Mexico's Friday night rematches with North Central Missouri Conference and district foe Kirksville turned out differently than this season's first meeting. The Bulldogs won their second game over the Tigers but defeated them 69-41 after needing a buzzer-beater to knock them off 62-61 the first time, and the Lady Bulldogs lost 47-42 after winning the first meeting 27-19.
In the first matchup, the Class 4 No. 9 Bulldogs (15-2, 5-0 NCMC) allowed Kirksville (8-5, 2-2 NCMC) to hit 10 3-pointers but also allowed the Tigers to take many perimeter shots that totaled 30. Kirksville only hit three 3-pointers this time around and had only four field goals in the second half. Mexico outrebounded the Tigers 37-12, with PJ Perkins leading with eight boards and Jaydon Eldridge and Kaden Benne following with seven and six boards, respectively.
DJ Long led the Bulldogs with 21 points and six assists, Eldridge had 18 points and four 3-pointers, and Perkins and Benne each finished with 10 points. Kirksville was led by Justin McKim's 11 points. Pappas said Mexico did a lot better running Kirksville off the 3-point line and helping each other out with rebounding.
"That's what we need," Pappas said. "We need guys to hit the glass and help PJ out. He draws so much attention that sometimes, he gets two defenders on him trying to block him out."
It was bitterly cold outside the Mexico Sports Complex, and the Lady Bulldogs (8-10, 2-3 NCMC) started cold by trailing Kirksville 22-13 at halftime. Grace Hudson hit a 3-pointer to pull Mexico within one near the end of the third quarter and eventually was tied with the Lady Tigers (7-6, 2-2 NCMC) at 34 halfway through the fourth quarter on a Karlee Sefrit offensive putback. Claire Hudson banked in a long 3-pointer to make it 45-42 Kirksville with 16 seconds left in the game, but a couple more turnovers hurt Mexico's chances of tying the game again, adding to the 18 Kirksville steals in the game.
"We started off slow at the beginning," head coach Makenzie Mudd said. "We slowed our pace down and played to what they wanted us to do at the beginning, which got us in that hole early. At the end, there were a few little small, mental breakdowns -- little silly turnovers that were very preventable."
Grace Hudson led the Lady Bulldogs with 10 points, Hannah Loyd had nine points and five rebounds off the bench, and Jo Thurman finished with seven points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals. Kirksville was led by Paishynce Fouts' 14 points and Jersey Herbst's 11 points.
The Bulldogs host a weather makeup game at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday against Warrenton (10-5), and the Lady Bulldogs play Macon (6-9) at 6:15 p.m. Jan. 30 at home.
Look for the full stories in the Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, edition of the Mexico Ledger.
