Excelsior Springs opened the varsity girls basketball season a winner.

And then, Excelsior Springs dropped its next two.

The girls’ victory occurred Nov. 20, when they downed visiting Lafayette County of Higginsville 43-35. The girls then tumbled to Plattsburg 60-30 Nov. 21 at Plattsburg and suffered a 44-43 heartbreaker Nov. 28 at Lexington.

IN CONTROL

Excelsior Springs led Lafayette County from the opening bucket. Sparked by a 2-2-1 press, the girls stymied the Huskers, forcing multiple turnovers. Capitalizing on those turnovers, Excelsior Springs led 12-8 after one quarter, 23-18 at halftime and 35-25 after three.

Lafayette County edged Excelsior Springs 10-8 the final quarter.

Senior Baylee O’Dell and sophomore Bella Loeffert paced Excelsior Springs offensively with 10 points each. Other contributors included sophomore Kinley Rogers with nine points, sophomore Josie Casler with seven, senior Madeline Andreasen with five and junior Lizzy Hormell with two.

PLAYING CATCHUP

Plattsburg took con…