By Steve Eldridge
MENDON — Last Wednesday, the Mendon girls took a step closer to a Division 4 state basketball championship, picking up the regional crown with a tense 47-43 victory over the Concord Yellowjackets.
The Lady Hornets watched Concord stop a very good Colon squad on Monday and knew the Yellowjackets would be a tough matchup, however Mendon led the contest from start to finish, scoring 10 points in each of the first three quarters, and finished off the win off with 17 points in the decisive final eight minutes.
With the victory, the Hornets will take on the Fowler Eagles on Tuesday evening in Gobles. Fowler and Mendon both come into the state quarterfinals with identical 23-3 records. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip off.
The Hornets held the early lead, but Concord battled back to tie the score at 10 points each after the first eight minutes of the game. Mendon would score 10 more points in the second quarter, while holding the Yellowjackets to six, and went into halftime leading 20-16. The third stanza would see the Lady Hornets score 10 more points, but Concord matched that total, and the lead for Mendon would stand at 30-26 heading to the final frame. Mendon was able to put 17 points in the book in the fourth quarter, while the Yellowjackets dropped 17 points of their own, but the four-point difference held up, and The Lady Hornets claimed the win and the chance to move to the quarter finals.
Makennah Mullin and Jaydn Samson led the scoring for Mendon, tossing in 11 points each. Cienna Nightengale added 10 points, while Brianna Heitkamp scored six. Gracie Schultz contributed five points, and Lila Schinker scored four. The Hornets came up with some key free throws in the final eight minutes, hitting 9-of-14 from the line. They finished 13-of-22, while Concord made 4-of-8 charity shots. The Yellowjackets were paced by Bradie Lehman with 14 points, and Cieara Barrett added 12 points to the book.
Mullin pulled down eight rebounds to go along with three blocked shots, while Nightengale had eight rebounds as well. Schultz nabbed five missed shots, with Schinker, Samson, and Heitkamp all totaling four rebounds each. Samson also came up with four assists and two steals, while Brielle Bailey grabbed two rebounds for the winners.