Mendota struggled in a loss to LaSalle-Peru and captured a come-from-behind victory over Earlville in varsity girls’ basketball action last week to make its record 3-9 on the season.

The Lady Trojans hosted L-P on Dec. 14 and the visitors cruised to a 59-14 win.

Mendota was outscored, 21-0, in the first quarter and then managed only two baskets in the second period as L-P built up a 35-4 halftime advantage. The count stood at 51-10 after three quarters.

“I actually thought our energy was up, but we just struggled bad to hit shots and L-P didn’t,” said Mendota coach John Hansen.

Kennedy Knaff led Mendota scorers with six points, while Grace Wasmer hauled down nine rebounds.

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After another slow start, Mendota heated up in the second half and pulled away for a 44-31 triumph over Earlville on Dec. 16 at Earlville.

The Red Raiders grabbed a 13-5 lead after the opening stanza and took a 23-12 halftime advantage, but the tables were turned in the second half, when Mendota outscored the home team, 32-8, to post the double-digit victory.

The second half comeback for Mendota was keyed by Ava Eddy, who poured in 10 of her team’s 18 third-quarter points. That included connecting on a pair of shots from beyond the three-point arc. Earlville was limited to four points in each of the second-half quarters.

“We struggled to convert early and were a little scrambly on defense,” noted Hansen. “But we exploded in the third quarter. We turned our pressure up and turned steals into buckets.”

The Lady Trojans had a whopping 31 steals in the contest, with Eddy and Ella Martin getting 11 apiece. Eddy was Mendota’s lone double figure scorer with 16 points, while Martin and Bria Frey added seven points each. Martin led with 11 rebounds and Crystal Garcia handed out four assists.