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Playoff schedule set for Lady Indians warriors
By Christopher Johnson
The Girls’ Basketball State Championship Tournament begins well ahead of the March 3, final four matches for area familiars Winnebago and Pecatonica.
Seeding for the Class 1A and 2A “winner-take-all” invitational will be managed by a select committee of statisticians. That should occur early next week.
How a team is preparing for the post-season is something both the Winnebago and name-sake like Pecatonica Lady Indians are doing right now. They are winning when needed and fixing what has to be modified.
Each team has done a statistically good job putting themselves in position for success in the post-season and carry a combined 41 win and nine loss finding.
Winnebago finds itself well in front in both the conference standing and readiness for the 2A second season. They carry a full game advantage over second place Byron in the loss column and are two wins better on the season.
Pecatonica holds firm in third place in the Northwest Upstate Illini Conference and trails Lena-Winslow and Orangeville, which have picked up 40 wins combined and own identical one-loss records.
After seeing its win streak hit six straight, heading into the Thursday, Jan. 27 dismissal at the hands of Lena-Winslow, 53-44, Pecatonica pushed into a Saturday meeting with 3-18 Warren.
A win over Warren counts in the bigger picture and would influence decision makers in Springfield. It’s an “expected win” in the books, but doesn’t impact the NUIC standings.
Wednesday, Feb. 2, Pecatonica finds itself again in the position of expected success and they will be home to face Durand.
The Bulldogs are in the basement in the Upstate and have a 5-14 season mark, which encapsulates an 0-7 finding within the conference. They have been out of contention since the calendar flipped.
Durand has been outscored by a better than two to one margin overall and give up over 45 points each time out. That trails one-win Dakota, which allows around 38.
Pecatonica is home for the last time in the regular season this Friday night as they play host to Pearl City. The Wolves fell to the Indians by 13 when they faced off on in early January.
Road games against Polo on Tuesday, Feb. 8 and Orangeville two days later round down the winter campaign ahead of the second season opener on Monday, Feb. 14.
Winnebago will move into the Class 2A Tournament as their northern neighbor starts in the smaller-school playoffs.
Before the Big Northern leading Lady Indians enter the post-season as a probable top seed they will have to deal with a couple area forces.
Rockford Lutheran and Winnebago tip-off in the final Big Northern game of the season on Thursday, Feb. 3
The Lady Crusaders sit well off the pace in the chase in the race for the conference crown with a four games back finding in the loss column, well behind undefeated Winnebago.
The last test for the team’s post-season readiness waits for the Lady Indians next Tuesday night as they Harlem Huskies come in for the Feb. 8 meeting.
