Lundquist earns All-Conference First Team honors

Wyatt receives All-Conference Honorable Mention

Russell Hodges
Posted 2/28/17

Abby Lundquist was happy to learn she had received First-Team All-Conference honors, and the Lady Hub sophomore has her eyes set on bigger and better things for the future.

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Lundquist earns All-Conference First Team honors

Wyatt receives All-Conference Honorable Mention

Posted

ROCHELLE — Abby Lundquist was happy to learn she had received First-Team All-Conference honors, and the Lady Hub sophomore has her eyes set on bigger and better things for the future.

Lundquist was one of only two sophomores to be named to the Northern Illinois Big 12 West All-Conference First Team this week, joining Ottawa’s Angelique Cowan. Lundquist averaged 15.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 23 varsity games this season.

“I felt very honored to be selected as an All-Conference player and to be able to represent Lady Hub basketball,” Lundquist said. “I hope it motivates younger players to put in the hard work. I was excited when coach [Tony] Rowan told me I made All-Conference but I realize that I still have a lot of room for improvement.”

This season was Lundquist’s second at the varsity level after making the team as a freshman last year. In addition to team bonding, the standout sophomore said her work over the summer this past offseason helped her make strides in several areas of her game.

“From my freshman year to my sophomore year I worked on a lot of things during the summer including ball handling and my shooting release,” she said. “I also gained more confidence and developed better relationships with my teammates.”

Rochelle finished the season with an 11-17 record including three conference victories over LaSalle-Peru, Sterling and DeKalb. The Lady Hubs also defeated the Harvard Hornets in the IHSA Class 3A Regional Quarterfinals at Rockford Lutheran High School before falling in a tough battle to the Stillman Valley Cardinals.

But for Lundquist, she said she hopes the girls can bring home a few more accolades as she progresses into her junior and senior seasons.

“I believe that we are capable of winning a regional and competing for a conference title in the future,” she said. “This year I feel like the team had higher expectations and we challenged each other in practice to get better.”

Lundquist and the Lady Hubs got off to a solid start this year, but an injury during Rochelle’s home game against the Morris Redskins put the remainder of Lundquist’s season in doubt. The injury turned out to be a broken left hand, and although the sophomore was forced to the sideline for the final five games of the season, she continued to cheer on her teammates from the bench and remained engaged in practice and in team huddles.

“When I broke my hand I was really disappointed that I couldn’t finish the season with the seniors and the rest of the team,” she said. “Honestly, I’m not one who needed an injury to realize how much I appreciate the sport because I’ve never taken it for granted.”

Moreover, Lundquist is entering the final stages of her recovery from the broken hand, and she said she is anxious to return to action next month.

“I’m just excited to get back on the court with my AAU team and continue getting better for next season with the Lady Hubs,” she said.