| Northern Illinois Sports Beat http://www.northernillinoissportsbeat.com |
In what is a tight Northern Illinois Big 12 West Division race, no team could afford any kind of
home loss. However, the Lady Pirates were able to come in and come back and give Sterling
one of its own on Thursday night at Musgrove Fieldhouse.
Ottawa used a strong inside presence through the play of Allie Miceli and Asya Williams to
power its way to a 47-29 win, keeping the Lady Pirates tied for first-place in the division with
Geneseo.
Sterling (13-12, 4-3) was playing short-handed with senior guard Aleena Hammelman
sidelined with a broken fibula from a couple of weeks ago. Her presence was missed this time
around against Ottawa (16-4, 6-1), but the Lady Pirates were also on the mend, too.
With Division-I recruit Kelcie Rombach working her way back from a concussion suffered last
week, Miceli and Williams both stepped up and anchored the paint for the Lady Pirates.
Miceli had a double-performance, pulling down 17 rebounds and scoring 12 points while
Williams started out strong and ended with a team-leading 14 points in the avenging win.
The duo combined for seven putbacks on the night.
“It was the main focus of our practices in the past week and a half,” Williams said of wanting
to avenge the loss against Sterling. “That was our mindset. We just wanted to get through
the week. We worked on it all week and we just wanted to come in here, and knew it was
going to be hard coming to play here. They were going to bring their 'A' game, we were going
to bring our 'A' game, and we just had to show up.”
Defensively, Ottawa held Sterling to its second-lowest point total of the year, while out-
rebounding the hosts 42-20, enough to make Sterling reel for the rest of the game. The
Golden Warriors couldn't find a shot to fall all night in addition, shooting a cold 8 for 31 from
the floor. Ten of Sterling's 29 points came from the free-throw line, while being held to just
eight field goals in the first three quarters of play.
Ottawa, meanwhile, had another good shooting night, just missing the fifty-percent mark with
a 17-for-35 showing.
“We had 'box out' written on (our) board two times, and I had talked at halftime about heart
and desire, and we actually got worse in the second half,” Sterling coach Julie Schroeder
said. “(Ottawa is) big, they're strong, they're well-coached, they do a lot of good things, and
we didn't perform tonight.”
The Lady Pirates started out strong in getting off to a 10-2 lead after five minutes of play,
only to see Sterling come back to get within four at 12-8 after one quarter of play.
In the second quarter, Ottawa started to pull away and take control of the game with an 11-0
run in a three-minute span. Williams had six points and Miceli had five points in the spurt that
eventually led to a 23-14 halftime lead.
The Lady Pirate inside duo combined for 15 points by half's end, with Williams reaching
double-figures by that point with ten points and both pulling down five rebounds by that point.
“With Kelcie being out, even in the last game we played, me and Allie both had to take it up,”
Williams said. “Even Kara; she had to feed the ball more, and we had to finish. We had to
pick it up and make sure we were finishing on more baskets and get it done.”
Ottawa's defensive and inside effort continued in the third quarter just as well as it had been
throughout the game, but perhaps no effort more extraordinary than one of Miceli's three
putbacks on the night. With 3:40 left in the third quarter, Miceli had rebounded her own shot
but failed to get that one in too. But should wouldn't give up, doing so two more times – all in
just a few seconds – before finally getting the Lady Pirate's 31st point of the game to lead by
17.
“Coming into this game, Coop (Ottawa coach Mike Cooper) wanted us to capitalize on our
their inside game, and we definitely did that,” Miceli said. “That was a crazy play. That was
one of the longest (plays), it just took a lot of effort. It was tiring.”
“She's not going to quit,” Williams said of Miceli's hard-fought moment. “She's going to keep
going until she gets it. Five times, seven times, the first time she's going to go and get it
done.”
Twenty of Ottawa's 42 rebounds came on the offensive glass, while Sterling could only
muster 20 total on both ends.
