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Three area boys and one girl went over the 1,000-point career mark over the weekend and another joined them on Tuesday.
Annawan junior Bella VanOpdorp scored 15 points in the Bravettes’ 67-33 win over Monmouth United to become the 11th 1,000-point scorer in program history.
Jayde VanHyfte (2014-18) is the Bravettes’ all-time scorer with 2,775 points followed by her sister, Celina (2011-14), who scored 2,492.
Rock Falls senior Gavin Sands had 11 points in the Rockets’ 67-36 win over Winnebago, including his 1,000 career point.
Wethersfield senior Landon Sauer scored his 1,000th point at Mercer County on Friday and will be recognized back at Goose Island on Senior Night on Feb. 6.
Stark County senior Luke Rewerts joined the 1,000-point club over the weekend while Serena’s Paisley Twait climbed aboard Tuesday with 10 points against Galesburg.
Twait, who is averaging 10.5 ppg, became the 10th 1,000-point scorer in program history, which is led by Katie Baker (1,680), who now plays basketball and softball at Waubonsee College.
Coppejans climbs to top at Annawan
Alex Coppejans has become the all-time winningest coach in Annawan boys basketball history. With Saturday’s win over Galva, Coppejans eclipsed the previous record of 168 wins held by Coach Bruce Placek who coached nine seasons at Annawan from 1980-81 through 1988-89.
He notched another win with the Braves’ 48-39 win over Abingdon-Avon on Tuesday.
Coppejans is also the longest serving boys basketball coach at his alma mater, now in his 10th season at the helm, taking over in 2014-15. He led them to a state runner-up finish in 2017-18.
As a player, Coppejans earned First Team All-State honors during the 2008-09 season, leading the Braves to a fourth-place finish in the IHSA Class 1A State Tournament under Coach Ryan Brown.
Last-second shots
* The St. Bede girls won for the first time in 12 years in their rivalry with LaSalle-Peru by defeating the Cavaliers 45-40 on Saturday. The Bruins’ last win over the rival Cavs was on Jan. 3, 2012.
* The Earlville boys reached the 20-win plateau for the first time since 1955-56 with a 77-33 over former co-op partner Leland. They now stand 21-1. The 1955-56 Red Raiders’ team finished 24-5.
* State-ranked Serena is the No. 1 seed for the Little Ten Conference boys tournament which is underway at Somonauk. Earlville is the No. 2 seed.
* Top-seeded Seneca beat No. 2 Marquette to capture the 97th annual Tri-County boys tournament championship at Granville on Saturday.
* The Annawan girls moved up one spot to No. 3 in this week’s 1A rankings. The Annawan boys received two votes.
The Serena boys came in at No. 8 in 1A with the Serena girls receiving 11 votes.
Other area boys teams ranked this week are Byron (No. 3), Fieldcrest (No. 8) and Rockridge (No. 10) in 2A and Sterling (1 vote) in 3A.