A renewed sense of confidence enabled Rochelle senior Kendyl Darby to take on a leadership role for the Lady Hubs during the 2024-25 varsity basketball season this winter.
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ROCHELLE — A renewed sense of confidence enabled Rochelle senior Kendyl Darby to take on a leadership role for the Lady Hubs during the 2024-25 varsity basketball season this winter.
Entering her fourth season of varsity basketball and returning as the only four-year player at the varsity level, Darby led Rochelle in scoring and rebounding this season, averaging 11.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game while shooting the second-highest percentage on the team at 36.5 percent. Darby’s efforts allowed her to earn All-Conference honors from the Interstate 8 for the first time in her high school career. Rochelle finished with an 8-23 overall record this season.
“I walked into the season hoping to have a good individual season and a good team season,” Darby said. “It was nice to be recognized as an individual. I thought the season went well and I thought there were a lot of things that we grew on as a team… Coming out my senior season and doing really good things helped my confidence grow. I walked into my freshman year with a lot of confidence and it went down over the years, but I thought I gained it all back this year.”
Darby opened her senior season with a strong performance at the Oregon Tipoff Tournament in November, earning All-Tournament Team honors and helping the Lady Hubs win three of its four games. Darby, who scored 22 points during Rochelle’s season opener against Amboy, led the Lady Hubs in double-doubles this season. Darby posted 18 points and 15 rebounds against Princeton on Jan. 27 as well as 17 points and 11 rebounds against LaSalle-Peru on Jan. 10.
“Offensively, my shot has improved a lot over the years,” Darby said. “I didn’t always have the best shot and I had a little slump this season, but I wound up getting it back... I really enjoyed the team aspect of playing basketball at Rochelle. We were all friends and we would all hang out with each other. We’re all really close friends and we didn’t have to force anything.”
Darby will be one of four seniors (as well as one of three starters) who will depart from the program after this school year. Among Rochelle’s starters eligible to return next season are junior guard Jaydin Dickey, who received an Interstate 8 All-Conference Honorable Mention after averaging 9.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and a team-best 2.2 steals per game this season. Dickey also led Rochelle in 3-point shooting, converting a team-high 30.1 percent of her shots.
