It’s been a tough season for the Mehlville High School girls basketball squad. Chris Cook’s team is heading into district play on a 13-game losing streak.
The Panthers last celebrated a victory on Jan. 15, in a 35-27 win over Pacific.
Currently sitting at 4-19, one of the lone bright spots for Mehlville has been the play of junior Jessica Castaldi. Castaldi is averaging just over 10 points per game for the Panthers. Her best game of the season came against Northwest Cedar Hill, when she finished with 22 points. Out of 22 games played this season, Castaldi has scored in the double digits 14 times, which bodes well for her return to the court next season as a senior.
Cook said his team had hoped for better results against the likes of Fox and Seckman going into district play. The Panthers dropped two games to Fox this season, and lost by 17 points against Seckman on Feb. 3.
“We stressed the importance of winning our games against Fox and Seckman before heading into district play,” Cook said.
The Mehlville girls basketball team will face Jackson on March 6 at 6:30 p.m. at Lindbergh High School, 5000 S. Lindbergh Blvd.
Meanwhile, the boys squad is currently 8-16 on the season.
In the first round of district play on March 5, the Panthers fell to Seckman, 53-59. The two teams previously met on Jan. 17, with the Jaguars pulling out a 52-48 win.
Mehlville senior Brady Sights led all scorers in that game with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Sights has been consistent for Mehlville this season, averaging just over 16 points and slightly over seven rebounds per contest. Despite his team’s loss, Sights’ best game of the season was on Valentine’s Day against Oakville when he scored 28 points.
Senior Marcus Jacobs has also had a nice season for the Panthers, averaging nearly 10 points per contest. Jacobs has scored in the double digits in five of his last eight games, including a season-high, 25 points, in a loss to Eureka on Feb. 11.
Despite winning just three of the last 10 games, Mehlville’s head coach, Daniel Braun, is still stressing to his players that they control their fate late in the season.
“It is still in our control to continue to improve and get better each day,” Braun said. “If we do that, we’ll enter the district tournament playing some pretty good basketball.”
