The Bushnell-Prairie City High School girls basketball team found the road unkind in starting 2026 as it lost twice.
Meanwhile, the Spartans also lost to visiting North Fulton in seeing their season record slip to 3-13.
On Jan. 6, B-PC headed to Manito to face Midwest Central/ Delavan, dropping a 43-32 decision to the hosts.
The Raiders led 12-8 after the opening eight minutes before the Spartans cut their deficit to 21-19 at halftime.
Both teams scored six points in the third quarter, leaving the Raiders with a slim 27-25 advantage heading into the final period.
The hosts pulled away in the final minutes, sinking 10-of-17 free throw attempts.
The Raiders finished the game 17-of-27 from the line, compared to 6-of-12 for the Spartans.
Kendyl McCleery topped B-PC with 17 points. Justice Klinedinst was next with five points, followed by Scarlett Countryman with four.
Mylee Chenoweth, Lilly Griffitts and Jersey Jones chipped in two points apiece for the visitors.
Callie DeSutter topped Midwest Central/Delavan (3-10) with 14 points, including 10-of-14 from the free throw line.
On Jan. 8, the Spartans faced North Fulton in B-PC’s first home game of 2026.
The visiting Wildcats outscored the Spartans in each of the four quarters on the way to notching a 56-29 victory.
North Fulton used eight points from Harleigh Waughtel in building a 10-5 advantage after the opening frame.
The two teams struggled from the free throw line in the initial period as North Fulton was 0-for-7, while B-PC was 1-of-6.
The scoring pace picked up for both teams in the second stanza with the Wildcats taking a 25-16 lead into the halftime break.
Waughtel continued to pile up the points in the third quarter, scoring 12 of her team’s 16 points. That helped the Wildcats up their advantage to 41-28 entering the final eight minutes.
North Fulton continued to pull away, outscoring B-PC 15-1 in rolling to the win.
Klinedinst and McCleery topped B-PC with nine and eight points respectively.
Countryman added six points, followed by Chenoweth with four and Jones with two.
Waughtel finished with a game-high 27 points for North Fulton (5-10).
The Wildcats won despite shooting just 4-of-16 from the free throw line. The Spartans finished 7-of-20.
On Saturday, B-PC headed to Monmouth United for a non-conference contest.
The Red Storm fought off a second half Spartan rally in notchug a 53-42 victory.
The two teams played each other on Nov. 21 as part of the RW/Ridgewood Thanksgiving Tournament at Oneida with United winning 21-13.
The rematch saw much more scoring by both teams. United used scoring from six different players in the first quarter, while the Spartan trio of McCleery, Jones and Klinedinst each scored four points. That left B-PC trailing 14-13 entering the second period.
Ella Brown knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, helping the Red Storm outscore the Spartans 15-5 on the way to seixing a 29-18 halftime lead.
The third frame saw Sara Shimmin add a pair of treys for United, but all five B-PC starters scored, including seven by McCleery. That allowed the Spartans to outscore the Red Storm 16-8 to narrow the gap to 37-34 entering the final eight minutes.
The Red Storm assumed control late, thanks in large part to the free throw line.
After attempting just two free throws in the initial 24 minutes, United attempted 22 in the final period, making 12.
United outscored B-PC 16-8 in securing the victory. McCleery topped B-PC with 17 points, 11 in the second half. Klinedinst also reached double figures, scoring 10 before fouling out in the final minutes.
Jones was next with six points, followed by Chenoweth with five, Jules Kreps with three and Countryman with one.
B-PC finished 9-of-13 from the free throw line. Shimmin topped United (4-9) with 12 points, including three 3-pointers.
In all, eight different players scored for United, who finished with seven treys in the contest.
B-PC (3-13) returns to action Tuesday, playing at Farmington (6-9). The following evening, the Spartans head to Rushville to face Rushville-Industry (4-14) in a non-conference contest.
