The Washington Demons will have lots of momentum heading into 2026, with both the girls and boys coming out on top over Mount Pleasant, 44-22 and 55-47 respectively.
The Washington girls were seeking their fifth win of the season, and taking on a 1-5 Mount Pleasant team that came into the night averaging just 34 points a game. For a strong defense like the Demons, that meant an opportunity to feast. Washington held the Panthers to just 2 points in the opening quarter, and while the Demons themselves didn’t jump out to a fast start offensively, they did enough to make it a double-digit lead before the end of the first, 12-2.
That lead would hold the rest of the way. Washington outscored Mount Pleasant 6-4 in the second quarter to take an 18-6 lead into halftime, and started to score consistently out of the break. The Demons nearly doubled their total in the third, and brought in the bench to finish out the fourth, taking a 44-22 victory.
After the game, senior guard Leighton Messinger spoke with KCII about the team’s attitude heading into the new year. “I think that we are just so proud of each other and all the hard work we’ve put in in the beginning of the season. Yeah, we’re just really on a high right now, so I hope that we can continue that through the next year.
Messinger scored 14 to lead all players. Adalyn Long had 9. The Panthers had no single player score above 4 points, but four players managed to do so; Haylay Lydolph, Abigail Shelangoski, Kynlee White, and Myah Starr.
Washington is 5-2, 2-1 in conference heading into 2026. Mount Pleasant falls to 1-6, and 0-2.
The Washington boys had a much tougher time putting away the Panthers, who despite missing a couple of key players still gave the Demons quite the fight. A close first quarter with several lead changes saw the Demons lead the way at 17-16, but Mount Pleasant held Washington to just 6 points in the second quarter to head into the break with a 28-23 halftime lead. The Demons struggled mightily in the first half with shooting from beyond the three-point line, not making a single one in the first two quarters. Unlike the Demons, Mount Pleasant was thriving offensively, with forward Isaiah Lange powering his way inside to 12 first half points, and guards like Carter Gehling, Ian Reid, and Grayson Lowery all creating opportunities for themselves.
Out of the locker rooms, two quick Mount Pleasant threes had Washington trailing by double digits for the first time, 34-23. However, that’d be the only points for the Panthers in the quarter. After Kael Williams broke the long cold streak with a three-pointer of his own from the top of the key, the Demons kicked it up a notch. Drew Conrad found success attacking the basket, and Rajan Roth made some key buckets to swing Washington into a lead. A 15-0 run had the Demons leading for the first time since early in the second quarter, 38-34.
The final quarter saw Washington attempt to hang on. Despite at one point leading by 12, the Panthers were able to cut the deficit back to 5 with just over a minute to play. Fortunately for the Demons, ball security and a few made free throws secured a close, and hard-fought, 55-47 win.
Head coach Collin Stark spoke to the grit of his players, particularly his senior class, after the game on KCII. “You know, you can just tell whether, whatever sport they’re in, they’re going to give it their all, and I really liked how they responded where in certain spots it might have been a timeout there.”
Drew Conrad put up 22 points for a game high. Rajan Roth had another 14. Isaiah Lange, who was largely kept quiet in the second half after a monster first half, still led the Panthers with 15. Aiden Humble had 12.
The Washington boys also improve to 5-2, 2-1 in conference going into the new year, while Mount Pleasant drops to 1-5, and 1-2 in the SEC. Both the Washington boys and girls will open the new year on the road at Fort Madison on January 2nd.