ROCHELLE — The Lady Hub varsity basketball team fought as hard as it could into the final minutes Friday evening, when Rochelle battled to close out its unprecedented shortened season with a home victory against the Ottawa Pirates in the team’s last conference game.  

Rochelle and Ottawa remained tied after each of the first three quarters. Neither team extended its lead beyond five points until Pirate guard Brooke Waddell drained two straight 3-pointers to put Ottawa ahead 47-41 midway through the fourth quarter. Waddell’s shooting surge was all the Pirates needed to hold off the Lady Hubs, winning 53-44 and handing Rochelle a loss in the team’s final game. The Lady Hubs finished 3-10 in the Interstate 8 this season.

“It was definitely one of our best games of the season from start to finish,” head coach Tony Rowan said. “We want to compete at the highest level and this was definitely a winnable game for us. The kids executed well, but we didn’t knock down enough shots and Ottawa hit free throws to stretch its lead late in the game. Our communication was phenomenal tonight.”

Although Waddell led the Pirates with 17 points on Friday, Rochelle held her to only one point in the opening quarter, where junior Josie Lundquist made a series of aggressive drives to the basket for five Lady Hub points. Rochelle also succeeded early on in shutting down Pirate guard Ella Marvel, who finished with 15 points but had zero in the first quarter. Junior Zoey Tabor attacked the rim in the second quarter, drawing two fouls and making all four free throws.

“We knew where to switch on defense,” Rowan said. “The kids were rotating perfectly and our help lines were great… We made sure we weren’t giving up any layups and we made their guards step out and shoot from far beyond the 3-point line, which are tough shots to defend.”

Both teams were tied 10-10 after the first quarter, but neither team managed to make a run before halftime, with the score showing 19-19 at the half. The Lady Hubs utilized a collective effort to stay with the Pirates in the third quarter, with seven Rochelle players scoring including senior Sofia Lenkaitis, who nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the arc for three of her nine points. However, both teams remained tied after the third quarter by a score of 34-34.

Foul issues plagued Ottawa in the first half, with the Pirates committing well over 10 fouls over the first two quarters. That theme was reversed in the second half, though, as Rochelle found itself down six points and over the seven-foul limit with nearly three minutes remaining.  Ottawa went only 6-for-11 from the free-throw line down the stretch, but the Lady Hubs were unable to come up with enough makes to rally back. Tabor led Rochelle with 11 points Friday.

“We always talk about how we’re a family,” Rowan said. “We spent a lot of time together and even though we didn’t have the same type of bus trips and time together this season because of COVID-19, the kids embraced each other and I’m really proud about that. We need to have more girls in the gym. We can’t have only a few girls in the gym who are trying to improve.”