DIXON — Defense and rebounding allowed the Rochelle Lady Hub varsity basketball team to win the fourth quarter and secure a hard-fought victory against Freeport on Thursday, when the purple and white faced the Pretzels during the 45th Annual Dixon KSB Holiday Classic.

The Lady Hubs held Freeport to just six fourth-quarter points on two made field goals. With its defense providing the pressure in the half-court area, Rochelle saw multiple girls sink key shots late in the game, enabling the Lady Hubs to hold off the Pretzels 59-51. It was the second victory of the day for Rochelle (7-10, 0-3 Interstate 8), who beat Rockford East in the morning.

“Any day where we can win two games is a great day,” head coach Jon Gehm said. “I thought we shot the lights out against Rockford East in the morning. We came out and we pressured them right away. We shot the ball well and we were ready to play… This game was gritty at times and we felt that it could be tight all of the way through, but we did a nice job of finishing.”

Freeport’s KK Walker-Castle sparked the Pretzel offense in the first quarter, where she scored eight of her 13 points and drilled two open triples from beyond the arc. On the other end of the floor, senior Alivia Henkel fueled the Lady Hubs with four close-range baskets, while seniors Megan Seebach and Loretta Atkinson each nailed 3-point shots for the Lady Hub offense.

Rochelle’s 1-2-2 zone defense struggled early, as the Pretzels held a 20-17 lead after the first quarter. A switch to man-to-man defense turned the tables for the Lady Hubs, who limited Freeport to nine second-quarter points and utilized a size advantage down low to sneak ahead 30-29 at halftime. Junior Kendyl Darby sank a pair of low-post shots for four of her eight points in the game, while senior Kara Martinez converted two field goals including a long 3-pointer.

“We gave up 20 points in the first quarter and we know that’s unacceptable,” Gehm said. “We weren’t playing well in our 1-2-2, so we switched to man and we told the girls that our goal was to hold them to 10 points or less in every quarter. We did that in the second and fourth quarters. Our rebounding was much better and we did a better job of finishing the play. We were securing the defensive rebounds and getting the ball out to the outlet and getting into our offense.”

Both teams traded blows during the third quarter, where Walker-Castle made her third triple of the game and Taylor Griffin found her rhythm with a pair of field goals and a 3-point from the corner for the Pretzels. Rochelle answered every Freeport basket with a basket of their own, however, as Martinez continued to attack with a mid-range conversion and a 3-pointer to lead the charge. The Lady Hubs also drew plenty of contact, reaching the free-throw line four times.

Despite Henkel missing most of the fourth quarter with four fouls, Rochelle leaned on its defense to secure the victory Thursday afternoon. With players like sophomore Jaydin Dickey guarding hard on the perimeter and junior Abby Metzger closing out possessions with defensive rebounds down low, Rochelle slowly grew its lead, which reached as high as nine points over the final minutes. Henkel finished with 17 points and Martinez followed with 10 points in the win.

“Alivia was out with four fouls so we had to manage without her for a while,” Gehm said. “We had different girls step up. Loretta made big shots and Kara did a nice job of handling the point for us. Jaydin made some big plays and she’s been making big plays ever since we called her up to the varsity team. We took care of the ball when we needed to and Kendyl did a nice job for us down low. She also played some nice defense and that’s what we needed.”

Dickey recorded nine points for the Lady Hubs, who will conclude the tournament with one more consolation game on Friday. Atkinson and Darby each totaled eight points in Thursday’s win.

Rockford East

The Rochelle Lady Hub varsity basketball team dominated Rockford East on Thursday morning, winning 73-23 in its second game of the 45th Annual Dixon KSB Holiday Classic. Senior Alivia Henkel led the Lady Hubs (6-10, 0-3 Interstate 8) with 19 points, while junior Payton Cesarone drilled four 3-pointers to finish with 12 points. Senior Loretta Atkinson totaled nine points and two made triples, while junior Kendyl Darby and sophomore Jaydin Dickey each had five points.