ROCHELLE — The Rochelle Lady Hub varsity basketball team did everything it could to hang tough during the first half of its nonconference matchup against the 26-win Dixon Duchesses on Tuesday night.

Four different players knocked down 3-pointers in the first quarter for the Lady Hubs, who continue to battle with tough defense and some success in the pick-and-roll offense during the second quarter. Rochelle trailed Dixon by only three points at the half, but the Duchesses shut down the Lady Hubs over the third and fourth quarters, limiting Rochelle to six points and ultimately cruising to a 52-29 win over the Lady Hubs.

“Dixon has a really good basketball team and I know their coach has been working with those girls for over a decade now,” head coach Ryan McQuade said. “I thought we were well prepared and I thought we came out with a lot of energy, but we didn’t have that same energy during the second half… I think we’re performing really well as a team right now. The girls have shown great chemistry and we’ve improved.”

Senior Josie Lundquist canned the first of four Rochelle triples in the first quarter, hitting a shot from the left elbow for the first points of the evening. Seniors Lucy Bunger, Zoey Tabor and junior Torrin Nantz also made 3-pointers for the Lady Hubs (13-16, 6-7 Interstate 8), who trailed 13-12 entering the second quarter. Rochelle’s full-court press flustered the Duchesses early, with players like sophomore Alivia Henkel forcing deflections and forcing Dixon turnovers to create transition scoring opportunities on the other end.

But the Duchesses rallied behind senior guard Sam Tourtillott, who led all scorers with 17 points in the game. Tourtillott aggressively drove to the basket throughout the second half, converting multiple layups and drawing fouls to get to the free-throw line. The Lady Hubs also struggled with Dixon’s three-quarter-court press, which allowed the Duchesses to utilize their superior length to force turnovers of their own.

“We have to knock down shots against a team like Dixon, especially when they’re playing a zone defense and they have a lot of length,” McQuade said. “They basically dared us to beat them from the outside and I thought we did that during the first half. Dixon started pressuring us a little near the end of the first half, and without a girl who can throw the ball over the top, we had some troubles when we tried breaking the press.”

Despite holding Dixon to a 26-23 advantage at halftime, Rochelle converted just one field goal in the third quarter, where the Duchesses outscored the Lady Hubs 16-2 to take control of the game. Henkel and Tabor each finished with six points for the Lady Hubs in the game.

Morris

The Rochelle Lady Hub varsity basketball team won its final Interstate 8 Conference road game of the season Monday evening, defeating the Morris Redskins 36-29 behind nine points from senior Josie Lundquist and nine points from freshman Kendyl Darby. The victory sealed a season sweep of the Redskins.