ROCHELLE — Locking in on defense has enabled the Rochelle Lady Hub varsity basketball team to enjoy one of its most successful seasons in recent history this winter. The Lady Hubs were on point defensively Saturday evening when the Plano Reapers arrived for the IHSA 3A Rochelle Regional Quarterfinals.

Having beaten Plano in the Interstate 8 Conference twice this season, Rochelle was tasked with defeating the Reapers for a third time in order to reach the semifinal round. But the sixth-seeded Lady Hubs were unfazed with the rematch, dominating on defense once again to beat the ninth-seeded Reapers 53-19. Rochelle (15-16, 7-7 Interstate 8) will face the top-seeded Sycamore Spartans in the semifinal round.

“Our mindset coming in was that we shouldn’t assume we’ll win because we had beaten them twice,” senior Adriannah Davis-Carter said. “Our coach drilled that into our heads and we were really happy with the outcome. We’ve worked a lot on our communication and playing as a team. I thought we communicated really well tonight and we were picking each other up throughout the game.”

Plano struggled to find any shooting space against Rochelle’s ball pressure, converting only two field goals in the first half and scoring just seven points. Junior Torrin Nantz sparked the Lady Hub offense with a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter before drilling her third of the evening in the second quarter for nine points. Sophomore Alivia Henkel gave great effort off the bench, scoring a team-high 10 points and anchoring the Rochelle defense on the perimeter. The Lady Hubs led 16-5 after the first quarter and 27-7 at halftime.

“We came together before the season and it was a tough adjustment for us with a new coach, but we’ve become a family this season and we’re so close with each other,” Davis-Carter said. “We work so well together and we have a lot of fun during practice, but we also make sure we’re constantly focused and ready for the next game. It’s crazy that we’ve won 15 games, especially because we’ve had a lot of injuries. We’ve always fought through it and toughened up and our younger players have really stepped up.”

Two underclassmen stepped up for the Lady Hubs in the third quarter including freshman Kendyl Darby, who banked home two low-post shots under the basket and split two free throws to cap off a seven-point performance in the win. Senior Josie Lundquist swished a 3-pointer in each of the last two quarters for the Lady Hubs, who led 39-14 after three quarters and outscored the Reapers 26-12 in the second half. Senior Jordin Dickey canned two triples in the fourth quarter in her return from a shoulder injury.