ROCHELLE — A 6-0 run to start the third quarter gave the Rochelle Lady Hubs a spark during their nonconference varsity basketball matchup against Rock Falls on Thursday evening.

Defense was the key to success for the Lady Hubs, who held the Rockets to only two points in the third quarter. On the offensive end, Rochelle found its shooting stroke, drilling seven triples including three in a row during the second quarter. Three Lady Hubs reached double figures as Rochelle overcame a slow start in the first quarter to cruise for a 64-39 victory over the Rockets.

“We weren’t bailing them out with fouls,” head coach Jon Gehm said when asked about the team’s strong third quarter. “I thought we were in good positions defensively during the first half and we forced them to dribble the ball inside, but we would reach for the ball and slap at it, which resulted in us picking up a lot of silly fouls. During the second half, we emphasized not picking up those fouls. We were in better positions, we took charges and rebounded better.”

Rochelle (4-2, 0-0 Interstate 8) carried a 12-8 lead into the second quarter, where senior Kendyl Darby put home a 3-pointer from the corner before juniors Payton Cesarone and Rose Luxton drained 3-pointers during the next two possessions. Rock Falls remained within striking distance at halftime, however, as the Rockets converted a trio of 3-pointers in the second quarter, with two coming from freshman Miley Bickett, who finished with 14 points and made four triples.

“It’s huge for us when we can shoot the ball from the outside like that,” Gehm said. “It opens up the inside with Kendyl [Darby] and Abby [Metzger] down low and it creates dribble drives for us. We have some good shooters on this team, but we need more reps and I think we’ll start shooting the ball a lot better as the season gets going and the girls get more comfortable.”

Rochelle dominated the third quarter, outscoring Rock Falls 18-2 to turn a 29-22 halftime advantage into a comfortable 47-24 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Lady Hubs stymied Rock Falls with their perimeter defense and ball pressure, forcing turnovers that led to fast break layups and closing out possessions with defensive rebounds. Senior forward Abby Metzger, who led Rochelle with 14 points on Thursday, was a steady presence all evening.

“We knew that we would lean on Kendyl and Abby tonight,” Gehm said. “I thought Abby played a really good game and she’s had a really nice season so far. It was nice to see some of those shots go down for her and she’s always been one of our better free-throw shooters.”

A pull-up triple from junior Carmela Bright was one of two 3-pointers Rochelle made during the third quarter. Freshman Audrina Rodriguez followed with a pair of triples during the fourth quarter, hitting her second one from the elbow to finish with eight points in the win. Darby finished with 10 points, while junior Jaydin Dickey went 2-for-2 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to end the night with 10 points, including eight points in the second half.

“I think we’re starting to piece some things together,” Gehm said. “We saw some better ball movement in the second half. I thought we tried to force too many things inside, but we had a lot more balance and we were getting the ball around in the second half. We’re coming together.”

Cesarone totaled eight points and Luxton added seven points for the Lady Hubs, who will begin their Interstate 8 Conference schedule with a road game against Sycamore on Friday night.