Free throw shooting has been a thorn in the side of the Mendota Lady Trojans most of the season and it was again in a 41-25 loss to Princeton in a Three Rivers Conference contest on Feb. 8 at Princeton.

Mendota went to the charity stripe 19 times and converted only four, while Princeton was 12 of 20 from the line.

The Lady Trojans trailed 9-7 after the first quarter and then scored only two points in the second period and fell behind 17-9 at intermission. Mendota was still within striking distance (24-15) after three, and had the deficit down to four with five minutes to go, but missed six of seven free throws in the fourth frame.

“This was a way better game than the score indicates,” said Mendota coach John Hansen. “We missed four or five front-ends of one-and-ones, and that was the difference.”

Reanna Brant topped Mendota with seven points and 14 rebounds, while Paige Manning grabbed six caroms and Katie Jenner had four steals.

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Mendota and Princeton met again 24 hours later and the result was the same – a 38-26 Princeton victory on Feb. 9 at the MHS gym.

The Lady Trojans held an 8-7 lead early in the second quarter, but their offense went cold and the Tigers were able to reel off 15 straight points to take a 22-8 lead. A basket by Brant halted the Princeton scoring binge and made it a 22-10 count at halftime. Mendota was able to get the deficit under 10 (27-19) after three quarters, but Princeton pulled away in the fourth.

“Our defense let us hang around in the second quarter until a bad turnover stretch late in the first half,” said Hansen. “We won the third quarter, but just couldn’t finish the good looks again tonight.”

Manning knocked down a pair of three-pointers and finished with nine points to lead Mendota scorers. Brant provided six points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots, while Naitzy Garcia had 11 rebounds and Jenner picked off three steals.

Mendota’s sophomores won a thriller over Princeton, 30-29. Princeton’s Miyah Fox drained a three-pointer with five seconds left to tie the game at 29-all, but Mendota’s Cassie Gonzalez was fouled with 1.4 seconds left and she sank one of two free throws for the win.

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Hall pulled away in the second half to hand Mendota a 39-30 conference setback in the regular season finale on Feb. 10 at the MHS gym. The Lady Trojans concluded Three Rivers play with a 3-10 record.

The two teams battled to an 18-18 tie at the end of the first half, but Hall lit up the scoreboard for 15 points in the third quarter and Mendota recorded just six.

“We got a ton of really good looks all second half that we just didn’t finish on,” noted Hansen.

Brant and Garcia had eight points apiece to pace the Lady Trojans. Brant led with 11 rebounds.