Women’s basketball: Slow start sinks Sauk Valley at home

DIXON – A slow start was just too much for the Sauk Valley Community College women’s basketball team to overcome Tuesday night.

The Skyhawks found themselves trailing Rock Valley by double digits less than five minutes into the game, and they never recovered in a 72-44 loss at home.

“We just didn’t do a good job playing our game, we kind of let them dictate what they wanted. And we just didn’t execute well on our end, either, when we got the chances,” freshman center Lindee Poper said. “We’re young and we’re still trying to learn what each other’s strengths are and how we can better our teammates. I think we’ve got a lot to learn, but we’re getting there.”

[ Photos from Sauk Valley vs. Rock Valley women's basketball ]

Sauk (3-2) missed its first six shots and also committed three turnovers before freshman forward Harvest Day drove to the basket for a layup with 4:20 left in the first quarter. But that sparked a 10-4 run for the Skyhawks, and Abby Knipple’s free throw early in the second quarter cut the deficit to 18-11.

But Mia Moore dished to McKenna Williams for a layup, then Moore went coast to coast for a fast-break layup to ignite a 12-0 spurt for Rock Valley (7-0). Elli Teubert had a 3-pointer and a layup on consecutive possessions in the run.

“I think the key was defense and just communicating with each other,” said Williams, who finished with a double-double. “We were working well with each other and just moving as one.”

Quinc Haverland had back-to-back buckets inside, then Poper hit a layup and Day nailed a 3 off assists from Knipple as Sauk got within 34-22 at halftime.

But Williams was too much after the break, scoring the first eight points for Rock Valley before Moore scored back-to-back baskets and Haley Warren had a 3 and a layup in the Golden Eagles’ 21-4 run through the first 8:23 of the third quarter.

“We’re just a deep team, and it’s good to get everybody going, get them excited,” said Williams, as all 10 Rock Valley players scored in the game. “We know everybody can do it for us, and we’re just all-around good players. We work well together and get everybody the ball.”

Sauk made a push at the end of the third, scoring the final eight points of the quarter, but couldn’t get any closer than 21 the rest of the way.

“We handled their press really well, which is what they’ve kind of made their money on. We didn’t turn the ball over a ton against it, we just didn’t finish any shots. I was pleased with our lack of turnovers against their press, but our execution once we got in the frontcourt wasn’t exactly where we wanted it to be,” Sauk coach Julie Schroeder said. “We didn’t finish around the hoop when we got our shots, and then our ability to execute what we wanted to … when we did that, we scored, so that was exciting to see. We’re just not at that level to do that consistently yet.”

Rock Valley made hay with hustle plays, winning a majority of the 50-50 balls and hitting the glass hard, turning 21 offensive rebounds into 17 points. They also forced 27 Sauk turnovers, despite the Skyhawks holding their own for long stretches against the Golden Eagles’ aggressive full-court press.

The biggest key for Rock Valley was perimeter pressure to keep Sauk from getting into its offensive sets efficiently.

“We did a really good job of our on-ball pressure and taking away what their guards wanted to do. That made things tough for Harvest Day and Ella Govig and their other bigs,” Rock Valley coach Darryl Watkins said. “We really preach to our kids being focused for 40 minutes and trying to win every possession. Things aren’t going to always go your way, but trying to win every single possession, win the 50-50 plays, get on the floor, boxing out, just doing the little things the right way, that’s what we really hang our hat on.”

Williams had 16 points, 11 rebounds and three assists for the Golden Eagles, and Moore finished with 14 points, seven steals and five assists. Teubert added 12 points, four rebounds and two assists, and Karley Colson had eight points and four rebounds. Maya Mitchell chipped in five points, four assists and three rebounds.

Poper led the Skyhawks with nine points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots, and Day added seven points, six rebounds and two assists. Haverland had six points and seven rebounds, Shelby Veltrop finished with six points and six rebounds, and Hadley Lutz scored six points. Knipple chipped in four points and four assists.

“I think we just look at what we did well, then what we did bad, and keep doing the good things and work hard on the bad,” Poper said. “We get to play them again in January, and we have a lot to learn before then, but I think it’s a good learning experience.”

Men’s basketball

Sauk Valley 85, Daley 62: The Skyhawks improved to 5-0 with a big win over Daley on Tuesday night at home.

Jaden Clarke and Jordan Brown each scored 14 points to pace Sauk, with Clarke adding six rebounds and three blocks, and Brown chipping in six steals and four assists. LA Fayne had 13 points, three assists and two rebounds; Petia Dogale finished with nine points, three rebounds and three steals; and Kabine Kaba added eight points, nine rebounds and two blocks. Sean Burress had seven points and four assists, and Jake Gaither chipped in six points, five rebounds and two assists.

The Skyhawks are back at home Saturday when they host Kennedy King at 4 p.m.