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Lady Indians capture second consecutive Earlville Tournament Championship
By Trenten Scheidegger
The Pecatonica Lady Indians put on an impressive show at this year’s Earlville Tournament. Last year, the Indians captured the tournament championship. This year, Pecatonica came into the tournament with championship goals as they looked to repeat.
They began this year’s tournament play on Dec. 26. Their round-one opponent was Henry-Senachwine, who came into the tournament at 3-7. The Indians were coming off a first-place finish in this year’s Polo Tournament. They took their momentum from Polo and kept it rolling in Earlville.
Not only were the Indians coming off another championship, but they were riding a 10-game win streak. Henry-Senachwine posed little risk to that streak as Pecatonica dominated their way through round one. The Indians got the tournament started with a 60-14 victory. Kianna Degner had a versatile day with six points, nine assists, and eight rebounds. Elaina Rager led the way in scoring with 21 points and four assists. Lauren Mellentine racked up 13 points, while Payton Thomas had nine points and seven rebounds.
The ladies picked things up right where they left off in round two. On Dec. 27, they faced off with Hinckley-Big Rock. At 10-5, Hinckley-Big Rock looked to be a formidable opponent for the Indians.
At halftime, Hinckley-Big Rock had things all tied up at 18-18 with the Indians. Pecatonica came out strong in the second half, however. In the third quarter alone, Pecatonica outscored them 20-8. That set things up for another big fourth quarter as the Indians outscored their opponent 11-4.
Pecatonica had three players in double figures as Mellentine led the way with 15 points. Rager added 12, and Degner finished with 10. In the end, they extended their win streak to 12 games with a 49-30 round-two victory.
Those two victories set the Indians up for another opportunity to compete for a tournament championship. This year, they were set to face off with an impressive Parkview Christian Academy squad in the final round. Parkview Christian came into the championship game with a 9-1 record as they looked like one of Pecatonica’s toughest tests of the year.
There was no shortage of offense in the opening quarter. Parkview Christian hit a pair of first quarter three-pointers. The Indians hit a pair of their own three-pointers in the quarter, as well. Degner and Rager each hit a three as they helped Pecatonica keep pace. Rager had the hot hand early, as she racked up 11 points in the opening quarter.
After combining for 26 points in the first, both teams saw their offense come to a halt in the second. In fact, Pecatonica put up zero points ahead of the break, while Parkview Christian had just four of their own. At the break, Pecatonica saw themselves trailing 16-14.
The Indians came out strong for another impressive second half, however. In the third quarter, they put up 16 points as Degner caught fire. With five free throws, Degner had nine points in the quarter as she helped Pecatonica regain the lead.
In the fourth, Degner and Rager continued to put the game away. Degner added another six points, while Rager added five of her own. In the end, Rager led the team in scoring with 23, while Degner was next up with 18. The Indians held on to win the championship by a score of 47-36.
Both Mellentine and Rager were named to the All-Tournament team, although Degner was very deserving. The Indians came out of the tournament with a 17-1 record and another trophy under their belt.
