Lady Mustangs Split Pair Of Conference Games To End Season

RICK PECK/SPECIAL TO MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS McDonald County's Rita Santillan drives past Nevada's Calli Beshore (2) and Lindley Ferry during the Lady Mustangs' 58-22 loss on Feb. 14 at MCHS.
RICK PECK/SPECIAL TO MCDONALD COUNTY PRESS McDonald County's Rita Santillan drives past Nevada's Calli Beshore (2) and Lindley Ferry during the Lady Mustangs' 58-22 loss on Feb. 14 at MCHS.

The McDonald County Lady Mustang basketball team closed out its 2019-2020 Big 8 Conference West Division with a 2-4 record by splitting a pair of conference games last week.

The Nevada girls jumped out to a 23-7 lead after the first quarter on the way to a 58-22 win on Feb. 14 to spoil Senior Night at MCHS.

Nevada led 35-17 at halftime and 47-22 after three quarters before outscoring the Lady Mustangs 11-0 in the final quarter.

Four senior players, Rita Santillan, Ragan Wilson, Jaylie Sanny and Alexia Estrada, were honored for their contributions to the Lady Mustang program prior to the game.

"Our seniors worked hard as a group to lead our team in the right direction," said coach Chris Kennedy. "They were good examples on the court and in the classroom for our younger girls. We appreciate the hard work they've put in the last four years and wish them the best of luck in all their future plans."

Wilson's seven points led McDonald County, followed by Alexia Estrada with three points and Caitlyn Barton, Sydney Killion, Kristin Penn, Laney Wilson, Ragan Wilson and Sanny with two each.

The McDonald County junior varsity girls dropped a 44-21 decision. Scoring was not available.

McDonald County, 8-13 overall, was at Springfield Catholic in a Big 8 Conference crossover game on Feb. 17 before traveling to Mount Vernon on Feb. 20.

Lamar

McDonald County broke from a halftime tie by outscoring Lamar 32-19 in the second half to claim a 55-42 win on Feb. 10 at Lamar High School.

The teams were tied 6-6 at the end of the first quarter and 23-23 at intermission before the Lady Mustangs took control of the game with a 17-6 advantage in the third quarter.

Santillan led McDonald County with a season-high 25 points. Samara Smith and Ragan Wilson added eight points each, followed by Penn with seven, Sanny four, Killion two and Laney Wilson one.

Lamar claimed a 45-19 win in the junior varsity game, holding the Lady Mustangs to just six first-half points.

Kloe Myers scored seven points to lead McDonald County. Rounding out the scoring for the Lady Mustangs were Addy Leach and Ebenee Munoz with three points each, Analisa Ramirez and Smith two each and Sosha Howard and Helen Martinez one each.

Sports on 02/20/2020