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HBR Wins Little 10 Tournament for
Fourth Straight Year
Fourth Straight Year
Lady Royals first program to win four straight with 63-39 win over Newark in title game.
Serena takes third, Somonauk wins consolation.
Serena takes third, Somonauk wins consolation.
| Northern Illinois Sports Beat http://www.northernillinoissportsbeat.com |
Newark's Lauren Tollefson is guarded by Hinckley's Maxzine Rossler in the championship game of the Little
10 Girls Basketball Tournament. HBR won 63-39 (Photo by Cody Cutter).
10 Girls Basketball Tournament. HBR won 63-39 (Photo by Cody Cutter).
By Cody Cutter
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Publisher
HINCKLEY (Jan. 22) – The 29th Annual Little 10 Girls Basketball Tournament saw history
being made. Hinckley-Big Rock, currently ranked No. 1 in Class 1A, became the first
school ever to win four tournament championships in a row. In all of the wins, they faced
and beat Newark in the championship game.
Friday's championship game saw the host Lady Royals jump out to an explosive start to
beat the Lady Norsemen. Serena came back from ten points down to beat Indian Creek in
the tournament's third place game. Somonauk led most of the way in defeating Paw Paw
for the consolation title.
Hinckley-Big Rock 63 - Newark 39
If HBR head coach Greg Burks was a movie director, take one of last week's Little 10
Conference season win over Newark wasn't exactly a perfect one for his team. A sluggish
start to that game made it harder for the Lady Royals to get the win over Newark.
Take two was focused on starting the game off on the right foot. The Lady Royals did so,
and did so well, in the start of the Little 10 Tournament championship game against the
same Lady Norsemen. They jumped out to a 25-5 lead after one quarter and never
looked back in winning 63-39.
The Lady Royals jumped out to a 4-0 lead before a Lauren McNanna three-pointer made
it a 4-3 game 1:42 into the game. That's the closest Newark would get to the lead. HBR
put up a string of 15 straight points in the following four minutes aided by defensive
miscues on Newark's part that put the Lady Royals to the free throw line four times. Jenna
Thorp and Kaitlyn Phillips made all seven of the attempts.
Thorp had six points and nine rebounds in the first quarter alone. She ended up with a
double-double with a team-high 17 points and ten rebounds, five of them coming on the
offensive side. She also notched her 1,500th point of her four-year career in that quarter,
nailing a bucket with 6:02 remaining.
“We needed to come out strong,” said Thorp. “We didn't play as well last time we beat
them. We played (Oregon-Davis, Ind.) last Saturday, and if we came out strong like we did
against them, we'd be fine.”
Phillips had nine points in the first quarter and had 16 points, seven rebounds and six
assists in the game.
“We've done it the past few games, the last time we came out against them it was a slow
start,” said Phillips. “So this game we were really focused on getting that start.”
Newark managed to go on a 10-2 run midway through the second quarter and get to
within 14 points at 31-17 before HBR called a timeout with 2:52 left. A string of 10 Lady
Royal points followed to close out the first half.
“We spotted them 20 points in the first quarter, and that's pretty much it,” said Skelton.
“They played real well in the first quarter. Everything was working well for them.”
So much for rough starts.
“When you come out and make a few shots, it makes a difference,” said Burks. “Last
Thursday when we played them Newark came out and played real well. We didn't shoot
particularly well to start it, but tonight Kaitlyn Phillips came out and made a few shots early.
“I feel she's developing into one of the top guards in the conference and the area as a
sophomore.”
The Lady Royals shot 62 percent from the field in going 23-for-37, while making all but
one free-throw in going 11-for-12 from the line. Tess Godhart was also in double figures,
scoring 15 points while going seven-for-11 from the field. Every player on the Lady Royal
roster scored: Maxzine Rossler and Jes Meyer each had four points, Alyssa Baunch had
three points and Katie Hollis and Jessica Leifheit each had two.
“This is four in a row for us, and we had to beat an outstanding Newark team each time,”
said Burks. “Jes Meyer and Jenna Thorp have been on all four of those teams, plus some
of our underclassmen that have come in and put up a good effort.”
The tournament champions led by as much as 27 in the second half, and as few as 17.
“They can do just about anything,” said Skelton. “You try to shut off one thing, and they're
going to hit you with another thing. They're just a well-rounded, well-balanced team inside
and out.”
McNanna had over half of Newark's points, scoring 21 points while going four-for-nine
from three-point range and three-for-four from the field. Katie Larson had eight points,
Lauren Tollefson had seven points and Miranda Schmidt had three.
