Frustrating probably is the best way to describe the Mehlville Senior High School girls’ basketball team’s 45-35 loss to Jack-son last week in the Class 5 Sectional.

“I think that the main problem of that game was that we couldn’t get our offensive set going,” Mehlville head coach Laura Bishop told the Call. “We never really got into an offensive run.”

The Panthers’ (17-11, 5-3 Suburban West) sputtering offense put them behind 14-8 after the first quarter and 26-15 by halftime.

Mehlville mustered just five points in the third quarter as Jackson took a 36-20 lead going into the fourth quarter.

“I don’t really know what it was (that kept us from scoring),” Bishop said. “I think I was more disappointed for them than I was for myself.”

Mehlville finally turned things around in the fourth quarter when the Panthers out-scored Jackson 15-9.

“I think that we finally woke up and panicked,” Bishop said. “We played our style of game.”

Alyse Gordon led the Panthers with 13 points and seven rebounds. The senior guard also racked up four steals and one assist while nailing all three of the team’s three-point shots.

“Alyse put some good points on the board,” Bishop said. “It’s all about the percentage of shots that we made. She was the only one that hit three-point shots for us in that game.”

With four seniors graduating from this season’s team, the Panthers will have some slots to fill in next year’s starting lineup. Seniors Alyse and Kayla Gordon along with Laquisha Lewis and Jennifer Sahr were integral parts of the Panthers’ lineup over the past several years.

“Our main focus for next year is that we’re going to have to score some points,” Bishop said. “I think that Ashley Buehler, Kaylin Montgomery and Liamesha Lewis will have to step up next year and rise to the challenge. It’s going to have to be a total team effort.”