By Dennis Bowling
Peotone senior Jenna Hunter, prior to the game with Illinois Central Eight Conference foe Herscher, was able to gather her thoughts. Hunter, who was mentally focused, simply devoured the Tigers on January 23.
A 5’-11” power forward, Hunter scored a season high 26 points and hauled down 14 rebounds, to help Peotone rout Herscher, 57-23, in an ICE contest before a full house, “Pack the Place” game in Peotone.
With the win, the red-hot Blue Devils remain perfect at 21-0 overall, 10-0 in addition to first place in ICE, and have won 28 conference contests in a row. Herscher is 20-5, 7-3 and in second place, and had their five-game winning-streak snapped.
“I just went home and took a nap,” Hunter said. “I came back to school, went into our locker room for a few minutes, and was able to think about the game.”
“Our crowd helped us to prepare for this game,” she added. “They gave us a lot of energy. My teammates were able to get me the ball, and I did very well. Earlier, in the season, we just did not do that well.”
(Early in the season, Peotone edged the Tigers 47-46.)
The Blue Devils were introduced with a very impressive light show, which included the Peotone announcer Shawn Bean’s booming voice, as he introduced the Class 2A power Peotone starting lineup. The Blue Devils were amped up to play Herscher.
Very early in the first quarter the Devils were off and scored first, with a Hunter basket making it 2-0. Mady Kibelkis’ followed with a pair of free throws, pushing the margin to 4-0.
Moments later, Hunter was able to quickly-dribble past a pair of Tiger defenders and made a bucket for a 6-0 advantage. Addie Graffeo’s (5 points) basket made it 8-0 and, at that point, the Tigers called a timeout.
A short time later, a pair of Schroeder baskets pushed the advantage to 12-1. By the close of the first quarter, Peotone had an 18-8 lead on a basket by the Blue Devils Abbie Chenoweth.
In the second quarter, Peotone outscored Herscher by a 16-4 count, resulting in a 34-12 halftime lead. Hunter scored 12 points during that stanza.
Peotone senior Kibelkis, who registered 13 points, feels the Blue Devils future should include another ICE title.
“This win is a huge step towards winning the conference title,” she said. “I was up for this game, and it feels really great to beat Herscher. Jenna was just unstoppable and was making her layups.”
“Marissa (Velasco) played well, too” she continued. “She was getting a lot of rebounds, and that was a key to winning this game.”
Velasco, who is a senior, had a basket and seven rebounds on the night.
“This game was much better than our last game,” she said. “We came out ready and prepared.”
“I just love to play with Jenna,” she added. “She was able to dribble the ball through and around their defense; she’s good at that! Early in the third quarter, she was able to find her game, and that really was helpful in getting the win.”
With 4:48 left on the clock, Peotone was in complete control, holding a 55-17 lead. At that point, Blue Devil Coach Steve Strough pulled his starters from the game, and the very supportive Peotone fans gave them a well-deserved ovation.
In the junior varsity contest, Herscher beat Peotone, 34-26. Emma Orzel led the Blue Devils with 11 points, Allie Walsh had nine, and Peyton Bisping finished with four points for Peotone.