Serena 42 – Indian Creek 36
The Serena Lady Huskers had an early lead in the third place game against Indian Creek.
That is, until the Timberwolves took it away from them.
Once Serena regained a lead in the fourth quarter, they needed to find a way to keep it.
Up 36-34 with less than four minutes left in the game, Serena decided to put some
distance between them and the Timberwolves and wait it out as long as they could.
A forty-second stall was followed by a basket by Joselynn Costelli and her team never
looked back in beating Indian Creek 42-36.
The Lady Huskers came into the fourth quarter down 32-26, and was down 29-19 at one
point in the third.
“We haven't done that at all this year,” said Serena coach Craig Twait about the stall. “It's
nothing we've really worked on. We've talked about what we needed to do in these
situations.”
Serena had a good start to the game, outscoring Indian Creek 10-3 in the first quarter
with a couple of three-pointers by lead scorer Katie Huss. The lead wouldn't last as the
Timberwolves came back with two threes of their own by Katie Browder and Anna Stiker to
close the gap to 10-9. A Lauren Anderson shot gave her team a 11-10 lead that wouldn't
be relinquished until the fourth quarter.
“We've been struggling a bit in the first and second quarter all season, and the same
thing hit us again when we had a little lull there and got ourselves in a hole,” said Twait.
Held to just two points in the first three quarters, Costelli was one fire in the comeback bid.
She scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, including a three-pointer to open the quarter,
and the bucket to give her team the lead at 36-34.
“That was about a nice a comeback as we had all year.”
Emily Sniegowski had nine points and a team-high six rebounds for the Lady Huskers.
Indian Creek was led by Anderson's 11 points, Stiker's 10 points, and Michelle Crayton's
12 rebounds. The Timberwolves shot 25 percent from the field.
Somonauk 42 – Paw Paw 33
The Lady Bobcats led wire-to-wire in the Tournament's consolation game in winning 42-33
over Paw Paw.
Somonauk outscored Paw Paw 8-3 after one quarter, but the Lady Bulldogs got to within
three points by halftime, at 20-17. A 9-2 run by Somonauk to start the third quarter gave
them a ten point lead.
Audrey Weismiller led Somonauk with 12 points and seven rebounds. Lauren Baummel
led her team in rebounding with 11 boards. Although Paw Paw shot over fifty percent from
the field (14-for-27), they were outrebounded two-to-one and shot 33 percent from the
free throw line. Aleigha Lampson led the Lady Bulldogs with 12 points.
Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat. He can be reached at
Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com.
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Publisher
HINCKLEY (Jan. 22) – The 29th Annual Little 10 Girls Basketball Tournament saw history
being made. Hinckley-Big Rock, currently ranked No. 1 in Class 1A, became the first
school ever to win four tournament championships in a row. In all of the wins, they faced
and beat Newark in the championship game.
Friday's championship game saw the host Lady Royals jump out to an explosive start to
beat the Lady Norsemen. Serena came back from ten points down to beat Indian Creek in
the tournament's third place game. Somonauk led most of the way in defeating Paw Paw
for the consolation title.
Hinckley-Big Rock 63 - Newark 39
If HBR head coach Greg Burks was a movie director, take one of last week's Little 10
Conference season win over Newark wasn't exactly a perfect one for his team. A sluggish
start to that game made it harder for the Lady Royals to get the win over Newark.
Take two was focused on starting the game off on the right foot. The Lady Royals did so,
and did so well, in the start of the Little 10 Tournament championship game against the
same Lady Norsemen. They jumped out to a 25-5 lead after one quarter and never
looked back in winning 63-39.
The Lady Royals jumped out to a 4-0 lead before a Lauren McNanna three-pointer made
it a 4-3 game 1:42 into the game. That's the closest Newark would get to the lead. HBR
put up a string of 15 straight points in the following four minutes aided by defensive
miscues on Newark's part that put the Lady Royals to the free throw line four times. Jenna
Thorp and Kaitlyn Phillips made all seven of the attempts.
Thorp had six points and nine rebounds in the first quarter alone. She ended up with a
double-double with a team-high 17 points and ten rebounds, five of them coming on the
offensive side. She also notched her 1,500th point of her four-year career in that quarter,
nailing a bucket with 6:02 remaining.
“We needed to come out strong,” said Thorp. “We didn't play as well last time we beat
them. We played (Oregon-Davis, Ind.) last Saturday, and if we came out strong like we did
against them, we'd be fine.”
Phillips had nine points in the first quarter and had 16 points, seven rebounds and six
assists in the game.
“We've done it the past few games, the last time we came out against them it was a slow
start,” said Phillips. “So this game we were really focused on getting that start.”
