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MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa – It took the Muscatine girls’ basketball team 2 1/2 quarters to reach 20 points in its season opener at Cedar Rapids Prairie last weekend.

The Muskies needed just more than eight minutes on Tuesday night to surpass that mark.

Ignited by the backcourt duo of Jordan Walgren and Julie Wunder, Muscatine tallied 20 first-quarter points en route to its first win of the 2009-10 season, a 61-53 decision over Mount Pleasant.

Walgren buried three 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 19 points, while Wunder also knocked down three treys and registered 17 points for Susan Orvis’ club.

“It’s good to get the first win out of the way,” Orvis said. “I just thought our awareness was much better tonight in late-game situations. Against the press, we were a little more patient and didn’t rush through some things.”

After turning the ball over 28 times in its opener, Muscatine (1-1) had just nine against Mount Pleasant and built a seven-point lead after the first quarter.

“Jordan and Julie hit a couple long range shots off the bat,” Orvis said. “They came out in a zone, so it was nice to hit a couple early. It forced them to switch defenses.”

Mount Pleasant didn’t go way. Thanks to a game-high 31 points from Taylor Shull, the Panthers trimmed the deficit to six at halftime and shaved it to four points after three quarters.

Shull connected on six of Mount Pleasant’s 10 treys.

“They had a couple tough shooters that were really tough and could create their own shot,” Orvis said. “Once they got going, they could pour in a lot of points in a hurry.”

Orvis said her team had plenty of chances for inside points. Muscatine shot 34 percent from inside the 3-point line compared to 7-for-14 from beyond the arc.

“Mount Pleasant doesn’t have a lot of size this year, so they had to play tight and use heir speed,” Orvis said. “The high and low post was there all day. We missed quite a few shots in there.”

Viola Wagner had her second consecutive double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Muskies. Haylie Franklin pulled down eight rebounds for Muscatine, which owned a 41-23 advantage on the boards.

Muscatine’s four-game road swing to begin the season continues Saturday night at third-ranked Linn-Mar.

“I think tonight reinforces the things we’re trying to emphasize,” Orvis said. “We’ve spent a lot of time on defense. It’s encouraging from a coaches standpoint to see some of the things we’re working on in practice translate into the game.

“We still have a long ways to go, but tonight was a nice night and a positive night for the girls.”

Muscatine        20     8    12    21 – 61

Mount Pleasant 13     9    14    17 – 53

Muscatine (61) – Jordan Walgren 5 6-7 19, Julie Wunder 7 0-0 17, Leti Lerma 2 0-0 5, Hannah Peck 0 0-0 0, Haylie Franklin 1 2-2 4, Shelby Lohman 0 0-0 0, Viola Wagner 4 4-6 12, Katelyn Dew 2 0-0 4. Totals 21-55 12-15 61.

Mount Pleasant (53) – Taylor Shull 11 3-6 31, Rebekah Kinzey 3 0-1 6, Sarah Pieper 2 0-0 6, Alissa Maxwell 2 2-2 7, Stef Myers 1 0-0 3, Allison Maxwell 0 0-0 0, Caitlin Fry 0 0-0 0. Totals 19-41 5-9 53.

3-point goals – Muscatine 7-14 (Walgren 3, Wunder 3, Lerma); Mount Pleasant 10-17 (Shull 6, Pieper 2, Alissa Maxwell, Myers). Rebounds – Muscatine 41 (Wagner 11, Franklin 8); Mount Pleasant 23. Assists – Muscatine 10 (Franklin 3, Wagner 2, Wunder 2); Mount Pleasant 9. Steals – Muscatine 8 (Walgren 5); Mount Pleasant 4. Total fouls – Muscatine 11, Mount Pleasant 13. Turnovers – Muscatine 9, Mount Pleasant 14.

Records – Muscatine 1-1; Mount Pleasant 0-1.

Next – Muscatine travels to Linn-Mar on Saturday night.

MHS sophs prevail, 24-19

MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa – Allison Schmoldt hit a 3-pointer and finished with a game-high seven points to help the Muscatine girls’ sophomore team defeat Mount Pleasant, 24-19, Tuesday.

“We played a little bit better (than Saturday’s opener),” head coach Al Hilton said. “We’ve still got to find a way to score more points.”

Morgan Johnson had five points and three players had four each as Muscatine evened its record at 1-1.

Muscatine                6    6    7    5 – 24

Mount Pleasant        6    3    6    4 – 19

Muscatine (24) – Allison Schmoldt 3 0-0 7, Yolanda Taylor 0 0-0 0, Brooke Batha 2 0-0 4, Jacqueline Simmons 0 0-0 0, Morgan Johnson 2 1-2 5, Sidney Rudolph 2 0-0 4, Miranda Ebeling 1 2-4 4. Totals 10 3-6 24.

Mount Pleasant (19) – Brooke Johnson 2 0-0 4, Natalie Booten 3 0-0 6, Emily Hafferman 1 1-2 3, Lindsay Fox 2 0-5 4, Caitlin Fry 1 0-2 2. Totals 9 1-19 19.

3-point goals – Muscatine 1 (Schmoldt); Mount Pleasant 0. Total fouls – Muscatine 8, Mount Pleasant 11.