The Washington Demons were able to spoil senior night for the Mt. Pleasant girls, but not the boys, as the girls picked up a 51-43 win while the boys fell 60-46.
In the girls’ game, Washington found themselves in a battle, despite having handled the Panthers by 22 earlier in the season. The Demons shot well from outside, but were only able to build a 13-7 lead by the end of the first. A low scoring second quarter sent the teams into the locker rooms with a 21-16 Washington lead.
The second half saw a big turning point, with Washington recapturing some of the outside shooting magic that worked for them so well against Fairfield the day before. The Demons made five three-pointers, with Reagan Miller making three of them, and Washington increased their lead to 12 before the end of the third, 39-27. As it turns out, Washington would actually need a bit of that cushion, as Mt. Pleasant turned on the jets to take the fourth quarter 16-12. Fortunately, that still left the Demons on top, 51-43.
Adalyn Long led the Demons with 22 points. Miller’s three-point barrage in the third gave her 10 for the night. Abby Carthey and Paityn Ensminger led the Panthers with 13 each. Washington improves to 10-7 on the season, and 5-3 in conference. Mt. Pleasant falls to 3-13 and 0-8 in the conference.
The Washington boys, unlike earlier this season, faced a completely healthy Mt. Pleasant team. That would be a large difference maker on this night, as that gave the Panthers a massive size advantage down below. Isaiah Lange and Noah Lange caused problems for the Demons all night, and Ryan Helling was incredibly consistent from deep. Washington fell behind 16-5 after the first, and an even 14-14 second quarter kept that 11-point lead into the half, 30-19.
On the bright side, the Demons were able to keep in step with Mt. Pleasant the rest of the way. The Panthers were not able to build upon their lead any further, but on the other hand, Washington couldn’t cut into the deficit either. That only helped Mt. Pleasant, as Washington ran out of time and gave up the rematch to the Panthers 60-46.
Head coach Collin Stark says Mt. Pleasant was a tough draw to end a three-game week, especially with how dominant the Panthers have been during their winning streak. “Yeah, especially with how they’re playing. I think they’re playing, probably, as good if not better than anyone in the area right now. They’ve gone to Oskaloosa and knocked them off when they were ranked ninth. They beat Mid-Prairie, they’re playing some good basketball, I know they’ve got Mediapolis tomorrow and then next they’ve got some tough teams. Ones that we’ll keep an eye on to see how they compete with some of the better teams in the state. I think that this will be a team that will be a tough draw for anybody.”
Washington was led by Drew Conrad’s 14, and Nic Stone’s 12. Isaiah Lange, the younger of the two brothers, finished with 26. Helling finished with 15, all from outside the arc. The Demons drop to 10-6 for the season, 4-4 in the SEC. The Panthers win their fourth straight to improve to 7-7, and also are now 4-4 in conference.