Girls basketball: Elizabeth Lombardo scores 18 points to lead Rock Falls past Oregon

OREGON – Rock Falls was in command against Oregon from the opening quarter Thursday night at the Blackhawk Center.

Once shots started falling for junior point guard Elizabeth Lombardo in the middle quarters, it was game over for the Hawks.

Riding a middle-quarters surge and strong second-half defensive effort, the Rockets finished a 42-23 Big Northern Conference win.

Rock Falls (4-6) assisted on all nine of its first-half field goals, excluding two putbacks, as it built a 10-point lead at the midway point.

“Yesterday we worked a lot on our offense, and I feel like that helped,” Rock Falls senior post Nicolette Udell said about the offensive efficiency and high assist percentage. “Normally during games we’re very frantic, and I feel like we calmed down, and we were worried about our play instead of theirs, so I think that’s what helped.”

Oregon (1-8) took a 3-2 lead on a top-of-the-key 3 by junior guard/forward Alease McLain 50 seconds into the game, but trailed for the remainder after Rock Falls senior small forward Claire Bickett converted a putback barely 30 seconds later.

The Rockets scored six straight points to end the first quarter leading 10-4, then picked up right where they left off at the start of the second.

Rock Falls freshman post Peyton Smit made a layup to start the run in the first 1:10, then Lombardo hit an inside shot followed by a mid-range jumper to establish a 12-point margin. Udell sank another layup off a pretty pass from Lombardo, and Lombardo hit a left-corner 3 for a 21-6 Rockets lead with 2:13 left in the half.

“It was maybe all about luck. I feel like I just kept shooting it whenever I was open, and I just kind of hoped it would go in,” Lombardo said about her hot shooting streak. “And once I started making it, I kept using all my opportunities to shoot it.

“All of my teammates kept lifting me up, so it definitely helped my confidence, so I kept shooting.”

Oregon rallied to within 25-15 on a layup and two 3s by McLain in the last two minutes, but never got any closer.

Lombardo kept the hot shooting stretch going with a 9-1 run in the first three minutes of the third quarter. After hitting a short-range jumper just 20 seconds in, she answered a McLain free throw with one of her own, then buried back-to-back 3s from the right wing and top of the key.

Down 34-16 with five minutes left in the third quarter, the Hawks were completely out of sorts.

A putback by Smit pushed the Rock Falls lead to 36-16 with just over three minutes left. The margin held strong at 36-18 after three quarters.

“[Elizabeth’s shooting] was definitely a big help, because I feel like it just gave us more confidence in our team that we can pass to the outside, we don’t have to rely on the inside to shoot,” Udell said. “As long as she’s making that, we can keep getting it out.”

Lombardo finished with a game-high 18 points to go with three rebounds and two assists. Udell compiled six points, four assists and four rebounds; Bickett totaled seven points, seven rebounds, three steals and three assists; and senior power forward Taylor Reyna added five points, six rebounds and two assists for the Rockets.

McLain led the Hawks with 12 points and four rebounds; and senior guard Mya Engelkes added three points and five rebounds.