MENDOTA – The Mendota varsity girls’ basketball team won and lost on its home floor in a pair of non-conference games last week.

The Lady Trojans rolled past Earlville, 54-16, on Dec. 20.

Mendota took control from the opening tip, racing out to a 17-6 lead after the opening stanza. The Lady Trojans built their lead to 30-10 at intermission.

“Our energy on defense and in transition was awesome,” said Mendota coach John Hansen. “We pushed the ball, ran the floor and crashed the glass on offense. The only beef is we missed too many free throws.” The Lady Trojans were just five of 15 from the charity stripe.

Three Mendota players hit double figures in scoring, led by Laylie Denault with 16 points. Ella Martin was close behind with 15 points, while Ava Eddy added 10. Cassie Gonzalez led with eight rebounds.

Martin added five assists and five steals, and Kennedy Knaff swiped five steals and hauled down six rebounds.

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Mendota mounted a second-half comeback but fell to Bureau Valley, 52-42, on Dec. 21.

The Storm held a 30-19 halftime advantage before the Lady Trojans put 17 points on the board in the third period, sparked by a pair of three-pointers from Knaff, compared to 10 for Bureau Valley. But Mendota went cold in the fourth quarter, scoring only six points, as the Storm won by double digits.

“Our defense could’ve been better overall,” noted Hansen. “Forty-two points will win a lot of games, but we had too many unforced turnovers.”

Knaff and Martin paced the squad with 11 points and seven rebounds apiece. Martin also came away with six steals and Denault dished out three assists.

Mendota’s season record stands at 3-8.