Girls basketball: First-quarter shutout, frequent fast breaks power Rock Falls past Mendota

ROCK FALLS – Aggressive defense and fast-break scoring were the story of the game for the Rock Falls Rockets in their Saturday afternoon nonconference game against the Mendota Trojans at Tabor Gym.

With 12 first-quarter steals and 17 points – most of which came on the fast break – they seized firm control of the game from the outset.

With a strong defensive effort throughout and contributions from the entire lineup, the Rockets won 55-18 and improved to 12-11 on the season.

[ Photos of Rock Falls vs. Mendota girls basketball ]

After building a big early lead, Rock Falls had the luxury of playing its entire bench in the second quarter. By halftime, all 10 active players recorded a stat of some kind – and by the end of the game, each player had scored a basket.

“It gets our team riled up. It’s amazing,” Rock Falls senior forward Rylee Johnson said. “And it’s great to have everyone score.”

“It’s really exciting, especially for those younger girls that play both JV and varsity,” Rock Falls senior center Emily Lego added. “It’s super fun to include every single person on the team.”

In the first 47 seconds, the Rockets rolled to a 4-0 lead. Junior forward Claire Bickett started things off with a tip-steal, then Lego put back the missed fast-break layup for the first points of the game. Just 13 seconds later, senior point guard Brooke Howard got a tip-steal of her own, and assisted senior shooting guard Jacee Sigel on the fast break.

The rest of the first quarter played out similarly: Lego posted up for a layup with 5:09 to go, then Bickett scored on the break for an 8-0 advantage, and Howard stole two of the next three Mendota possessions, going coast-to-coast each time, to make it 12-0 Rockets with 3:24 remaining.

“It kept our energy up, and we knew that we could control what we could control,” Lego said of the Rockets’ early dominance.

Johnson followed with a deep 2 from the left corner just past the two-minute mark. Bickett sank a floater shortly after, then hit the second of two free throws with 20.8 seconds left for a 17-0 first-quarter lead.

The Rockets forced a turnover on all but one of Mendota’s first-quarter possessions.

“I feel like we just kept pushing the pace. We focused on playing our own game and not going down, not getting low in the first quarter,” Johnson said. “And we all worked together as a team very well.”

The Trojans were held scoreless for the first 9:42 of the game. Down 19-0 early in the second quarter, Mendota senior shooting guard Gracie Zinke finally ended the scoring drought, connecting on a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it a 16-point game.

Howard hit Bickett in the lane for a 23-3 lead less than 30 seconds later, and the Rockets’ two-way dominance continued from there.

With 55 seconds to play, sophomore point guard Elizabeth Lombardo swished a right-corner 3. In the last three seconds, Johnson widened the lead to 32-8 with a post layup.

Lego scored the Rockets’ first four points of the second half, putting back her own miss, then sinking two free throws to go up 36-9 with 5:28 remaining.

Johnson jumped a passing lane for a steal, and went coast-to-coast moments later, then Howard scored two fast-break layups 23 seconds apart for a 43-10 lead just under the two-minute mark.

“It’s great to be able to make them turn over the ball,” Johnson said. “Our coaches always tell us, ‘Play like it’s your last game.’ And that’s what we all do. It was great to have that lead in the beginning, and be able to relax a little bit in the other quarters.”

Johnson drilled a left-wing 3 with 1:07 left, and Lego scored a fast-break layup to finish the third quarter with Rock Falls up 50-12.

Leading the Rockets were Bickett with 12 points, six steals and one block; Howard with 10 points, seven steals and three assists; Lego with 10 points, six rebounds, four blocks and two steals; Johnson with nine points, seven rebounds and two steals; and Sigel with two points, seven assists and four steals.

Karly Reel led Mendota with five points, while Zinke added four points.