Newark managed to go on a 10-2 run midway through the second quarter and get to
within 14 points at 31-17 before HBR called a timeout with 2:52 left. A string of 10 Lady
Royal points followed to close out the first half.
“We spotted them 20 points in the first quarter, and that's pretty much it,” said Skelton.
“They played real well in the first quarter. Everything was working well for them.”
So much for rough starts.
“When you come out and make a few shots, it makes a difference,” said Burks. “Last
Thursday when we played them Newark came out and played real well. We didn't shoot
particularly well to start it, but tonight Kaitlyn Phillips came out and made a few shots early.
“I feel she's developing into one of the top guards in the conference and the area as a
sophomore.”
The Lady Royals shot 62 percent from the field in going 23-for-37, while making all but
one free-throw in going 11-for-12 from the line. Tess Godhart was also in double figures,
scoring 15 points while going seven-for-11 from the field. Every player on the Lady Royal
roster scored: Maxzine Rossler and Jes Meyer each had four points, Alyssa Baunch had
three points and Katie Hollis and Jessica Leifheit each had two.
“This is four in a row for us, and we had to beat an outstanding Newark team each time,”
said Burks. “Jes Meyer and Jenna Thorp have been on all four of those teams, plus some
of our underclassmen that have come in and put up a good effort.”
The tournament champions led by as much as 27 in the second half, and as few as 17.
“They can do just about anything,” said Skelton. “You try to shut off one thing, and they're
going to hit you with another thing. They're just a well-rounded, well-balanced team inside
and out.”
McNanna had over half of Newark's points, scoring 21 points while going four-for-nine
from three-point range and three-for-four from the field. Katie Larson had eight points,
Lauren Tollefson had seven points and Miranda Schmidt had three.
Serena 42 – Indian Creek 36
The Serena Lady Huskers had an early lead in the third place game against Indian Creek.
That is, until the Timberwolves took it away from them.
Once Serena regained a lead in the fourth quarter, they needed to find a way to keep it.
Up 36-34 with less than four minutes left in the game, Serena decided to put some
distance between them and the Timberwolves and wait it out as long as they could.
A forty-second stall was followed by a basket by Joselynn Costelli and her team never
looked back in beating Indian Creek 42-36.
The Lady Huskers came into the fourth quarter down 32-26, and was down 29-19 at one
point in the third.
“We haven't done that at all this year,” said Serena coach Craig Twait about the stall. “It's
nothing we've really worked on. We've talked about what we needed to do in these
situations.”
Serena had a good start to the game, outscoring Indian Creek 10-3 in the first quarter
with a couple of three-pointers by lead scorer Katie Huss. The lead wouldn't last as the
Timberwolves came back with two threes of their own by Katie Browder and Anna Stiker to
close the gap to 10-9. A Lauren Anderson shot gave her team a 11-10 lead that wouldn't
be relinquished until the fourth quarter.
“We've been struggling a bit in the first and second quarter all season, and the same
thing hit us again when we had a little lull there and got ourselves in a hole,” said Twait.
Held to just two points in the first three quarters, Costelli was one fire in the comeback bid.
She scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, including a three-pointer to open the quarter,
and the bucket to give her team the lead at 36-34.
“That was about a nice a comeback as we had all year.”
Emily Sniegowski had nine points and a team-high six rebounds for the Lady Huskers.
Indian Creek was led by Anderson's 11 points, Stiker's 10 points, and Michelle Crayton's
12 rebounds. The Timberwolves shot 25 percent from the field.
Somonauk 42 – Paw Paw 33
The Lady Bobcats led wire-to-wire in the Tournament's consolation game in winning 42-33
over Paw Paw.
Somonauk outscored Paw Paw 8-3 after one quarter, but the Lady Bulldogs got to within
three points by halftime, at 20-17. A 9-2 run by Somonauk to start the third quarter gave
them a ten point lead.
Audrey Weismiller led Somonauk with 12 points and seven rebounds. Lauren Baummel
led her team in rebounding with 11 boards. Although Paw Paw shot over fifty percent from
the field (14-for-27), they were outrebounded two-to-one and shot 33 percent from the
free throw line. Aleigha Lampson led the Lady Bulldogs with 12 points.
Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat. He can be reached at
Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com.
LEFT: Serena's Emily Sniegowski accepts the Tournament's third-place trophy from HBR athletics director Bill Sambrookes. RIGHT: Somonauk's Jordan
Smith looks for a pass while Paw Paw's Norma Castaldo defends (Photos by Cody Cutter).
Smith looks for a pass while Paw Paw's Norma Castaldo defends (Photos by Cody Cutter).