The Mendota Lady Trojans dug themselves an early hole and never recovered in a 52-39 loss to Kewanee in Three Rivers Conference action on Feb. 3 at Kewanee.

Kewanee fired in three three-pointers on its way to a 17-point first quarter while Mendota only managed five points in the stanza. The Lady Trojans were able to cut the deficit down to single digits at the half (21-14), and got within five points in the third period, but they couldn’t get any closer.

“We played better than the final score,” said Mendota coach John Hansen. “Free throws hurt and Kewanee hit a bunch of big shots.”

The Lady Trojans went to the charity stripe 16 times and only converted four.

Reanna Brant paced Mendota with 19 points and 14 rebounds, while Katie Jenner had seven points and six caroms. Naitzy Garcia also had six rebounds, Kya Delao had three steals and Natalie Bodmer handed out three assists.

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A strong second half propelled Mendota to a 38-26 conference win over Bureau Valley on Feb. 5 at the MHS gym.

The Lady Trojans were up 15-14 at the half, but came out with a solid third quarter. Mendota scored a flurry of baskets down low to pull out to a 25-16 lead three minutes into the third quarter and led 28-19 after three.

Brant, who was held scoreless in the first half, erupted for eight points in the third period and added five more in the fourth to finish with a team-high 13. Paige Manning dropped in 10 tallies for the Lady Trojans, who are 4-18 overall and 3-7 in league games.

Bureau Valley claimed a 33-17 win in the sophomore game. Cassie Gonzalez led Mendota with eight points and Grace Wasmer added six.