Offense has been hard to come by all season for the Mendota Lady Trojans as witnessed by a 47-19 setback to Genoa-Kingston on Feb. 16 at Genoa.

The Lady Trojans fell behind 15-2 after the first quarter, and while they tallied 10 second-quarter points and trailed 29-12 at the half, they managed only seven points in the entire second half.

“It was a sloppy first quarter with the basketball,” said Mendota coach John Hansen. “The good news is we cleaned it up and ran the offense really well and got a ton of really good looks, but we just couldn’t get those looks to go in.”

Reanna Brant topped Mendota scorers with six points and rebounders with six. Jenna O’Donnell contributed four points and three steals, while Karly Reel handled five caroms and Daisy Arteaga had three steals.

Mendota made just 17 percent of its field goal attempts, including one of 16 from three-point range.

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Another slow start out of the gate hampered the Lady Trojans in a 59-22 loss at Rock Falls on Feb. 17.

Mendota found itself down 16-5 at the conclusion of one quarter as shooting woes continued to plague the team. The Lady Trojans faced a 31-11 halftime deficit and a 47-15 margin after three.

“We played better on defense than the score shows as Rock Falls hit some tough shots in the second and third quarters,” noted Hansen. “We are moving the ball better, cutting better and screening better. We just need to put the ball in the hoop.”

For the second straight game, Mendota made just 17 percent of its field goal tries and 44 percent of its free throws.

Arteaga had 11 points to lead the Lady Trojans. Izabella Nanez pulled down seven rebounds and Brant added six boards.

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A talented Winnebago team posted a 56-26 triumph over Mendota on Feb. 19 at the MHS gym.

The Lady Indians, who have no seniors on the team, raced out to a 20-9 first-quarter lead and coasted the rest of the way. They led 34-16 at intermission.

“I thought we held our own against a real good Winnebago team,” Hansen said. “I was proud of our effort at both ends of the floor.”

Arteaga provided 11 points and Jaelyn Fitzgerald added eight for Mendota. Fitzgerald also collected eight rebounds and had two assists and two steals. Nanez pulled down six rebounds and O’Donnell had three assists.

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Dixon posted a 47-27 win over the Lady Trojans on Feb. 22 at the MHS gym.

Mendota was shut out in the first quarter as Dixon put 11 points on the board. The count was 30-12 at halftime.

“We’re starting to do a lot more really good things offensively than the score in showing,” said Hansen.

Arteaga hit four three-pointers and led Mendota (1-7) with 12 points. O’Donnell and Nanez each grabbed eight rebounds, while O’Donnell had three assists and two steals.