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Belvidere North girls’ basketball season wrapping up
When the 2017 post-season begins, the Belvidere North Lady Blue Thunder will be a member of the Hampshire Sectional Complex.
Boylan and Harlem will host the opening round games. Until seeds are issued following the IHSA Selection Committee’s annual meeting, it isn’t exactly sure which teams will open where, when the post-season starts.
Of the 16-teams considered for high-seed position, Belvidere North has a good chance to get a positive first look. They are 7-3 in the NIC-10 and carry a 13-9 overall mark. They have been playing well and have kept themselves alive in the chase for the NIC-10 title.
That race may be over though. With Boylan knocking off Hononegah for the second time, the NIC-10’s nearest chaser fell two games back. Belvidere North is right there with the Lady Indians, one game back in the loss column.
The recent stretch of games played in the DeKalb Tournament didn’t turn out as well as Belvidere North would have liked.
A loss to Rockford Lutheran 59-28 in opening round play preceded a win over Bartlett later that evening, 61-45.
Since the win over Bartlett, Belvidere North lost two straight to out of conference opponents Lincoln-Way East and Burlington Central who both came away with the better of the Blue Thunder in the last day of MLK Tournament games.
A win over Jefferson on Friday, Jan. 20 helped Belvidere North refocus as they attempt to improve their position ahead of the early-February Selection Committee meeting.
A difficult stretch of games still waits for Belvidere North this week. NIC-10 play resumed in a visit from Rockford East on Tuesday, Jan.24. Details of that contest will be available in next week’s edition of the Belvidere Daily Republican.
A match at Harlem and a game at Boylan closes the month of January for Belvidere North and opens the final two weeks of the regular season.
Beginning Friday, Feb. 3 and ending on Thursday, Feb. 9, the Lady Blue Thunder have a chance to close the season with a 2-1 mark at least. Hononegah is sandwiched between the two season-closing home games. They will play on Tuesday, Feb. 7.
Once the seeds are issued, Belvidere North will begin the IHSA State Playoffs in the Class 4A Regional. A win streak would be timely to wrap up the season and would be extremely helpful the week of Feb. 13. The way Belvidere North has been playing, it seems there are still a few good runs left and a legitimate shot at a regional title.
