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Winnebago falls for first time this season
By Christopher Johnson
Peoria Notre Dam’s Molly Rickey, left, and Elizabeth Hanley try to strip the ball from Winnebago’s Renee Rittmeyer during the third quarter of their game on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, in Winnebago.
For the first time this season the Winnebago Lady Indians scorecard reflected something other than a win. It came at the hands of a well-seasoned team from the Illinois Heartland.
Peoria Notre Dame utilized invasive defense and pushed the Lady Indians out of shot range on more than one occasion, en route to a 57-45 decision.
The defeat dropped the Lady Indians to 21-1 on the season, but didn’t slide them too far down the State of Illinois 2A Polls as a result.
In the Saturday, Jan. 15 match, the Irish managed the game. They worked the ball patiently around the perimeter until something opened.
Winnebago’s defense shifted when needed, but still yielded just enough space to let the Irish attack. Slight advantages began to surface.
By the time the final minutes were winding down in the Saturday matinee, Winnebago began facing the reality that the success streak had ceased.
It was a non-conference loss for the Lady Indians and didn’t hurt the team’s chances to hold ground in the Big Northern.
Four consecutive conference wins since the New Year began helped pilot Winnebago to the front of the pack in the conference.
They’ve got plenty of company at this time and see their perfect 4-0 mark matched by both Byron and Stiillman Valley, two teams Winnebago will face this week.
On Wednesday, Jan. 19, co-conference leading Byron plays host to Winnebago and will hit the court with a season mark of 13-3, paired with the 4-0 Big Northern standing.
A non-conference game with Arlington Heights-St. Viator is scheduled for this Thursday and the game will be away from home for Winnebago.
The Lady Indians will be home for the important second conference game on the week’s schedule as Stillman Valley travels to Winnebago.
With wins over both Byron and Stillman Valley, the Lady Indians will move to 6-0 on the season and will maintain no worse than a one game lead over the field.
On the boy’s side Winnebago’s loss to the Rockford Lutheran Crusaders on Dec. 4 still follows the team as it attempts to stay in the hunt for the Big Northern Title.
The 58-54 defeat to the Crusaders remains the reason Winnebago opened the week one full game behind both Genoa-Kingston and the aforementioned Crusaders.
Wins over Byron, North Boone and Dixon, as the New Year commenced, helped guide the Indians to their current position, at 4-1, one game ahead of both conference leaders.
On Tuesday, Jan. 18, Rockford Christian visited Winnebago and carried a season scoring average of 65 points per game in the Big Northern.
A win over the Royal Lions will keep the Indians no worse than one full game behind the conference leaders.
The Indians will eventually get the chance to alter their own position in the Big Northern picture. They’ll be facing both Genoa-Kingston and Rockford Lutheran before the 2A tournament opens.
As the final month of the regular season gets underway the Indians will play host to Genoa-Kingston.
The first Friday of February features Winnebago on the road at Rockford Lutheran, with a chance to pay back the Crusaders for the team’s only loss into the mid-weeks of January.
