Girls Basketball: Geneseo pressure puts away Lady Hubs

Maple Leafs hand Rochelle eighth straight loss 78-47

Russell Hodges
Posted 1/9/19

A strong performance from senior guard Abby Lundquist helped the Rochelle varsity girls basketball team stay within striking distance of Geneseo during conference play against the Maple Leafs this past Thursday.

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Girls Basketball: Geneseo pressure puts away Lady Hubs

Maple Leafs hand Rochelle eighth straight loss 78-47

Posted

GENESEO — A strong performance from senior guard Abby Lundquist helped the Rochelle varsity girls basketball team stay within striking distance of Geneseo during conference play against the Maple Leafs this past Thursday.

Lundquist poured in 26 first-half points, allowing the Lady Hubs to outscore Geneseo 21-16 in the second quarter and cut the Maple Leaf advantage down to six points (39-33) by halftime. Geneseo’s size was too much to handle in the second half, however, as the Maple Leafs outpaced Rochelle 39-14 over the final two quarters to win 78-47 and drop the Lady Hubs to 5-18 overall.

“We did a great job of applying our pressure in the first half,” head coach Tony Rowan said. “We were taking their pressure, and I don’t think they came out with any added intensity in the second half, but we were relaxing too much and we were getting caught. Their post players were able to finish around the basket… We need to focus on the little things with the basketball in our hands.”

Geneseo led 23-12 after the first quarter before Rochelle rallied back behind Lundquist, who finished 10-for-23 from the field and 7-for-9 from the free-throw line. Lundquist and freshman Lucy Bunger each totaled a team-high four steals to anchor the Lady Hub defense, with freshman Zoey Tabor and senior Cheyene Watson each recording two steals.

“We talk about getting lost in transition offensively, and we were able to break their press,” Rowan said. “They were losing track of Abby, and when we’re able to break the press without the basketball in Abby’s hands, we can find her and create open shots… We need to continue getting better at accepting pressure and applying our own.”

The Maple Leafs exploded out of the locker room in the third quarter, using a 29-8 run to create a 27-point advantage and effectively take Rochelle away from any shot at victory. Hannah Himmelman and Kammie Ludwig led the charge for Geneseo, as the two girls combined for 34 points in the Maple Leaf win.

“We have to come out with the same intensity in the second half that we have to start the game,” Rowan said. “They applied the same pressures and we did a lot of the right things we do in practice such as ripping the ball away and turning up the court. We were catching and holding onto the ball in the second half, which allowed their bigger kids to pressure us. They were getting quick, easy buckets by getting their hands on the ball.”

Tabor scored seven points for Rochelle, while freshman Sylvia Hasz and senior Emilee Dueringer each totaled four points. Watson led the Lady Hubs with five rebounds, junior Gabrielle Harding added four rebounds and sophomore Afi Gati recorded three rebounds.