The Lady Hubs varsity basketball team found itself in another heated conference battle Tuesday night, and for the second consecutive week, the Rochelle girls had an opportunity to win the game during the final seconds.
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ROCHELLE — The Lady Hubs varsity basketball team found itself in another heated conference battle Tuesday night, and for the second consecutive week, the Rochelle girls had an opportunity to win the game during the final seconds.
Senior Jacie Wyatt caught an inbounds pass by teammate Morgan Baker and scored to bring Rochelle within one point of upending its Northern Illinois Big 12 West rival Geneseo. The Leafs turned the ball over with only a few seconds remaining in the game, and the Lady Hubs regained possession looking for an open look at the basket.
But Rochelle couldn’t find the basket as time expired, and Geneseo escaped with a 49-48 victory over the Lady Hubs. Rochelle falls to 9-13 overall, and it’s the second loss by just one point suffered by the Lady Hubs after Sterling defeated them 58-57 this past week.
“We did a good job defensively of pressuring the basketball,” head coach Tony Rowan said. “We were able to get stops when we needed them and we played them even in the fourth quarter. But we gave up five offensive rebounds in about two minutes during the third quarter and that sealed the game.”
Junior Abby Lundquist came alive in the fourth quarter to give Rochelle a fighting chance against Geneseo, scoring nine of her team-high 18 points to bring the Lady Hubs within striking distance. The Leafs effectively troubled Rochelle with their defensive pressure during their first game against Rochelle earlier this season, but the purple and white kept Geneseo in the half-court defense for most of Tuesday’s contest.
“We repped their press over the past two days and we really stressed not turning over the basketball,” Rowan said. “I think we did a good job of sharing the basketball over most of the first half… We just need to watch the film and trust our teammates a little bit more.”
Wyatt and Baker combined for 20 Rochelle points on Tuesday. Josie Brown led the Leafs with nine points, while Keeli Frerichs and Hannah Himmelman each added eight points. While Geneseo struggled shooting the ball, the green and white punished Rochelle on the boards, often scoring after second and third-chance opportunities.
“They were riding us underneath the basket when we were getting tired,” Rowan said. “We just need to do a better job of blocking out knees and trying to jump into their chest to get more push calls.”
Rochelle will travel to Ottawa on Friday for another NIB-12 West game against the Lady Pirates.
