Senior Kara Martinez and the Rochelle Lady Hubs were on point defensively during the varsity basketball team’s Interstate 8 matchup against Ottawa on Wednesday night.
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ROCHELLE — Senior Kara Martinez and the Rochelle Lady Hubs were on point defensively during the varsity basketball team’s Interstate 8 matchup against Ottawa on Wednesday night.
The Lady Hubs capitalized on missed shots and free throws throughout the evening, closing out defensive possessions with rebounds and scoring around the basket to build a double-digit lead over the Pirates early in the game. Rochelle dominated the opening quarter, outscoring Ottawa 16-4 and holding the Pirates to only two field goals over the first eight minutes of the game.
“It’s all about the energy and focus at the beginning of games,” Martinez said. “Sometimes when we’re unfocused, we start off rough during games, but when we’re focused and we have good energy off the bench and around us, we really bring it up and we perform well in first quarters.”
Strong first quarters have been a recent theme for the Lady Hubs, who erupted on the offensive end during the third quarter and overcame a furious fourth-quarter effort from the Pirates to earn a 54-42 conference win over Ottawa. Senior Alivia Henkel led Rochelle (11-14, 2-6 Interstate 8) with 21 points, while Martinez followed with 16 points including 11 in the second half. It was a bounce-back win for the Lady Hubs, who lost to the Pirates 69-42 at Ottawa earlier this season.
“They had a couple of players that we focused our defense on,” Martinez said. “We focused on their shooters, who were their main scorers and were the reason we lost our last game against them. We focused on shutting them down and it worked for us. It gives us a great boost of confidence because we competed against Sycamore last week and we beat Ottawa tonight. I think we’re progressively climbing the ladder to become the top team in the conference.”
Henkel fueled the Rochelle offense in the first quarter, working underneath the basket and putting home four close-range shots while forcing multiple Ottawa turnovers on the other end. The Lady Hubs also received a first-quarter boost from sophomore guard Jaydin Dickey, who drilled two shots including a 3-pointer while battling on the perimeter to guard Ottawa’s 3-point shooters. The Pirates made just four field goals and missed eight free throws in the first half.
Rochelle carried a 21-13 lead into the third quarter, where Martinez drained her second triple of the game to spark an offensive outburst from the Lady Hubs, who saw four different players score points in the quarter. Juniors Kendyl Darby banked home a pair of low-post baskets, while junior Abby Metzger rose up for a mid-range jumper to extend the Rochelle lead. The Pirates clanked three more free throws in the third quarter, helping the Lady Hubs hold a 41-29 lead.
Desperate for a spark, Ottawa cranked up its defensive pressure in the fourth quarter, where the Lady Hubs struggled with turnovers and inbounding the basketball. But the Pirates were unable to find any shooting rhythm down the stretch, missing multiple layups and blanking on four more free throws. Rochelle showed precision from the charity stripe over the final minutes, however, with Martinez going 5-for-6 and Henkel going 3-for-4 in the fourth quarter to help ice the win.
