By Maggie Davis

Girls basketball post-season play began for the Mount Vernon Mustangs in decisive fashion, taking a strong win over the West Liberty Comets on Saturday night at home. The Mustangs (11-8) scored first and never looked back. Up 41-25 at halftime, Mount Vernon cleared their bench in the third and fourth quarters, wrapping up with a 66-47 win. Leading scorers for the game were Kaitlyn Volesky with 19 points, and Kristen Elliott with 13. Volesky also lead the team in rebounds with 12.

Starting guard Libby Ryan said, “We started off really well, Kristen was on fire. But we had too many turnovers in the second half.”

“We knew they had a few good shooters we needed to stop, but we also knew they’d be short handed,” Mount Vernon head coach Dennis Roloff said after the game.  “We wanted to run the floor and we did. We played at our tempo.” The West Liberty Comets end their season with an overall record of 5-17.

The Mustangs will face Davenport Assumption (8-13) at home on Wednesday for the semifinals. Assumption beat the favored Mediapolis (14-7)on Saturday 73-56. “They’re going to be the toughest team we’ve played all year,” Coach Roloff said of Assumption. “They dropped down from 4A and they’ve got height.”  The Mustangs will be spending practices rebounding and preparing to play against Assumption’s man-to-man press. The game will be held in Mount Vernon on Wednesday, Feb.17, with tip off at 7 p.m.