Mendota couldn’t match the hot shooting of Rockford Christian and suffered a 57-33 loss in varsity girls’ basketball action on Feb. 10 at Rockford.

The Lady Trojans also struggled in other areas of the game, including rebounding and making good decisions.

“We were extremely sloppy mentally and physically on offense with rushed passes and shots,” said Mendota coach John Hansen. “We also got hammered on the boards. We are playing hard, we just need to play smarter.”

Christian doubled up the score, 14-7, after the opening stanza and added one point to its lead heading to the locker room.

The Royal Lions pulled away in the second half when they knocked down eight of their 11 three-pointers in the contest. Christian held a 37-20 advantage after three frames.

“Ninety percent of our mistakes were things we know we can fix, and I know the girls will try hard to fix it,” added Hansen.

Reanna Brant paced the Lady Trojans with nine points and 10 rebounds. Daisy Arteaga chipped in with eight points and two steals, while Jenna O’Donnell picked up two steals and two assists.

***

It was a forgettable game for the Lady Trojans at Byron as they struggled to put together any offense and fell by a 44-14 count on Feb. 12.

Mendota scored two first-quarter points and trailed 10-2 at the conclusion of eight minutes, then only managed four points in each of the next three frames. The Lady Trojan were down 24-6 at the half.

“We struggled on offense and rushed a lot of shots,” noted Hansen. “This weird season hasn’t given us the time to fully step into our new roles on offense and it really showed.”

Brant and Arteaga each had six points to lead the Lady Trojans, who fell to 1-3 on the season. Brant and Karly Reel handled five rebounds apiece. O’Donnell had a pair of steals.