STILLMAN VALLEY — Rochelle’s freshmen and sophomore Hubs made a strong first impression in their season-opening basketball game against Stillman Valley on Friday. Behind 13 points from sophomore John Green, Rochelle took down the Cardinals 44-20 for its first win.

“It’s a huge sigh of relief to have our kids out on the court,” head coach Ryne Vrana said. “I know they missed being out there. They were really energetic and they were getting up and down the court. We could see in their body language that they were eager to be out there.”

Freshman Jack Tracey added nine points in the Rochelle victory, while sophomore Dylan Gapski and freshman Jack Lodico each totaled six points. Freshmen Parker Lenkaitis and Braden Behrens combined for nine Hub points, with freshman Abel Huerta chipping in two points. Rochelle’s trademark press defense limited Stillman Valley to only three first-quarter points.

“They like to work hard and they’re not afraid to get physical,” Vrana said. “We took three charges in the game and it’s nice to see we have kids who work hard and play physical. The kids ran well tonight and it’s good to see them buying into our system of transition offense. We pressed the entire game and they seemed to do well with the masks they were wearing.”

The Hubs led 10-3 after the first quarter and grew their lead by halftime. Gapski sank two 3-pointers in the third quarter, helping Rochelle extend its advantage to 31-14 after three quarters. Tracey hit the team’s third and final triple in the fourth quarter.