Rock Falls defense stymies Stillman

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ROCK FALLS – A quick start and solid defense throughout led the Rock Falls girls basketball team past Stillman Valley 53-33 in the quarterfinal of the Big Northern Conference Tournament, held Saturday at Tabor Gym.

The strong Rockets defense led to 26 Cardinals turnovers in the game, and 14 points off 14 turnovers for the Rockets in the first half.

“We were all just in it. The energy was there,” Rock Falls senior guard Ainsleigh Hendrix said. “We were all just moving a lot more than we have lately.”

That defense also led to Stillman Valley shooting 11-for-39 from the field for the game.

“They came in and they played really, really hard,” Stillman Valley coach Bobby Mellon said. “With that said, it wasn’t anything specific that they did that wasn’t what we prepared for. It was just one of those games we struggled to make the passes we wanted and struggled to get the ball where we wanted to finish.”

For the game, Rock Falls held a 34-28 edge in rebounding with eight second-chance points off of 12 offensive rebounds. Karli Fischbach had nine rebounds. Claire Bickett had six. Mallory Pinske had five.

“We were just getting really aggressive,” Fischbach said. “Our coaches preach defense to us that we really want to out-rebound them.”

The Rockets (9-4) opened the game on a 12-0 run, with Abi Peyton racking up three assists, two on 3-pointers by Hendrix and one on a Karli Fischbach layup. Pinske and Bickett also scored baskets in the paint during the run.

Defensively, Rock Falls benefited from steals by Peyton and Fischbach as Stillman Valley turned the ball over four times and shot 0-for-5 from the field in the first nine possessions.

The Cardinals eventually got on the scoreboard with a Mya Jansen layup with 3:32 left in the first, but still trailed 14-2 after one.

Stillman opened the second quarter with a Maddy McCammond layup, but Rock Falls responded with an 8-0 run. Fischbach assisted on a pair of baskets by Pinske, knocked down one of her own, and then added a pair of free throws. Stillman also turned the ball over four times during that stretch.

“We really just were pushing the ball,” Fischbach said. “We were looking for the open player and kicking it out. We were shooting the ball really well. It was good we were able to knock down some shots.”

Stillman Valley knocked down a pair of 3-pointers late in the second quarter by McCammond and Payton Barger, but Rock Falls responded with Peyton getting a steal and layup, then assisting on a Brooke Howard layup to give Rock Falls a 30-11 halftime lead.

Stillman Valley (8-4) knocked down three 3-pointers in quick succession early in the third, but a Hendrix 3 on the other end and free throws from Pinske and Bickett kept that from being too much of a run.

Stillman Valley got within 12 late in the third when Jenna Shelburne fed Faith Fowler in the paint to make it 37-25, but Fischbach and Pinske answered with baskets on the other end.

Jansen then beat the third-quarter buzzer with a basket off a ball inbounded with .7 seconds left, cutting the deficit to 41-27 after three.

But Rock Falls pushed the lead back out early in the fourth, with Fischbach feeding Pinske for a basket, Hendrix knocking down another 3, and Peyton driving in for a layup.

Pinske scored 15 points, eight of those in the first half. Fischbach added 14.

Hendrix had 14 points, 12 of those coming off four 3-pointers.

“This whole season I’ve either been on or off,” she said. “Tonight I just, since it’s almost over and it’s my senior year, I’ll never play basketball again, I felt like I really needed to kick it in gear.”

Rock Falls had 10 assists on eight made baskets, with Peyton and Fischbach each dishing out four.