By Dennis Bowling
Peotone Coach Steve Strough has built an area power around highly touted senior Jenna Hunter, who was in an unstoppable mode on January 9. Hunter, a 5’-10” forward, is one of the top players in this area and registered a team-high 19 points, had 10 rebounds, including six clutch points in the fourth quarter, to help Peotone beat Coal City, 55-32, in an Illinois Central Eight Conference clash in Peotone.
At the close of the first quarter, Peotone and Coal City battled to a 10-all tie. By the end of the half, a late Hunter bucket gave Peotone a 27-19 lead.
Closing the third quarter, the Blue Devils owned a 38-30 lead, but in the final quarter, Peotone’s offense just woke up, and they managed to outscore the Coalers by a 17-2 count for the win.
“In the fourth quarter, our defensive play kick-started our offense,” said a happy Strough, “and we attacked the basket.”
Early in the fourth quarter, the amped-up Blue Devils quickly outscored the Coalers by a 9-2 count to hold a comfortable 47-32 lead, with Schroeder’s layup making it 39-30, while Kibelkis’ trey pushed the Peotone advantage to 42-32. A Schroeder pass led to a Hunter bucket and a 44-32 advantage. A Schroeder layup and free throw made it 47-32.
Hunter summarized the Blue Devils play in the fourth quarter, and said, “We came out and played hard in the fourth quarter. We worked very hard on our defense and offense. It was a real wake-up call for us.”
“Right now, we are not in great shape.” she continued, “but Madison and I do very well together. It comes in handy in situations like this.”
All game long, Hunter and Schroeder were getting passes from the Blue Devils’ juniors Addie Graffeo and Abbie Chenoweth, plus seniors Mady Kibelkis and Marissa Velasco. Schroeder, a 5’-10” point-guard, had 18 points and four assists, while Graffeo, a 5′-5″ guard, finished with seven points.
“We were able to maintain our composure, stayed focused and played as a team,” said Schroeder. “Jenna had a very good game at both ends of the floor, including some steals and rebounds. We were able to close them out in the fourth quarter.”
The Blue Devils, who are a perfect 17-0 overall. They won their away game against Streator on January 12th, 66-23. They’re 8-0 and in first place in the conference, have won a very impressive 26 straight conference contests in a row.
They also won against Momence on January 16th, 54-14. They play host to rival Manteno on January 19, at 7 p.m.