Abby Lundquist wasn’t sure why her teammates kept patting her on the back during a timeout in the Rochelle varsity girls basketball team’s nonconference game against Genoa-Kingston on Saturday. But when she looked up at her mother Tracy in the stands, it became clear what had just occurred.
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GENOA — Abby Lundquist wasn’t sure why her teammates kept patting her on the back during a timeout in the Rochelle varsity girls basketball team’s nonconference game against Genoa-Kingston on Saturday. But when she looked up at her mother Tracy in the stands, it became clear what had just occurred.
Lady Hubs head coach Tony Rowan called the timeout shortly after Lundquist became the second player in Rochelle Township High School girls basketball history to score over 1,500 points in a career. The milestone came with an added bonus, as the Lady Hubs snapped a three-game losing streak by beating Genoa-Kingston 68-55 and improving to 5-10 overall.
“I didn’t really realize what happened until coach Rowan called the timeout,” Lundquist said. “I saw my mom and she smiled at me… It was special and my teammates celebrated with me after the game. They made the moment really special.”
Lundquist has shouldered the load on offense this season, and that didn’t change on Saturday, as the senior standout utilized her patented left-handed dribble-drive to score a career-high 42 points. Lundquist also added a team-high 11 rebounds and three steals in the win, and while her 3-point shot wasn’t falling (she finished 2-for-10 in the game), she went 12-for-16 on 2-point field goals and 12-for-17 from the free-throw line.
“I really like shooting the ball, but my shots just weren’t going in,” Lundquist said. “I thought that I should drive more, and I don’t think they realized that I’m better with my left hand than my right… I was taking them left every single time and that really worked for me. They weren’t taking my left hand away.”
Freshman Sylvia Hasz stepped up for the Lady Hubs, recording her third double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Rochelle improved to 3-0 this season when Hasz finishes with a double-double, something that isn’t a coincidence to Lundquist or her teammates.
“I was super proud of her after the game and I was trying to hype her up a little bit,” Lundquist said. “She’s so quiet but I was applauding her for being aggressive. It was the first time I had really seen Sylvia be aggressive and she was going after the ball a lot. She was playing like she had a lot of confidence in herself.”
Freshman Josie Lundquist added seven points and two rebounds in the win, while junior Gabrielle Harding and freshman Lucy Bunger combined for 11 points and six rebounds. Sophomore Afi Gati helped the Lady Hubs with 10 rebounds of her own. Rochelle will face LaSalle-Peru at home on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
“The win was really big for us because we were getting a little frustrated with all of the losses,” Lundquist said. “We’ve played some pretty tough teams, and Genoa-Kingston was a good team too. We couldn’t just walk in and get a win, and I’m really proud of how we worked for it.”
Rochelle led Genoa-Kingston 31-25 at halftime. The Cogs cut the lead down to four points entering the fourth quarter, but the Lady Hubs outscored Genoa-Kingston 24-15 over the fourth quarter.
