Mendota dug itself a first-quarter hole that it couldn’t climb out of in absorbing a 54-24 setback to Princeton in a Three Rivers Conference girls’ varsity basketball contest on Dec. 7 at Princeton.

The Tigresses sped out to a 19-6 lead after the first eight minutes and continued to pull away over the final three frames. The count stood at 33-12 at intermission and 47-22 after three periods.

“I actually thought we played well with the best energy we’ve had all year,” commented Mendota coach John Hansen. “Princeton was just so quick and better than us. They shot really well early and we just couldn’t match it.”

Grace Wasmer topped the Lady Trojans with 11 points and eight rebounds. She hit two shots from beyond the arc. Ella Martin chipped in with six points and Crystal Garcia added five. Princeton was led by Camryn Driscoll, who dropped in four three-pointers on her way to 15 points.

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The Lady Trojans pulled away in the fourth quarter to post a 31-21 triumph over Streator in nonconference action on Dec. 9 at the MHS gym.

Mendota led 11-7 at the half and was up 17-15 after three before nearly doubled their point total in the fourth frame to win by double digits. The Lady Trojans used the three-point shot in the final period to keep Streator at bay. Ava Eddy connected on three shots from beyond the arc and Laylie Denault added one.

“Defense was the way with 25 steals,” said Hansen. “The fourth quarter was great and needs to be our effort every quarter from here on.”

Eddy finished with a team-high 13 points, while Denault added eight. Bria Frey topped the club with five rebounds and seven steals. Denault and Garcia picked off five steals apiece.