ROCHELLE — Senior forwards Kendyl Darby and Abby Metzger gave the Rochelle Lady Hubs a late spark during their Interstate 8 varsity basketball finale against Ottawa on Tuesday night.

Darby and Metzger combined to score 16 second-half points for the Lady Hubs, who will look to carry their positive momentum from the fourth quarter into the postseason after falling 57-37 against the Pirates. Rochelle (8-22, 1-9 Interstate 8) will have nearly one week off before taking the court for the IHSA 3A Sterling Regional on Monday, Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. The eighth-seeded Lady Hubs will square off against the top-seeded Sterling Golden Warriors in the semifinals.

“Tonight was a good step forward for us in terms of playing with discipline and intensity,” head coach Jon Gehm said. “We have a long way to go this week, but we have to come out with a lot of fire and shoot really well. We’re hoping that we can give them something they haven’t seen before and hopefully they miss a few shots. We have to bring our all and that’s all we can do.”

Smart passes allowed the Lady Hubs to get the ball inside during the fourth quarter, where Metzger made four field goals, including a mid-range jumper, to end the night with 10 points. Darby, who also knocked down a mid-range shot from the baseline in the fourth quarter, led the Lady Hubs with 14 points in the game. Ottawa did the bulk of its damage from 3-point range, drilling 10 triples against Rochelle’s man-to-man defense. The Pirates led 27-15 at halftime.

“Kendyl, Abby and Riley [Doyle] did a really nice job of working together and moving off of each other,” Gehm said. “That’s something we’ve been working on. When we get someone on the block, someone else needs to flash to the high post so we can look for our high-low game and another person needs to be on the opposite side for a dive. They did a nice job playing off of each other and those are three seniors who’ve played a lot of basketball with each other.”

A slow start on offense set the Lady Hubs behind 12-4 after the opening quarter. With her team needing an answer against a tough Ottawa defense, junior guard Carmela Bright answered the bell, putting home a pair of difficult shots around the basket and drawing a foul on a 3-point shot to reach the free-throw line, where she drained all three free throws to finish with seven points.

“Carmela has come a long way defensively and that’s why we can’t take her off the floor,” Gehm said. “She’s one of our best defenders and she provides stability for us. Offensively, when she’s committed to getting downhill and she’s under control, she’s tough to stop because she reads the floor well and she makes good passes. We’re going to work with her over the summer on some go-to finishing moves in the paint because she can get there when she wants to.”

Ottawa pulled away during the second half, where senior Skylar Dorsey buried four of her game-high five 3-point shots to finish with a team-best 15 points for the Pirates. The Lady Hubs, who played without junior guard Jaydin Dickey on Tuesday, were held to two field goals in both the first and third quarters. Ottawa carried a 43-19 lead into the fourth quarter, where Skylar Dorsey canned three triples and Ayla Dorsey added a 3-pointer to seal the Pirate victory.

Freshman guard Audrina Rodriguez scored four points for the Lady Hubs, making both of the team’s first-quarter field goals. Junior guard Mary Chadwick made a layup at the final buzzer.