Over the last four years, every one of Mendota senior Laylie Denault’s classmates dropped out of the girls basketball program.

Denault and the Trojans endured some tough times, winning five games in 2022-23 and 2023-24 and just four games last season.

“I stuck with basketball because I really like the sport, and I’ve always liked the sport,” Denault said. “I like being with teammates all the time. I don’t like the offseason. I like the bond I’ve built with the younger girls.”

Denault’s willingness to stick it out paid off this season.

After Mendota honored its lone senior Tuesday night, the Trojans defeated Putnam County 37-16 for a nonconference victory in their regular-season finale to earn their 10th win of the season.

“It meant a lot (to win on senior night),” Denault said. “We haven’t won that many senior nights in the past, so it was really good that we got to for my senior night.

“It was very rewarding (to earn our 10th win). Every year the goal has been to get 10 wins, and this year it’s like a full-circle moment, because we finally did it.”

This season is Mendota’s first with double-digit wins since 2019-20, when the Trojans finished 21-11.

“I think our team has been very dedicated,” Denault said. “Everybody always shows up to practice, and we push each other really hard. We just never really give up. Even when we’re down, we don’t just roll over and let the other team win.”

Along with reaching double-digit wins this season, the Trojans also snapped a 27-game Three Rivers Conference East Division losing streak dating back to 2023 and earned a No. 8 seed in their sub-sectional as they look for their first postseason victory since 2020.

Mendota will host No. 9 Rock Falls in a Class 2A Somonauk Regional quarterfinal at noon Saturday.

“Every year we sit down and talk and I make them write down a team goal,” Mendota coach John Hansen said. “We talked about 10 wins. A lot of years we say that, and it feels like we’re just throwing out a number. It truly felt like this team meant it and wanted to do it.

“It’s 100% a testament to how hard they work. I’ve always said we’re a team that doesn’t belong with four wins. We’re finally showing that this year. It’s nice to actually do it and set a new bar.”

On Tuesday, the Trojans held Putnam County to just two points in the first quarter to take a 10-2 lead after the first eight minutes.

Mendota led 13-2 early in the second quarter and took a 21-6 halftime lead.

“We got after it on defense, which has been our thing all year,” Hansen said. “We did a good job pressuring them into some turnovers. I wish we did a little better job turning it into some points, but for the most part the defensive effort was great.”

Karson Doyle led the Trojans (10-19) with 12 points, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks, while Denault contributed eight points, three steals, three assists and a block.

“Laylie’s entire class bailed with [the shutdown of sports due to] COVID and didn’t come back, so I’ve always had a special appreciation for Laylie,” Hansen said. “She 100% could have done the same thing. I think basketball is her third favorite sport, but you wouldn’t know it by the way she works or the way she comes here as a leader.

“You don’t replace the stuff Laylie brings. She forces stuff defensively, she moves the ball offensively. It doesn’t always show on the stat sheet, but it did a little bit this year, and I was really happy with that for her.”

Kaylynn Hill scored six points for the Panthers (2-27).

“I made the girls go around and give me one word of how they thought they played, and we had a lot of ‘sloppy,’ ‘messy,’ ‘lazy,’ ‘slow,’ and I think they summed it up pretty well,” PC coach Becca Pyszka said. “There was a lot of energy in the gym tonight, so I was like, ‘We’re going to have to match that,’ and they did not.

“We started out flat. We had two points in the first quarter, and that sets us up for failure.”

Putnam County plays Hall on Thursday to end the regular season before playing at Dwight on Saturday in the first round of the Class 1A Amboy Regional.

“We have to come to practice tomorrow ready to go,” Pyszka said. “We’re going to have to step it up at practice and be the best we can in those games.”

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Putnam County's Isabella Gibson forces a jump ball with Mendota's Emily Sondgeroth and Eva Beetz on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026 at Mendota High School. (Scott Anderson)