GILBERT — Prairie City-Monroe's girls' basketball team just ran into a better team on Tuesday night.
The Mustangs fell behind to Class 4A No. 8 Gilbert early and never recovered during a 63-30 road loss in Heart of Iowa Conference play.
Gilbert led 16-8 after one quarter and went in front 30-17 at halftime. The Tigers outscored PCM 33-13 in the second half.
"I didn't think we played a bad game," PCM coach Jeff Lindsay said. "We played hard. We just ran up against a tough team."
Lilli Baird had seven points to lead the Mustangs (9-12 overall, 7-7 in conference play). Kate McCarthy had four points, six rebounds and one steal and Regan Freland added four points and four assists.
Paige Steenhoek chipped in six points, two assists and one block, Emily Foster had four points and one block and Riley Hjortshoj grabbed four rebounds, had one steal and blocked one shot.
"They posed some issues for us on offense," Lindsay said. "And they make you work on defense. They pass the ball really well."
Ava Hawthorne had 22 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals for Gilbert (17-3, 12-2). Emma Bulman finished with 21 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
PCM opens Class 3A postseason action against Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont at 5 p.m. on Saturday in Eddyville.
BOYS
Gilbert 62, PCM 52
PCM's boys' basketball team led by three after one quarter and held an eight-point advantage after three, but first-place Gilbert rallied with a big fourth quarter during a 62-52 home win.
The Mustangs were outscored 27-9 in the HOIC game. The Tigers (15-4) kept their narrow lead in the conference over South Hamilton at 11-2. It was Gilbert's sixth straight win.
PCM (11-9, 7-7) lost its fourth straight game. The Mustangs play South Hardin at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday in Eldora.