“We did a good job tonight, especially rebounding-wise,” Cooper said. “Especially offensive
rebounding. We got a lot of really good second-chance points. Allie was nothing short of an
animal tonight, she really, really played well.”
Rombach started to find her scoring groove in the fourth quarter, putting in eight points in the
final frame and also finishing in double-digits with 12 points.
Kara Kistenfeger chipped in seven points to help Ottawa's effort, with reserve Lindsey
Greene adding a bucket and starter Erica Burgess scoring a point.
Sterling was led by Kiarra Harris's 11 points and Kaitlyn Bauer's five rebounds.
Ottawa will be back in action on Tuesday at home against West Aurora, while Sterling will
look to rebound in another tough contest at home on Saturday against the East Division-
leading DeKalb Barbs.
The highly-anticipated West Division game with Geneseo will take place on Feb. 8 at Ottawa.
“We came in with a chip on our shoulders,” Miceli said. “We definitely did. Losing to them at
home was hard on all of us, and we wanted to come back and win this one. It puts us in a
great seat for conference.”
Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat. He can be reached at
Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com. --- Talk about what's written on our Message Boards!
home loss. However, the Lady Pirates were able to come in and come back and give Sterling
one of its own on Thursday night at Musgrove Fieldhouse.
Ottawa used a strong inside presence through the play of Allie Miceli and Asya Williams to
power its way to a 47-29 win, keeping the Lady Pirates tied for first-place in the division with
Geneseo.
Sterling (13-12, 4-3) was playing short-handed with senior guard Aleena Hammelman
sidelined with a broken fibula from a couple of weeks ago. Her presence was missed this time
around against Ottawa (16-4, 6-1), but the Lady Pirates were also on the mend, too.
With Division-I recruit Kelcie Rombach working her way back from a concussion suffered last
week, Miceli and Williams both stepped up and anchored the paint for the Lady Pirates.
Miceli had a double-performance, pulling down 17 rebounds and scoring 12 points while
Williams started out strong and ended with a team-leading 14 points in the avenging win.
The duo combined for seven putbacks on the night.
“It was the main focus of our practices in the past week and a half,” Williams said of wanting
to avenge the loss against Sterling. “That was our mindset. We just wanted to get through
the week. We worked on it all week and we just wanted to come in here, and knew it was
going to be hard coming to play here. They were going to bring their 'A' game, we were going
to bring our 'A' game, and we just had to show up.”
Defensively, Ottawa held Sterling to its second-lowest point total of the year, while out-
rebounding the hosts 42-20, enough to make Sterling reel for the rest of the game. The
Golden Warriors couldn't find a shot to fall all night in addition, shooting a cold 8 for 31 from
the floor. Ten of Sterling's 29 points came from the free-throw line, while being held to just
eight field goals in the first three quarters of play.
Ottawa, meanwhile, had another good shooting night, just missing the fifty-percent mark with
a 17-for-35 showing.
“We had 'box out' written on (our) board two times, and I had talked at halftime about heart
and desire, and we actually got worse in the second half,” Sterling coach Julie Schroeder
said. “(Ottawa is) big, they're strong, they're well-coached, they do a lot of good things, and
we didn't perform tonight.”
The Lady Pirates started out strong in getting off to a 10-2 lead after five minutes of play,
only to see Sterling come back to get within four at 12-8 after one quarter of play.
In the second quarter, Ottawa started to pull away and take control of the game with an 11-0
run in a three-minute span. Williams had six points and Miceli had five points in the spurt that
eventually led to a 23-14 halftime lead.
The Lady Pirate inside duo combined for 15 points by half's end, with Williams reaching
double-figures by that point with ten points and both pulling down five rebounds by that point.
“With Kelcie being out, even in the last game we played, me and Allie both had to take it up,”
Williams said. “Even Kara; she had to feed the ball more, and we had to finish. We had to
pick it up and make sure we were finishing on more baskets and get it done.”
