Sterling girls basketball beats Galesburg for Big 6 co-lead: Thursday’s Sauk Valley roundup

Girls basketball

Sterling 56, Galesburg 50: Looking to move into a tie for the Western Big 6 Conference lead, the Golden Warriors, ranked eighth in the latest Associated Press Class 3A poll, used a 20-12 fourth-quarter advantage to beat the seventh-ranked Silver Streaks.

Delali Amankwa led Sterling (18-3, 7-1 Big 6) with 16 points and Madison Austin had 15 and nine rebounds in the home win.

“I thought our girls just stepped their defense up in the fourth quarter, handled their pressure a little bit better,” Sterling coach Taylor Jackson said. “We were able to find our girls a little more open than we had earlier in the game. I just thought we took it at them in the fourth quarter and I was really proud of them, they played really well.”

Jackson said Amankwa and Austin, Sterling’s two key seniors, especially came through in the win. The coach thought Sterling’s ability to handle Galesburg’s press was also key. Galesburg won the matchup 47-34 earlier this season.

“For our girls to be able to be coachable and to kind of understand what it’s going to take to beat a team like that, I think we saw a lot of growth from the early game in the season to now,” Jackson said.

Eastland 49, Polo 34: Olivia Klinefelter and Morgan McCullough each scored 15 points and Sienna Peterson added 11 for Eastland in the win. Camrynn Jones had 15 points and eight assists to lead Polo.

Pearl City 51, Forreston 23: Hannah Vinnedge led the Cardinals with 14 points in the setback.

Fulton 48, Ashton-Franklin Center 22: Kylie Smither led the Steamers with 12 points in the home win. Haley Smither added nine points, Breleigh Hayton and Zoe Kunau each scored eight and Wrenn Coffey had seven in the win.

Boys basketball

Dixon 54, Winnebago 45: Darius Harrington had 20 points and Cullen Shaner added 14 for the Dukes (16-4) in the win.

Boys wrestling

Polo wins two: Polo beat St. Bede 43-36 and Alden Hebron 42-23 in dual action. Earning two pins for Polo were Zandra Vock and Micah Stringini.

Morrison wins two: Morrison beat Kewanee 44-33 and Fulton 48-30 in dual action. The Mustangs had seven pins against Fulton and four against Kewanee. Patrick Schaefer and Kamden White each won two matches by pin for Morrison.

Boys bowling

Geneseo 2842, Erie-Prophetstown 2643: Keith Goodson led the Panthers with a 526 series and 188 game in the dual setback.