Sports, January 28th

High School Basketball

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team fell to conference rival Keokuk last night 60-35. The Chiefs controlled the game from the onset. Andrea Lopreato led the Panthers in scoring with 15 points on the night. Coach Watson, disappointed in the outcome, was pleased with the way his entire team stepped up. The boys’ team remains on top of the conference standings after defeating the Chiefs 66-47. Aaiden Ashton scored 22 points in the contest hitting three three-pointers and Payton Hagans aided the winning effort with 16 points. Mt. Pleasant will be back in action tonight against Mediapolis with KILJ on the call with pregame at 5:45 pm. Coach Watson talked about the short turnaround.

Holy Trinity Catholic swept the night against Van Buren County with the girls’ team winning in dominating fashion 55-18, only allowing 3 points in the first half. The boys’ team also ran away with their game coming out on top 63-40. The Crusaders will travel to take on Central Lee on Tuesday, January 31st.

New London was swept by West Burlington last night as the girls’ team fell to the Falcons 74-36 as the Falcons outscored the Tigers 20-2 in the third quarter. The boys’ team fell to West Burlington 62-55, despite Blaise Porter scoring 33 points in the contest. The Falcons are still undefeated at 17-0. New London will travel to take on Burlington Notre Dame January 31st.

The Danville boys’ team clobbered Central Lee 70-28 last night as the Bears allowed only 13 points in the second half. The Bears will be facing off against West Burlington on January 31st.

WACO swept the night against Hillcrest Academy as the girls’ team clobbered the Ravens 63-28. Ellah Kissell led the Warriors, scoring 28 points in the game. The boys’ team remained undefeated after beating the Ravens 51-40. Hunter Hughes, Cody Graber, and Colton Leichty all had the team lead in points with 10 apiece. WACO will be at home against Lone Tree on January 31st.

The Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ team cruised to an easy win over Columbus Junction 62-27. Bradie Buffington and Melina Oepping both finished with a double-double as Buffington finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds and Oepping scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. The Wolves will be hosting Highland on January 31st.

High School Wrestling

The first official girls’ regional qualifier is in the books with a couple of wrestlers from Southeast Iowa earning their way to state. The top four finishers in a weight class punch their ticket to state. Ella McNamee of Mt. Pleasant went 5-1 on the day including two byes as she took third place over Jacey Mason by fall. Rylee Rice and Bralyyn Wagler of WACO finished in second place in their respective weight classes as they both went 4-1 on the day including their byes. Grace Fort of WACO snuck into state with a fourth-place finish as she defeated Zenlynn Lee of Mt. Pleasant earlier in the evening by fall resulting in a no contest. Hailey Kemper of Fort Madison took first place by fall, defeating Gabi Robertson of Mid-Prairie. The State Tournament will take place on February 2nd and 3rd.

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will be participating in the Southern Iowa Classic Tournament this morning.

The Regional Duals for boys’ wrestling has been set with Burlington Notre Dame going against Knoxville in the first round with the winner matching up against Williamsburg for Class 2A on January 31st.

High School Bowling

Mt. Pleasant will travel to face off against Keokuk January 31st.

Iowa Wesleyan Athletics

The women’s basketball team took game one of the Bacone Classic over Bacone College by 54 points, winning 87-33. The Tigers did not allow double-digit points in any quarter. Kyla Moore and Isabell West combined for 42 points with Moore scoring 22 points and West finishing with 20 points. The Tigers will be taking on Northern New Mexico College this afternoon at 1 pm.

The #23 ranked men’s team extended their win streak to 19-games after defeating Bacone College 86-46. Carver Locke led the way for the Tigers, scoring 13 points and gathering 3 steals. The Tigers will be facing off against Northern New Mexico College at 3 pm this afternoon.

The men’s wrestling team’s next competition will be today at the Pat “Flash” Flanagan Open.

The women’s wrestling team finished 10th out of 20 at the Spire Classic. They will be back in action February 4th at the Grand View Open.

The Tigers next indoor meet will be the Grinnell Invitational today.

This Day in Sports History

1904 – First college sports letters given to Seniors who played on University of Chicago’s football team are awarded blankets with letter “C” on them.

1988 – New York Rangers’ Marcel Dionne scores a 2nd period power play goal in 5-2 win in Philadelphia; becomes 1st first player in NHL history to get 20 goals in each of his first 17 seasons.

1992 – St. Louis right wing Brett Hull becomes 2nd player (after Wayne Gretzky) in NHL history to record back-to-back seasons of 50 goals in 50 games; #50 comes in 3-3 Blues’ tie in Lo