Sterling celebrates WB6 title with dominant win over Rock Island

STERLING – After clinching the outright Western Big 6 Conference title on the road Saturday, Sterling’s final regular-season game felt like a celebration of sorts Thursday at Musgrove Fieldhouse.

Only two years removed from back-to-back winless seasons in conference play, the Golden Warriors finished their league slate in style, using a stifling defense and big spurts to top Rock Island 60-42.

“We knew that we had won the conference championship, and we just wanted to keep proving ourselves,” said senior center Madison Austin, who led the way with a double-double. “It’s the first time really winning a lot of games like this for us, and it’s just really exciting to go on a 13-0 run after losing the first [conference] game this season.”

In the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, Sterling (26-5, 13-1 WB6) went a combined 4-49 and didn’t win a conference game. Last year, the Warriors turned a corner, finishing 14-16 overall and 6-8 in the league.

This season has been a coronation for a spunky Sterling team that overwhelms teams with its relentless defensive pressure and aggressive athleticism. In addition to reeling off 13 straight conference victories since losing their Western Big 6 opener to Galesburg on Nov. 26, the Warriors have won 11 of their 14 games since the calendar flipped to 2025 and are ranked fifth in the final Associated Press Class 3A poll.

“It’s awesome, just feels great to be conference champs,” junior Jae James said, “especially after the last few seasons when we were 6-36. Man, this feels so good.”

Sterling took control of this one around halftime. After Rock Island (13-15, 5-9) got within 20-17 with 3:05 left in the second quarter, the Warriors closed the first half with a 12-1 run to take a 33-20 lead into halftime.

Austin provided the spark, scoring 14 of Sterling’s 21 points in the period as her teammates beat a zone defense with lobs over the top; she also hit a 3-pointer. She had 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots at the break.

“We talked about how on the reversal, it’s going to be a one-on-one situation for either our shooter or for me inside,” Austin said. “We just had to read that and know when it was there.”

“She was unstoppable in there,” Jae James said. “Our goal was to come out of the gates and just let out all that aggressiveness that we have. But we realized midway through the first quarter that we just had to play our game instead of rushing things, and that’s what we did.”

“They figured out our zone a little bit, and we were a little undisciplined on some stuff and we allowed 24 [Austin] to get the ball to her spots,” Rock Island coach Henry Hall said. “We don’t have a big, so that’s a problem; when you’ve got a big like that who can score, that’s a hard thing to defend. They kept going to her, which is smart, and then we went through a little stretch where we didn’t make shots.”

The Rocks scored five quick points out of halftime to get within 33-25, but Sterling seized momentum with a 15-4 run. Jossy James nailed 3s on back-to-back possessions to ignite the surge.

“I’d say our intensity and our energy picked up,” Jossy James said. “Last time we played them it was close – we went to overtime – and this time, we weren’t going to let that happen.”

Defense also played a big part, as Sterling nabbed 13 steals and forced 17 Rock Island turnovers.

“We take a lot of pride in our defense. Our key thing is to cause chaos,” Jossy James said. “We all get along, and we love playing together. We’re just together, we’re a family, and it makes it a lot of fun.”

“Man, it’s awesome playing defense. The thing we love most about it is just flying around,” Jae James added. “It’s just so much fun to play for this team. We’re never crying, we always have a smile on our face; even when the tension’s high, we still find the best in it.”

Austin stuffed the stat sheet with 26 points, 13 rebounds, five blocks and three steals, and Jossy James added 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals. Jae James (4 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists) and Delali Amankwa (3 rebounds, 2 steals) each scored eight points, and Nia Harris chipped in two points, six rebounds and three assists. Sterling assisted on 14 of its 20 baskets, with eight different Warriors dishing assists.

Amyah Jackson led Rock Island with nine points and 10 rebounds, and Danaijha Bragg finished with nine points, eight rebounds and five steals; they both blocked a shot. Layla Rice scored seven points and Nakeyla Wilkins added six in a balanced effort for the Rocks.