While the Mexico girls couldn’t respond to Moberly’s energy on Feb. 19 at home, it has had many moments where it has over the past four years.

The Lady Bulldogs lost 55-48 to North Central Missouri Conference and district rival Moberly (12-13, 6-3 NCMC) in a rematch of a 65-53 Mexico win at Moberly two weeks prior. The team took time to recognize seniors Hannah Loyd and Landri Teel for their contributions over four years during a Senior Night ceremony after the game.

Mexico (13-11, 6-3 NCMC) trailed 20-10 after the first quarter and fell behind by eight points early in the third quarter after going into halftime only down 29-28. Head coach Makenzie Mudd said the Lady Bulldogs made “silly mistakes” to allow Moberly additional scoring opportunities and didn’t look as crisp from their 65-40 win over Fulton two days prior.

Mexico Girls Senior Night Photo Gallery

“I don’t know why we didn’t have the energy today, but we just didn’t have the energy we had on Tuesday (against Fulton),” Mudd said. “We didn’t come out with the bite that I’ve seen us play with a lot this season. We were just flat on a lot of things.”

Mexico eventually found the energy it needed in the second half of the first meeting, when the Lady Bulldogs also had a slow first half. This time, Mudd said Moberly looked like how Mexico did last time in the second half.

Mudd said Mexico knows they are better than what they were on Thursday and usually avoid those mistakes. With the playoffs approaching, she said those Lady Bulldogs can’t show up then.

“There’s a pretty high likelihood that we’re going to play them in the first round of districts,” Mudd said. “We’ve got to fix it before then.”

Charleigh Douglas led Mexico with 14 points, Grace Hudson followed with 13 points, and Alyssa Miller had nine points and six rebounds.

In the second quarter, there was a point when Mexico’s three leading scorers — Hudson, Miller and Scottie Smith — had a combined eight points. The Lady Bulldogs were trailing 24-21 then and had players like Douglas to thank.

“She was a lot more comfortable shooting tonight,” Mudd said. “Sometimes, she overthinks whether or not she should shoot. I was proud of her for being ready to shoot the ball more.”

Loyd and Teel were also in Thursday’s starting lineup and have been part of the program since freshman year. Ever since they joined, they both said it has been fun and entertaining as they have gained friends each year.

“We like to mess around a lot,” Teel said. “We like to mess around, but whenever it’s time to get serious, we know how to get serious.”

Loyd said this has fed into the culture, which has been her favorite part of the program.

“Yes, we have our differences, but the girls will forever have a spot in my heart,” Loyd said. 

Last season’s district championship was the first for the Lady Bulldogs since 2006 so that is the memory that is most prominent for both seniors. 

“Last year was crazy and unbelievable,” Loyd said. “I can only hope that we can do that this year.”

“We went in losing to Kirksville twice and came in and beat them,” Teel said. “That was probably my favorite moment.”

Mudd will miss her seniors, who are a big reason why the culture of the team is so good.

“I’m definitely going to miss their leadership and connection with the rest of the girls,” Mudd said. “They all get along really well. They do a good job of keeping everyone upbeat at practice. They’re going to be missed for sure.”