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Pecatonica girls looking to grow under new coach
The Pecatonica Indians have gotten off to a solid start in their 2022-2023 girls’ basketball season. They are doing so under the lead of a new head coach. Daniel Rosenstiel is in his first year at the helm of the program. Rosentstiel spent four years as an assistant coach in the Pecatonica boys’ program, so he is plenty familiar with his new squad. “The transition seemed right and the opening was a real interest to me because of the talent, work ethic, and community support.” Rosenstiel shared on taking the position.
The girls have gotten off to an impressive start under their new coach. Pecatonica began the year with a 52-34 victory over Ashton-Franklin Center back on Nov. 14. That victory started an early season winning streak as the Indians began the year 3-0. Their first loss didn’t come until Nov. 19, when they fell 45-37 to an undefeated Dixon squad.
While the loss was disappointing, it proved to the Indians that they can compete with the best.
Unfortunately, that day brought a pair of losses to the Indians as they went on to drop a second matchup to the Lena-Winslow Panthers. However, the Panthers are another one of the more impressive teams in the area. Despite coming away from the weekend tournament with a pair of losses, it was a pair of games that left the Indians feeling confident.
Abig reason for that confidence is a young sophomore that has taken the lead on the offensive end. Elaina Rager is averaging 14 points per game.
That comes as no surprise as Rager is returning off an All State campaign as a freshman. However, it’s nice to see her continue to grow under the new coach.
Rager is also averaging five rebounds and three assists per game. Her leadership is important with only two seniors on this year’s squad.
Those two seniors are Paige Moore and Lauren Rager. Rosenstiel acknowledged the lack of upperclassmen, saying “We are fairly deep with our depth, but we are young with only the two seniors.”
Another big reason for the early confidence is Lauren Mellentine, a junior who is averaging eleven points per game and really opens up things for the offense with her ability to shoot from deep.
This year, Mellentine is shooting over 30 percent from three. Rosenstiel called Mellentine, “as good good of a shooter as there is in the area.”
Payton Thomas, another Pecatonica sophomore, has came on strong for the Indians, this season. Thomas has been leaving her fingerprints all over Pecatonica’s success as she averages eight points per game and six rebounds per game.
“Thomas has taken big strides and will continue to do so as a young sophomore.” Rosenstiel said on Thomas’ development.
The Indians also rely on one of their juniors, Casey Martin. Rosenstiel spoke about Martin’s importance, saying “Our glue player is Casey Martin, who does all the little stuff to help us on defense and on the boards.”
The Indians will have to rely on all their outside shooting if they want to continue to find success this season. “We are small, fast, athletic, and a good shooting team.” Rosenstiel said, adding “We are excited for the challenges of the season and are off to a solid start but need to work to take the next step against top competition.” Rosenstiel also acknowledged the teams’ weaknesses, saying “We are very undersized and it hurts us in the paint for rebounding and post presence.”
On Thursday, Dec. 8, the Indians made the trip to face off with the Pearl City Wolves. The opening quarter was a back and forth matchup as no one could gain separation. Elaina Rager handled a majority of the early offense with seven first quarter points. Rager hit a three that helped the Indians keep pace as they went into the second quarter tied with the Wolves at 9-9.
Things continued to be evenly matched in the second as the Wolves and Indians continued to go back and forth. Rager continued to handle a majority of the offense as she posted another eight points, including a pair of three-pointers.
Despite Rager’s success, the Indians couldn’t find much production elsewhere. Eventually, Pecatonica went into the halftime break tied at 19-19.
The third quarter was all Pecatonica. Mellentine came to life in the third after going scoreless in the first half. Mellentine had 10 points in the third as she helped the Indians get out to a lead. Rager added two points of her own as the Indians went on to take a 33-25 lead into the final quarter.
Unfortunately for the Indians, the fourth quarter was dominated by the Wolves. Pearl City has a breakout sophomore of their own in Fallyn Endress, and she rose to the occasion with 14 fourth quarter points.
Rager tried to keep pace with eight fourth quarter points of her own, but it wouldn’t be enough. Eventually, the Indians fell in the final seconds as the Wolves picked up a 43-42 victory.
The loss dropped the Indians to 5-4 on the year. Pecatonica will be back on their home court on Thursday, Dec. 15, when they play host to a 10-0 Stillman Valley squad.
