PLANO — Full-court defense from start to finish allowed the Rochelle Lady Hub varsity basketball team to overcome a slow start during Friday evening’s Interstate 8 Conference road matchup against Plano.

Senior Lucy Bunger delivered a strong second quarter for the Lady Hubs, scoring 10 of her season-high 13 points on two 3-pointers and a pair of soft layups around the basket. Bunger also anchored Rochelle’s full-court pressure on defense, helping the Lady Hubs overcome a first-quarter deficit to defeat Plano 46-33.

“It feels good to snap our losing streak,” Bunger said. “We weren’t happy with how we played during the first quarter but we knew we had to move on from that and show them what we were capable of. We’re always fighting hard on defense and we’re always moving until the game stops for a timeout or another reason. It felt good to knock down those shots and I thought we took another step forward as a team.”

The Reapers sunk a trio of perimeter shots in the opening quarter, emerging with an 11-8 lead as Rochelle (11-15, 4-7 Interstate 8) struggled with turnovers on the offensive end. But with Bunger catching fire in the second quarter, the Lady Hubs took control of the first half, surging ahead 25-19 at halftime. Junior Torrin Nantz sunk her first 3-pointer of the night in the third quarter to keep the Lady Hub offense moving.

Leading 31-25 entering the fourth quarter, Rochelle looked for freshman Kendyl Darby to close out the victory. Although Plano clawed within one point of the Lady Hubs midway through the fourth quarter, Darby took command of the Rochelle offense down the stretch, scoring on a series of low-post shots including an old-fashioned 3-point play through contact. Darby totaled nine of her 15 points in the fourth quarter.

Nantz finished with five points in the game and senior Adriannah Davis-Carter chipped in four points. Seniors Zoey Tabor, Josie Lundquist and freshman Abby Metzger each added two points on Friday.

L-P/Ottawa

The Rochelle Lady Hub varsity basketball team opened the week with an Interstate 8 Conference matchup against LaSalle-Peru on Monday, falling just short in a 48-40 loss to the Cavaliers. Senior Abby Luxton led Rochelle with nine points, while senior Josie Lundquist and junior Torrin Nantz each scored seven points. The Lady Hubs faced Ottawa on the road Tuesday evening, falling 55-17 to move to 10-15 on the season.