Ottawa's defensive and inside effort continued in the third quarter just as well as it had been
throughout the game, but perhaps no effort more extraordinary than one of Miceli's three
putbacks on the night. With 3:40 left in the third quarter, Miceli had rebounded her own shot
but failed to get that one in too. But should wouldn't give up, doing so two more times – all in
just a few seconds – before finally getting the Lady Pirate's 31st point of the game to lead by
17.
“Coming into this game, Coop (Ottawa coach Mike Cooper) wanted us to capitalize on our
their inside game, and we definitely did that,” Miceli said. “That was a crazy play. That was
one of the longest (plays), it just took a lot of effort. It was tiring.”
“She's not going to quit,” Williams said of Miceli's hard-fought moment. “She's going to keep
going until she gets it. Five times, seven times, the first time she's going to go and get it
done.”
Twenty of Ottawa's 42 rebounds came on the offensive glass, while Sterling could only
muster 20 total on both ends.
“We did a good job tonight, especially rebounding-wise,” Cooper said. “Especially offensive
rebounding. We got a lot of really good second-chance points. Allie was nothing short of an
animal tonight, she really, really played well.”
Rombach started to find her scoring groove in the fourth quarter, putting in eight points in the
final frame and also finishing in double-digits with 12 points.
Kara Kistenfeger chipped in seven points to help Ottawa's effort, with reserve Lindsey
Greene adding a bucket and starter Erica Burgess scoring a point.
Sterling was led by Kiarra Harris's 11 points and Kaitlyn Bauer's five rebounds.
Ottawa will be back in action on Tuesday at home against West Aurora, while Sterling will
look to rebound in another tough contest at home on Saturday against the East Division-
leading DeKalb Barbs.
The highly-anticipated West Division game with Geneseo will take place on Feb. 8 at Ottawa.
“We came in with a chip on our shoulders,” Miceli said. “We definitely did. Losing to them at
home was hard on all of us, and we wanted to come back and win this one. It puts us in a
great seat for conference.”
Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat. He can be reached at
Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com. --- Talk about what's written on our Message Boards!
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| Those Who Know Northern Illinois High School Sports Know about NISB! |
at Musgrove Fieldhouse,
Sterling
Ottawa 47, Sterling 29
Ottawa (47) – Erica
Burgess 0-0 0-0 1-2 1,
Kara Kistenfeger 1-2 1-6 2-
3 7, Allie Miceli 4-11 0-0 4-
9 12, Asya Williams 7-11 0-
0 0-0 14, Kelcie Rombach
5-8 0-1 1-2 11, Catie
Carlson 0-0 0-0 0-1 0,
Jaleesa Kindred 0-1 0-0 0-
0 0, Lindsey Greene 0-1 0-
1 2-2 2, Lexi Rice 0-1 0-0 0-
0 0, Kelsey Hayne 0-0 0-0
0-0 0, Jayna Crabb 0-0 0-0
0-0 0, Celeste Harrison 0-
0 0-0 0-0 0, Kiley Johnson
0-0 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 17-
35 1-8 10-19 47.
Sterling (29) – Kiarra
Harris 4-11 0-0 3-4 11,
Ashli King 0-3 0-0 1-2 1,
Stephanie Kester 0-1 0-5
2-2 2, Kaitlyn Bauer 1-5 0-
1 0-0 2, Paige Lobdell 2-3
1-2 0-0 7, Bailey Oetting 0-
3 0-0 0-0 0, Alexis Strong 0-
2 0-1 4-4 4, McKenna
Pearson 1-2 0-2 0-0 2,
Raquel Romano 0-1 0-0 0-
0 0, Priscilla Aponte 0-0 0-
1 0-0 0, Taylor Olsen 0-0 0-
0 0-0 0. Totals: 8-31 1-12
10-12 29.
Ottawa 10 13 12 12 – 47
Sterling 8 6 8 7 – 29
Offensive Rebounds –
Ottawa 20 (Miceli 9);
Sterling 9 (Harris 2, Bauer
2). Defensive Rebounds –
Ottawa 23 (Miceli 8);
Sterling 11 (Bauer 3).
