware 4-7 L2 6-14
Independence 1-11 L7 5-14
MVGBB Agate Tuesday, Jan. 31 Mount Vernon vs. Marion MAR 10 10 7 7 34 MV 7 5 19 6 37 Mount Vernon Points | Peyton Simpson, JR PTS 12 FG 4/12 3PT 2/8 FT 2/2 Points | Lilly See, SR PTS 9 FG 4/11 3PT 1/4 Points | Courtney Franck, FR PTS 6 FG 1/3 FT 4/4 Rebounds | Lilly See, SR RBD 9 OFF 2 BLK 1 STL 2 Rebounds | Kameron Brand, SR RBD 6 OFF 2 STL 6 Rebounds | Peyton Simpson, JR RBD 5 OFF 2 Assists | Peyton Simpson, JR AST 4 TO 3 A/TO 1.3 Assists | Kameron Brand, SR AST 2 TO 2 A/TO 1.0 Assists | Chloe Meester, SO AST 2 TO 1 A/TO 2.0 Friday, Feb. 3 Mount Vernon vs. Solon MV 14 14 7 9 49 SOL 14 18 9 14 50 WaMaC-East Standings Solon 12-1 W4 18-2 Mount Vernon 7-5 L1 12-7 Marion 6-5 W2 10-9 West Delaware 4-7 L2 6-14 Independence 1-11 L7 5-14 {related_content_uuid}791aff9c-0655-4b76-b624-25326e0f1d64{/related_content_uuid}
Mount Vernon’s Chloe Meester (No. 20) goes up for a basket in play at home earlier this season.