Durand wins Regional while Pecatonica bows out

By Chris Johnson

Reporter

LENA – On Jan. 29, the IHSA selected the top seeds for the Class 1A Regionals, across the State of Illinois.

Locally, Durand was chosen as the top seed in the recently-completed Rockford Christian Life Regional.

They supported that rank as they ran through the tournament, undefeated, outscoring their opposition by 44 points in their two wins.

The Lady Bulldogs took out the Forreston Lady Cardinals on Thursday night, Feb. 11, 57-35, to win the Rockford Christian Life Regional.

The championship win allowed Durand to move on to the Eastland Sectional and a showdown with the champion from the Erie Regional.

Details of the opening round game, played on Monday, Feb. 15, wee unavailable at press time.

It is known that if Durand wins their match against the Erie Regional representative, they will play in the Eastland Sectional Championship on Thursday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m.

As the tournament began, Durand received a bye into the second round.

They waited for the winner from the Christian Life Regional opener between the host, nine-seed Lady Eagles and ten-seed Kirkland Hiawatha.

Winning by nearly 30 points in the opener, the Lady Eagles moved on to the Wednesday Regional semi-final where Durand was waiting.

The Lady Bulldogs had their way with Rockford Christian Life as they pulled out a 51-25 win, moving them into the Thursday night Championship against the four-seed Forreston Lady Cardinals.

Durand took control early using solid defensive pressure and disallowed many inside scoring opportunities by Forreston.

With a double-digit lead going into the third quarter, the contest was put away in the final frame.

Pecatonica season ends

The Pecatonica Lady Indians were issued the number-two seed when the Class 1A Rockford Christian Life Regional began.

The advantage for Pecatonica was scouting. They got to watch the opening night game and knew who they would be playing in their tournament opener.

Six-seed Lena-Winslow defeated seven-seed Dakota on two last second free throws by Lady Panthers’ sharpshooter Kenzie Temperly, 43-41.

With the win, the host Lady Panthers moved into their showdown with Pecatonica in the Regional Semi-Final.

The Lady Panthers had another challenge on their hands, but, as statistics have indicated recently, Lena-Winslow has been playing well down the stretch.

After the first period of play, the number-six seed had the slight edge, in front of Pecatonica by a point, 10-9.

The contest became a little more aggressive in the second quarter, as Pecatonica got their chance to score with the clock stopped. They converted on six-of-nine free-throw chances, but only added two baskets to go along.

Lena-Winslow poured on the offense in the second, as they scored 15 points in the period, helping to secure a four-point lead at the half, 25-21.

The streak of scoring continued in the second half for Lena-Winslow as they scored 15 points per period, closing the game with a 30-22 edge.

With the win, Lena-Winslow moved into the Thursday night Regional Championship against Freeport Aquin.

Lena-Winslow defeated Freeport Aquin in the title game and moved on to Eastland.

For Pecatonica, the season comes to an end.

There is a lot of hope for Pecatonica basketball over the next couple seasons. This year, only two seniors hung up their sneakers for the last time at Pecatonica. There will be a lot of talent returning for the 2016 – 2017 winter season.

Many of the athletes will also begin to prepare for the spring sports season, with track-and-field and softball to come.

The Durand Lady Bulldogs pose with their Regional trophy on Thursday, Feb. 11. Courtesy photo