Belvidere North prepared for tip-off season

By Chris Johnson

REPORTER

The Belvidere North Lady Blue Thunder girls’ basketball team is ready to wrap up practice and embark on a successful journey into the winter sports season.

On Monday, Nov. 14, teams from across the State of Illinois will tip-off their basketball year. The Blue Thunder girls’ will be one of them as they play host to the Woodstock Blue Streak.

The non-conference match against Woodstock is an example of a team the Lady Blue Thunder would need to defeat, in order to play at the level required to compete for the NIC-10 Crown. The Lady Blue Streaks haven’t finished above the .500 mark since the 2008-2009 season. However, they did start a streak of regional titles which began in 2013, even with their below .500 mark.

On Nov. 29, the Lady Blue Thunder travel to Rockford to take on the Jefferson Lady J-Hawks. December begins with a home game against conference-favorite Hononegah on Dec. 2.

On Dec. 6, Belvidere North travels to Machesney Park for a game against the Lady Huskies. It begins an early season four-game jaunt.

Following the Dec. 9 match at Rockford Guilford and the Dec. 13 contest in Freeport, another road game waits for the Lady Blue Thunder before they head home for the holiday.

The Lady E-Rabs will be waiting for their shot at Belvidere North on Dec. 16.

The reality of the schedule indicates that challenges and winnable games appear over the first three weeks of the season for Belvidere North. If the team plays at the level needed to keep pace with the many challengers for the conference title, they will remain competitive into February.

The Lady Blue Thunder are ready to go. The practices are almost complete. An atmosphere of success has already been established.

It was a good year in the NIC-10 for the girls’ volleyball team at Belvidere North as they worked through the NIC-10 regular season.

An early departure in the post-season will soon be forgotten as many of the senior players on this year’s fall sports team look forward to winter activities and the spring season following.

Extra hopes and expectations could be suiting up with Belvidere North this year. A lot of positive things could happen by Christmas. They might already have gained a picture as to where they stand.

As 2016 play prepares to begin, eyes in the area will be watching Belvidere North and how well they compete with teams such as Hononegah, Boylan, and Harlem. If a NIC-10 title chase is in the works, the Lady Blue Thunder have to be playing at their best.