The Madisonville women’s basketball team dropped their first two district matchups last week to Mexia on the road Jan. 5 and La Vega at MHS Friday. The Lady Mustangs looked to rebound Tuesday in Robinson.

Mexia jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the opening quarter Jan. 5 before the Lady Mustangs began to fight their way back into the game. Makayla Ford helped right the ship with eight points of her own in the first quarter, which allowed Madisonville to take the lead.

“We battled back,” said head coach Monique Whittaker. “We were up seven with four minutes left in the game, we just lost that focus. I think it comes down to the more games we play, the more experienced we are.”

Ke’Myreul Wheaton led the Lady Mustangs in scoring in the loss with 17 points, including three three-pointers, and was followed by Ford with 12 and Olyvia Brooks with 11. Mexia outscored Madisonville 15-8 in the fourth quarter to earn the comeback win.

The Lady Mustangs surrendered 21 points in the third quarter to La Vega Friday in their first district home game to fall 61-46 despite a tightly contested matchup in the first half.

“It just boils down to staying in the game for the whole 32 minutes, not being content after the first half” said Whittaker following Friday’s loss. “Our girls do play hard and have really good effort, it is just the nature of the beast: we have young players and we do not have a deep bench. The girls are giving everything they have.”

Wheaton led the team in scoring again with 15 points against La Vega and was followed by Ford with 12.

Madisonville looked to earn their first district win of the season in Robinson Tuesday and will return to MHS to host China Spring Friday. Their Jan. 19 matchup in Connally will conclude the first round of district play.

“It is a tough district,” said Whittaker. “But hopefully, next time, we will know a little more about (Mexia and La Vega) and can play them better. It just boils down to being focused for the whole 32 minutes and executing our game plan.”

The team’s roster consists of a number of young players competing in a district for the first time and a pair of senior leaders.