Girls basketball: Rock Falls pulls away from Alleman, advances to regional title game

OREGON – Having a long layoff between the regular season and postseason is a double-edged sword. It can help a team freshen up, or it can cause a little rust.

For the Rock Falls girls basketball team Monday night, a full week of preparation was just what it needed to avenge an earlier loss to Alleman and advance to the regional championship game.

The Rockets were patient on offense and stingy on defense in a 47-32 win over the Pioneers in the Class 2A Oregon Regional semifinals at the Blackhawk Center. They will face top-seeded Winnebago, the No. 2 team in Class 2A, for the regional title Thursday night.

“I think since we had a whole week of practice, we were really prepared for everything we had to do,” Rock Falls post player Taylor Reyna said. “We went over everything, I’m not kidding, for four days in a row, we ran this play, this play, this play, so it was hammered in our brain where we needed to be. The practices were fast-paced and just kept everything going, and I feel like it really prepared us for the game.”

That showed on both ends of the court, as Rock Falls coach Dan Herrera and his staff devised a game plan from film study and a previous 38-29 loss to the Pioneers at Tabor Gym on Nov. 29. In that game, the Rockets trailed 9-0 to start, then faced deficits of 13-2 in the first quarter, 26-14 at halftime, and 35-21 late in the third. They made sure that didn’t happen again, this time playing from in front the whole way.

Despite some early turnovers issues, Rock Falls (16-13) was patient and efficient on offense, using its size advantage to score down low. Posts Mallory Pinske and Claire Bickett played a nice combo game from the high post to the low blocks, and combined for 20 points, 11 rebounds and five assists against the smaller Pioneers (14-18).

“Knowing that they only had one tall post, we knew if she was guarding one of us up [in the high post], the other one should be open down low, and Claire and Taylor did a good job of posting up,” said Pinske, who had 11 points, six rebounds and three assists. “It was good to be able to get the high-low game going, and we finished at the basket. That really helped us out.”

The Rockets assisted on 11 of their 14 field goals, with a pair of putbacks and a Pinske drive to the hoop being the only baskets without an assist. The patience they showed in the half-court slowed the pace of the game – something Rock Falls is very comfortable with – and allowed cutters and screeners to force Alleman’s hand when it came to matchups.

“We were very patient tonight. I think we just looked to our screen-and-roll to get the ball inside, and we were able to finish with layups,” said Bickett, who had nine points, five rebounds, two assists and four blocked shots. “We knew they were switching our screens, so we had a mismatch. Mallory and I knew that coming into the game, and we followed our scouting report really well. We knew we’d have that post-to-post connection in this game, and we executed it very well.”

Rock Falls shot 44% (14-for-32) from the field, and with the interior game working so well, only attempted four 3-pointers.

The Rockets spread small spurts throughout the game, answering each time Alleman got close. They had a 7-0 run in the first quarter, scored the final six points of the second, and ended the third with an 8-2 surge before putting the game away with a 9-1 run early in the fourth.

“I think we all feed off of each other and that energy from scoring,” Reyna said about her team’s ability to score in spurts. “I feel like on the bench especially, getting up and cheering, and just everyone being into the game, really helps us. Even if we’re on the court tired, and we see the people on the bench smiling and celebrating, it lifts us up.”

Defensively, the Rockets made Alleman work for everything it got. The Pioneers finished 10-for-42 from the field (24%) and just 4-for-20 (20%) from beyond the arc.

“Coach said coming into this game, ‘Give them no easy shots. You have five fouls, and you’re not going to be able to take them home with you,’” Bickett said. “Even when we got beat sometimes on their back-cuts, we still recovered and made sure they weren’t getting anything easy.”

“It was an upward battle from the tip, it seemed like. Rock Falls really played well,” Alleman coach Steve Ford said. “There were a number of good shots that just didn’t go down, then I thought we kind of lost some confidence, and weren’t able to score. We made some runs where we made some decent shots, but they just wore on us.”

All four of Rock Falls’ first-quarter field goals came at the rim, as Bickett scored in a half-court set, then Haley Bush got a layup when the Rockets broke the Alleman press. Pinske drove down the lane a minute later for a 6-3 lead, then Bickett found a cutting Brooke Howard for a three-point play and a 9-5 lead through the first quarter.

