AMBOY – The Mendota Lady Trojans competed in the Amboy Holiday Tournament held Dec. 26-29. The squad finished in fourth place.

Mendota opened the tournament with a 53-22 loss to the host Lady Clippers on Dec. 26.

Amboy held a three-point lead (12-9) after the first quarter, but it outscored the Lady Trojans, 16-6, in the second period to grab a 28-15 halftime advantage. Mendota could only muster seven points in the second half.

“We had trouble on the defensive glass and spent 75 percent of the game on defense because of it,” said Mendota coach John Hansen. “And it definitely brought down the energy on offense.”

Grace Wasmer paced Mendota with eight points and four rebounds.

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The Lady Trojans had their offense working in a second-round victory over Kirkland Hiawatha, 53-41, on Dec. 27.

After leading 12-9 at the conclusion of the opening stanza, Mendota fell behind 21-18 at intermission. Hiawatha held a 32-31 lead heading to the fourth frame where the Lady Trojans erupted to 22 points to pull out the win.

Ella Martin tallied 10 of her team-high 12 points in the final period while Ryleigh Sondgeroth scored all seven of her points in the fourth.

“It was a sloppy win, but I’m super proud of our effort in the fourth quarter,” said Hansen. “We shot well and attacked well, and we hit our free throws when it counted.”

The Lady Trojans went to the charity stripe 42 times and connected on 20. Hiawatha committed 26 fouls in the contest.

Wasmer hit double-digits in scoring with 10 points and rebounds with 10. Ella Coss helped out with nine points and five steals, while Martin added five steals and six boards.

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Mendota dug itself an early hole and fell to Sterling Newman, 55-28, on Dec. 28, to conclude pool play.

Newman raced out to a 17-8 lead after the first quarter and took a 34-15 cushion to the locker room.

“Besides a bad six minutes between the end of the first and start of the second quarter, we played well,” said Hansen.

Ava Eddy topped the Lady Trojan scoring chart with 12 points. Wasmer contributed five points and 10 rebounds, while Martin grabbed seven caroms and Laylie Denault had five steals.

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In the third-place game, Hall posted a 62-32 triumph over the Lady Trojans on Dec. 29.

Hall zipped out to a 21-6 lead first-quarter lead and set it on cruise control after that. The Lady Devils owned a 33-15 halftime cushion. Mendota (4-12) doubled its point total with a 15-point third quarter, but it managed only two points in the fourth.

“We need to be more fired up at the jump,” noted Hansen. “We didn’t have an answer for (Ella) Sterling inside.”

Eddy had nine points to lead Mendota scorers. Kennedy Knaff hauled down five rebounds. Sterling had half of Hall’s points with 31.