ROCHELLE — Ryan McQuade spent the summer getting to know members of the Rochelle Lady Hub varsity basketball team as he prepared for his first season as head coach. With the 2021-22 season officially underway after practices tipped off on Monday, McQuade and the Lady Hubs are looking forward to their first game against Rockford Guilford on Tuesday, Nov. 16.

“Our numbers are awesome which is a huge positive to begin my tenure here,” McQuade said. “I’m really pleased with our turnout and the dedication I’ve seen throughout the summer. We have a lot of seniors which is awesome and we have a lot of talented underclassmen.”

McQuade takes over the Lady Hub varsity basketball program from Tony Rowan, who stepped down at the end of the 2020-21 season after eight years at the helm. Rochelle will return three seniors in Zoey Tabor, Josie Lundquist and Lucy Bunger who’re in their fourth varsity seasons. The Lady Hubs also return seniors Abby Luxton and Jordin Dickey, two three-year varsity players.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how Josie and Zoey progress this season,” McQuade said. “Abby went down with an ankle injury, but she should be back soon and I’m excited to see how she progresses this season. Our defense is where we’re going to hang our hat this season.”

Rochelle has finished with single-digit wins in each of the last three seasons. The Lady Hubs have not won over 10 games since the 2017-18 season and they haven’t earned a postseason victory since the 2018-19 season. McQuade said the keys to seeing the Lady Hubs bounce back this winter will be playing tough defense and giving maximum effort during every game

“Our goal is to win a regional,” McQuade said. “Our goal is to win 15-to-20 games as well. I’m not coming here to lose basketball games and I think we have the talent, the heart, the leadership and the will to accomplish our goals. I also think that bringing a new approach and a new set of skills to this program will benefit our team. I’m excited about this season.”