The Wright City girls basketball team still has yet to capture their first EMO conference win after a 57-27 loss to Mark Twain on Monday, Feb. 3. The Wildcats are now 0-5 in conference play. 

Wright City was missing Head Coach Dustin Elledge due to being away at a conference, but junior varsity coach Brandon Clark filled in that role. 

At the end of each quarter, the Wildcats were down (18-4, 38-15, 53-21). 

Going into the game, Clark implemented a full-court press and focused on shooting long range. As the game went on, the Wildcats transitioned to focusing more on driving to the basket. 

He went on to say the full-court press did not work as planned due to the speed of Mark Twain. 

“I’m very surprised,” Clark said when asked if he expected the game results. “I was thinking this would be a very close game and we’ve been playing very well as of recent.” 

He went on to say there were some mental nerves, and at times Mark Twain was able to shut down Wright City’s ball movement. 

Despite the loss, Clark touted sophomore Ada Ferrell for her resilience throughout the game. Ferrell did break through in the second quarter and scored seven out of Wright City’s 11 points – the most points they had scored in any quarter during the game. She ended the game with nine points. 

“She was a leader throughout. She was trying multiple things and keeping the team up,” Clark said. 

In addition, senior Paige Rees recorded six points, while Shiriah McRoberts had five.