Three Rochelle Lady Hub varsity basketball players scored in double figures on Saturday evening, when the sixth-seeded purple and white tipped off the IHSA 3A Rochelle Regional with a quarterfinal-round matchup against the eighth-seeded Plano Reapers.
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ROCHELLE — Three Rochelle Lady Hub varsity basketball players scored in double figures on Saturday evening, when the sixth-seeded purple and white tipped off the IHSA 3A Rochelle Regional with a quarterfinal-round matchup against the eighth-seeded Plano Reapers.
Without senior guard and leading scorer Alivia Henkel, Rochelle has seen multiple players rise to the occasion on the offensive end of the floor. Senior guard Kara Martinez drilled three 3-point shots and scored a game-high 16 points, while junior forward Kendyl Darby and sophomore guard Jaydin Dickey each added 11 points as Rochelle downed the Reapers 52-33. The Lady Hubs (13-17, 2-8 Interstate 8) will face the second-seeded Rockford Boylan Titans on Monday.
“We talked as a team about how we don’t have our leading scorer right now,” head coach Jon Gehm said. “We told the girls that our offense has to come from all of us and we have to step up as a team. Kara has taken that to heart and she’s really stepped up, whether it’s been scoring or distributing the ball. We needed her to score tonight and she got to the basket and hit some threes in big moments. Jaydin and Kendyl showed up and Kendyl was big for us down low.”
Much like they have in winning efforts this season, the Lady Hubs controlled the early portion of the game with their defense, holding Plano to just four points on two made baskets during the first quarter. Although the Reapers briefly held a lead after a 9-0 run in the second quarter, where guard Josie Larson got loose for a pair of layups, Rochelle recovered and retook control late in the second quarter, answering with a 12-3 run to earn a 22-16 halftime advantage.
“I thought we did a nice job of pressuring the ball up top,” Gehm said. “That’s been a big key for us all season. We have some decent length at the top with Jaydin and I thought we did a great job in our 1-2-2 press of getting deflections and forcing tougher passes. We forced them to the sideline where we were able to trap them. We were flying around and getting hands on the ball.”
The Lady Hubs maintained their lead with strong free-throw shooting in the third quarter, where Rochelle’s rebounding and dribble-drive penetration led to several fouls from the Reapers, who allowed the Lady Hubs into the bonus. Junior forward Abby Metzger capitalized on the sloppy Plano defense, going 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the third quarter while Dickey went 3-for-4. Five straight points from Martinez ended the quarter and put Rochelle up 35-28.
With a regional semifinal berth on the line, the Lady Hubs dominated the fourth quarter with their defense, limiting the Reapers to five points with their three-quarter-court pressure and stout half-court ball pressure. Five Rochelle players scored at least two fourth-quarter points, enabling the Lady Hubs to coast over the Reapers in the final minutes and seal the quarterfinal win.
“Boylan’s very athletic and they’re very solid defensively,” Gehm said. “We have to take advantage of our size inside and be physical down there. We also have to knock down shots. Defensively, we need to pressure the ball, fly around and make some plays. Hopefully we can add something that Boylan hasn’t seen yet and anything can happen in high school basketball.”
