Mount Pulaski Lady Hilltoppers drop two to the Riverton Hawks

[January 25, 2018] 

In a rare Wednesday night makeup game the Lady Hilltoppers hosted the Riverton Lady Hawks on the basketball court and neither home team could get the W. The Varsity contest was an exciting matchup for 31 minutes of play but the final minute was anything but pretty for Mount Pulaski. The Lady Hawks pulled away down the stretch and came away with the 51-44 victory.

Mount Pulaski players, one playing with two black eyes and a broken nose and another playing with just two black eyes (all earned in the last victory), hung tough throughout the contest but it was obvious their bodies had taken a beating.

Riverton ran out to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter but the Lady Hilltoppers came storming back. Isabella Wade would give Mount Pulaski a 7-6 lead after she hit nothing but net at the 2:52 mark.

Savannah Moore swished a three at the 1:36 mark to give Mount Pulaski a 10-8 lead that would carry over to the next quarter. Moore would hit another three to start the scoring in the second quarter, this time a bank shot from beyond the arc.

Skylar Hayes takes a shot from beyond the arc late in the game to no avail.

After a layup by Skylar Hayes Mount Pulaski was up 15-10 at the 5:22 mark.

Shelby Bailey kept the Lady Hilltoppers in the lead with her bank shot from the paint at the 3:08 mark, 19-14 the score.

Morgan May rounded out the scoring with a couple free throws before halftime and Mount Pulaski went to the locker room up 21-17.

With Mount Pulaski taking possession of the ball to start the third quarter, Wade would quickly hit another three to extend the lead to 24-17. Buckets by Moore and May allowed the Lady Hilltoppers lead to stay intact at 29-23 but then the Lady Hawks came flying back.

Back-to-back baskets by Macy Lingleo and a two by Kaily Lamkey of Riverton gave the Lady Hawks a 30-29 lead at the 1:14 mark.

Hayes would fight for the lead back and after her steal and layup, she was successful. But the 31-30 lead didn’t stick and Riverton tied it up on a free throw. A steal by Moore though changed that and the 5’3 junior dished it off to Hayes for the completion. Hayes tossed it up underhand on the baseline drive and Mount Pulaski held onto a slim 33-31 lead at the end of three quarters.

Coach Eric Leever explains the strategy late in the game but unfortunately the Lady Hilltoppers just couldn’t get any offense going in the final minute.

Riverton tied the game quickly in the fourth quarter on a bucket by Addison Pals but it would be Emily Wakeman putting Mount Pulaski back on top on the nice assist from Moore.

Again the Mount Pulaski lead disappeared quickly, this time it was Kasie Atkins putting Riverton on top 37-35 with 5:32 left to play.

Enter Fikirte Mott and within seconds Mount Pulaski tied the game thanks to her bank shot.

A long three from Megan Wilson put Riverton back on top and this time it would be for good. No matter how hard the Lady Hilltoppers fought back, they just couldn’t catch up.

Mott hit a smooth jumper with 1:48 remaining to pull Mount Pulaski within two points, 45-43 but after Riverton ran almost a minute off the clock, things began to unravel for the Lady Hilltoppers.

May fouled out with 59.0 seconds left and she left the game with a solid performance of 7 points and 10 rebounds.

Mount Pulaski turned the ball over at that point. A long pass to the corner that flew by two white uniforms and into the hands of the corner photographer would be the beginning of the end for Mount Pulaski.

Riverton would take advantage of nine chances at the free throw line and sink six of those shots down the stretch.

Meanwhile Mount Pulaski missed a number of field goal attempts down that very same stretch. It was a valiant effort by Mount Pulaski but the Lady Hawks got the best of them. With Mount Pulaski struggling to get a shot to fall in the latter part of the fourth quarter, Riverton walked away with the 51-44 win.

Mount Pulaski’s record falls to 13-8 on the season.

These fierce four have already had a tough couple of basketball games this week ~ with the battle scars to prove it. Hayes played through a couple black eyes and a broken nose versus Riverton.

Skylar Hayes (two black eyes and a broken nose) ended the contest with 11 points.

Savannah Moore had 9 points and 5 assists and an outstanding defensive effort that deserves recognition. At 5’3 the junior who transferred to Mount Pulaski from Clinton has been a game-changer for the purple and gold.

Shelby Bailey, the other Lady Hilltopper with two black eyes, finished tough with four points.

Mount Pulaski will play at home again tonight versus Tri-City. The JV is scheduled to tip-off at 6 p.m. with the Varsity game to follow.

Varsity scores by quarter:

Mount Pulaski 10 21 33 44
Riverton 8 17 31 51

Mount Pulaski (44)

Hayes 11
Moore 9
May 7
Wade 6
Mott 5
Bailey 4
Wakeman 2

Riverton (51)

Pals 16
Wilson 10
Atkins 9
Lingleo 6
Babbs 5
Lamkey 4
Walters 1

The JV team also dropped their contest 50-18 with Kaylee Wilham accounting for half of the Hilltoppers points.

JV scores by quarter:

Mount Pulaski 7 11 13 18
Riverton 16 26 44 50

Mount Pulaski (18)

Wilham 9
Cooper 6
Roberts 3

Riverton (50)

E. VanHuss 13
Lingleo 11
Megginson 10
Payne 10
Prindle 9
Foreman 7

[Teena Lowery]