Alleman’s only lead was 3-2, but it got within 9-7 to open the second. But Jacee Sigel hit two of three free throws after she was fouled shooting a 3 from the left corner, and Bickett scored on a putback.

Alleman’s Averi Rangel hit a 3 to cut the deficit to 13-10, but again the Rockets responded. Pinske found Bickett on a post-to-post pass, then Bickett returned the favor on the next possession as Pinske knocked down a jumper from the free-throw line. Rylee Johnson’s putback with 47 seconds left gave Rock Falls a 19-10 lead at halftime.

The Pioneers opened the third quarter with an 8-1 run to get within 20-18, but Rock Falls answered again. A baseline cut led to another layup for Howard off a Reyna assist, then Bickett hit a free throw.

Alleman got within 23-20 on a pair of free throws by Clair Hulke, but Reyna scored after Denali Stonitsch took a pass from Howard and redirected it to the wide-open post, then Sigel found an open Pinske down low for a three-point play with five seconds left in the quarter as the Rockets stretched the lead back to 28-20.

The Pioneers got within 28-24 on four points from Audrey Erickson to open the fourth period, including a coast-to-coast layup off her own steal near half court. But Pinske found Stonitsch for a layup on the press break, then Bush hit a long 2 from the left side.

Two free throws from Reyna pushed the Rockets’ lead to 35-25, then she scored on the next possession on another Howard-to-Stonitsch-to-Reyna play for a 12-point margin. Rock Falls then hit 10 of 14 free throws over the final 2:06 to salt the game away.

Reyna had six key points and four big rebounds late to help the Rockets put away the win.

“Herrera’s really good at giving us pep talks and getting us all motivated, so we’re all ready to play when we get in the game,” Reyna said. “It helps a lot, because coming off the bench might suck at times, but I feel like if I go out there and just contribute, and everyone else does it too, we definitely play more as a team that way.”

Howard had seven points, three rebounds and two steals for Rock Falls, and Sigel scored all six of her points form the free-throw line while also nabbing two steals. Bush finished with four points, six rebounds and three steals, and Stonitsch dished three assists.

“I think to start off, Rock Falls was ready. They came out and were motivated and got after us early,” Ford said. “They executed real well, their interior passing was really good, and they have a nice touch from the elbow area with those big girls.”

Erickson led Alleman with 12 points, six rebounds and three steals, and Hulke added 11 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Rangel, Katie Brewer and Annie Rouse scored three points apiece, with Rangel pulling down six rebounds and Rouse grabbing three boards. Tyla Thomas chipped in four rebounds and two assists for the Pioneers.

“Herrera definitely prepared us well for Alleman’s offense, so we knew where they were going to go. I think just knowing where we needed to be on defense helped us to get a lot of stops,” Pinske said. “And then on offense, I think we tried not to rush things as much, which helped us out.”

Winnebago 78, Oregon 21: The Hawks trailed 22-6 after one quarter and 44-11 by halftime as their season came to an end with a loss to the top-seeded Indians in the 2A Oregon Regional semifinals at the Blackhawk Center.

Winnebago scored 22 points in each of the first two quarters, then forced a running clock the entire fourth quarter with a 19-8 scoring edge in the third period.

“We tried, and we played hard, but Winnebago is just unlike any other team that we’ve seen before,” Oregon coach Olyvia Rand said. “They absolutely deserve to be where they’re at, and I wish them all the best in the rest of their season. I hope they go far.”

Miyah Brown scored 16 points, and Campbell Schrank finished with 15 for ‘Bago, which will face Rock Falls in the regional title game Thursday night. Ilaina Intravaia had nine points, Jocelyn Harms added eight, and Grace Erb chipped in seven, as 11 different Indians scored in the game.

Hadley Lutz hit three 3-pointers and led Oregon with 13 points, while Mya Engelkes scored four, and Ella Dannhorn and Teagan Champley added two points apiece for the Hawks, who fought to the end despite the lopsided score.

“You can’t coach willpower, that’s just something the girls have to have, and luckily I’m blessed to haver girls that will do anything that I ask them to do at any point in time,” Rand said. “It’s important, especially during a season like this where we are rebuilding, to keep that positive attitude and mindset, and keep our eyes forward on what’s ahead.”