L-P girls bowling wins third straight regional: Friday’s NewsTribune roundup

GIRLS BOWLING

At Dixon: La Salle-Peru racked up 5,648 pins to win the Dixon Regional championship by nearly 400 pins on Friday at Plum Hollow Lanes.

It was the Cavaliers’ third consecutive regional championship.

Sterling placed second with a 5,260, while Freeport (5,240) and Moline (5,123) rounded out the sectional qualifying teams. St. Bede (4,702) was ninth, Hall-Putnam County (3,664) was 15th, and Mendota (3,065) was 16th.

“This team has worked incredibly hard over the years, and it shows with their consistent success in the regional, especially the seniors,” L-P coach Aaron Guenther said. “They’ve put in four years of sweat equity, and it really shows come playoff time.”

Camryn Perra led the Cavs as she placed sixth with a 1,175 six-game series, while Anna Ricci was seventh with a 1,163. Leah Ricci was ninth with a 1,148, and Kamryn Oscepinski was 14th with a 1,102.

“I thought today was one of the best team performances of the season,” Guenther said. “We didn’t have any super high scores, but we also didn’t have any low scores. The girls worked together, stayed positive and came out on top as one cohesive unit.”

St. Bede senior Maddy Fabish rolled a 1,271 series to place second individually and earn a sectional berth.

Fabish and the Cavs will compete next weekend at the Oregon Sectional.

“The word we as a coaching staff are really pushing this week is resiliency,” Guenther said. “We want the girls to recognize that it’s unrealistic to bowl a perfect game six times in a row and that there are going to be highs and lows throughout the day. The key is to fight through it, lean on your teammates for help and support, and to remain consistent. If we do that, there’s no reason we can’t make a state appearance.”

GIRLS BASKETBALL

La Salle-Peru 50, Rochelle 45 (OT): Emma Jereb hit a last second 3-pointer in regulation to send the game to overtime, where the Cavaliers pulled out an Interstate 8 Conference victory in Rochele.

Jereb scored 18 points by hitting six 3-pointers, while Kelsey Frederick had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Elli Sines added 11 points.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Princeton 62, Mendota 38: Noah LaPorte scored 23 points to lead the Tigers to a Three Rivers Conference East Division victory in Mendota.

Jordan Reinhardt had 13 points for Princeton (13-12, 6-2 TRC East), while Jayden Fulkerson added eight points.

Cole Tillman scored 11 points for Mendota (17-8, 7-1).

Fieldcrest 52, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 46: Eddie Lorton scored 18 points to help the Knights to a Heart of Illinois Conference victory in Gibson City.

Jordan Heider added 13 points for Fieldcrest.

Earlville 46, Somonauk 37: Adam Waite had 19 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks as the Red Raiders won the Little Ten Conference Tournament consolation final in Somonauk.

Easton Fruit had eight points and six assists for Earlville (12-15), while Grady Harp added eight points.

Midland 44, St. Bede 41: Gino Ferrari and Carson Riva scored 10 points each as the Bruins came up short in a Tri-County Conference game in Peru.

Kewanee 54, Hall 37: The Red Devils lost a Three Rivers Conference East Division game in Kewanee.

Roanoke-Benson 62, Putnam County 32: The Panthers lost a Tri-County Conference game in Granville.