Assists – Ottawa 9
(Kistenfeger 3); Sterling 7
(Bauer 2, Strong 2). Steals
– Ottawa 6 (Burgess 2,
Williams 2); Sterling 4
(Harris 2). Blocks –
Ottawa 1 (Rombach);
Sterling 0. Turnovers –
Ottawa 19; Sterling 16.
Total Fouls (none fouled
out) – Ottawa 9; Sterling
19.
Records: Ottawa 16-4 (6-1
NIB 12 West), Sterling 13-
12 (4-3).
Sterling
Ottawa 47, Sterling 29
Ottawa (47) – Erica
Burgess 0-0 0-0 1-2 1,
Kara Kistenfeger 1-2 1-6 2-
3 7, Allie Miceli 4-11 0-0 4-
9 12, Asya Williams 7-11 0-
0 0-0 14, Kelcie Rombach
5-8 0-1 1-2 11, Catie
Carlson 0-0 0-0 0-1 0,
Jaleesa Kindred 0-1 0-0 0-
0 0, Lindsey Greene 0-1 0-
1 2-2 2, Lexi Rice 0-1 0-0 0-
0 0, Kelsey Hayne 0-0 0-0
0-0 0, Jayna Crabb 0-0 0-0
0-0 0, Celeste Harrison 0-
0 0-0 0-0 0, Kiley Johnson
0-0 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 17-
35 1-8 10-19 47.
Sterling (29) – Kiarra
Harris 4-11 0-0 3-4 11,
Ashli King 0-3 0-0 1-2 1,
Stephanie Kester 0-1 0-5
2-2 2, Kaitlyn Bauer 1-5 0-
1 0-0 2, Paige Lobdell 2-3
1-2 0-0 7, Bailey Oetting 0-
3 0-0 0-0 0, Alexis Strong 0-
2 0-1 4-4 4, McKenna
Pearson 1-2 0-2 0-0 2,
Raquel Romano 0-1 0-0 0-
0 0, Priscilla Aponte 0-0 0-
1 0-0 0, Taylor Olsen 0-0 0-
0 0-0 0. Totals: 8-31 1-12
10-12 29.
Ottawa 10 13 12 12 – 47
Sterling 8 6 8 7 – 29
Offensive Rebounds –
Ottawa 20 (Miceli 9);
Sterling 9 (Harris 2, Bauer
2). Defensive Rebounds –
Ottawa 23 (Miceli 8);
Sterling 11 (Bauer 3).
Assists – Ottawa 9
(Kistenfeger 3); Sterling 7
(Bauer 2, Strong 2). Steals
– Ottawa 6 (Burgess 2,
Williams 2); Sterling 4
(Harris 2). Blocks –
Ottawa 1 (Rombach);
Sterling 0. Turnovers –
Ottawa 19; Sterling 16.
Total Fouls (none fouled
out) – Ottawa 9; Sterling
19.
Records: Ottawa 16-4 (6-1
NIB 12 West), Sterling 13-
12 (4-3).
Inside
Track
Track
Lady Pirates muscle out
important conference win at
Sterling, avenge loss ...
By Cody Cutter
NISB Publisher
STERLING – Back on Dec.
13, the Ottawa Lady Pirates
fell in a close two-point
game to Sterling's Golden
Warriors at its own friendly
confines of Kingman
Gymnasium.
important conference win at
Sterling, avenge loss ...
By Cody Cutter
NISB Publisher
STERLING – Back on Dec.
13, the Ottawa Lady Pirates
fell in a close two-point
game to Sterling's Golden
Warriors at its own friendly
confines of Kingman
Gymnasium.
Photo by Cody Cutter
Ottawa's Asya Williams looks to pass the ball while Sterling's Alexis
Strong defends. Ottawa won the crucial NIB-12 West Division game
against the Golden Warriors to stay in the Division race.
Ottawa's Asya Williams looks to pass the ball while Sterling's Alexis
Strong defends. Ottawa won the crucial NIB-12 West Division game
against the Golden Warriors to stay in the Division race.