ROCHELLE — Lady Hubs varsity basketball coach Tony Rowan was quick to attribute his 10 senior players when speaking about the success of the Rochelle girls program this season. But with over half of his team expected to leave the program for graduation, Rowan is counting on his juniors as well as some underclassmen to step up next season and follow the lead of the seniors.

Rochelle finished 12-17 this season, picking up one more victory than the team did last season. The Lady Hubs rebounded from a 3-6 start to win three consecutive games against LaSalle-Peru, Genoa-Kingston and Rockford Guilford to reach the .500 mark for the first time. Rochelle finished 2-6 in the Northern Illinois Big 12 West with two wins against L-P’s Lady Cavaliers.

“We could’ve easily been 17-12 instead of 12-17 because of how many tight games we had,” said Rowan, whose team lost five times by five points or less this season. “The kids really learned how to compete in those tight games which I’m really proud of… I think the kids did a great job of believing they could win every single game, and we just need to build off the successes we had this season.”

Rochelle’s robust senior class included guard Morgan Baker, who averaged 11.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game. Forward Jacie Wyatt led the Lady Hubs in the frontcourt with 5.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game, while guard Cesca Vardman was Rochelle’s catalyst on defense, averaging 2.2 steals per game to go along with 6.1 points per game.

Other seniors who are departing the program after this season are Johnice Collins, Sarena Abdallah, Faith Roush, Britney Salinas, Alex Ferrari, Allysa Harding and team manager Morgan Knight. Rowan credited the leadership of his seniors throughout their time with the program, and he’s looking for the next crop of players to maintain Rochelle’s big-sister mentality.

“They knew how to play for each other,” Rowan said. “We could lean on players like Jacie and Morgan to lead by example and other kids are really going to have to step up, physically and mentally, to earn that extra time on the court.”

Junior Abby Lundquist is expected to return to the Lady Hubs next year after averaging a team-high 17.9 points per game this winter. Lundquist headlined a junior class that featured forwards Mya Latta (4.0 rebounds and 2.2 points per game) and Emilee Dueringer as well as guards Makenna Ferrari, Cheyene Watson and Cam Turner. Rowan will be looking for increased production from his juniors next year as they fill the big void left by the graduating seniors.

“We really relied on Abby to score the basketball and initiate the offense as well as play more man-to-man defense,” Rowan said. “I think she’s done a great job trying to be a leader and everybody’s going to look up going into next year. The junior class needs to start taking the initiative right now.”