SYCAMORE — A tough season ended in difficult fashion for the Rochelle girls basketball team when the Lady Hubs faced the top-seeded Sycamore Spartans in the semifinal round of the IHSA 3A Sycamore Regional on Tuesday.

Junior Sam House knocked down Rochelle’s only field goal in the first quarter, a 3-pointer from the left corner that stopped a 19-1 Sycamore run to open the game. The Lady Hubs entered Tuesday’s semifinal contest having lost twice against the Spartans this season, and the third time was no different, as Sycamore dominated Rochelle 61-27.

“We know what it’s going to take to win a regional,” head coach Tony Rowan said. “Sycamore’s not guaranteed to win the regional this year, but they’re high competition and they have a lot of players coming back next year. We need our girls to be in the gym over the offseason.”

Sycamore threw Rochelle completely out of its offensive rhythm early in the game, using a three-quarter press to force indecisive and errant passes from the Lady Hubs, which created easy scoring chances for the Spartans. Sycamore scored the first nine points Tuesday night, and behind sisters Kylie and Faith Feuerbach, who combined for 29 points over the first two quarters, the Spartans build up an enormous 41-11 advantage at halftime.

“When they turn it on, they really know how to turn it on,” Rowan said. “They have multiple players on the court with extremely high basketball IQs and they moved around really well. When they turn it on, they’re one of the best teams in the state.”

Despite the 30-point deficit, the Lady Hubs asserted themselves more frequently in the third quarter, sinking a pair of 3-pointers courtesy of guards Josie Lundquist and Sofia Lenkaitis, who teamed up for 12 points on Tuesday. Senior Lilly Portzen added a long triple from the right elbow to help Rochelle keep pace with the Spartans to start the second half.

“They were being aggressive in the second half,” Rowan said. “They were sitting back on their heels and letting Sycamore attack them. If we’re the aggressors, we can do good things, and that aggression helped us out a little bit.”

Sycamore led 54-20 entering the fourth quarter, where a running clock allowed the Spartans to coast into the regional finals later this week. Lundquist and House tied for a team-leading seven points on Tuesday, with Lenkaitis chipping in five points. The Lady Hubs finish the season 5-27 overall and 1-13 in the Interstate 8 Conference.