By Dennis Bowling
Peotone Coach Steve Strough is the best in the Illinois Central Eight Conference. For the past two years, the Blue Devils have accomplished a remarkable feat and have not lost a single solitary contest. They also managed to finish their season in an impressive way on February 6.
The Blue Devils senior Mady Kibelkis led with 17 points and five rebounds, to help Peotone beat Wilmington, 57-33, in an ICE contest before some very supportive Blue Devil fans in Wilmington.
With the win, Class 2A state power Peotone is 27-1 overall, finished with a 14-0 and first place mark, and has won 31 straight conference contests. Wilmington finished with a 10-18 overall mark.
“We have a phenomenal group of players,” said a smiling Strough. “They come to work every day and just love to play basketball.”
“They always are able to share the ball, play great defense, and have fun while playing,” he continued.
Remarking about his players, he noted, “Mady is aggressive on defense and does well without the ball. Jenna (Hunter) is able to finish around the basket, while Marissa (Velasco) did a great job of rebounding. She always is able to give us second chances.”
Hunter, a senior, had 13 points and hauled down 10 rebounds, junior Madison Schroeder recorded 11 points and four steals, while Velasco, also a senior, finished with six points and nine rebounds, on the night.
Kibelkis, who really has enjoyed playing for Coach Strough, noted, “Coach always is giving us lots of encouragement, and he’s always very calm. It has taken a lot of hard work and team work to do well in our conference, plus we always manage to stay focused.”
Hunter, who is one of the top players in the ICE Conference, summarized the Blue Devils key to being so dominant in the conference for the past two years, by commenting, “We are just a great team and play very well together. Coach Strough is the best coach I have ever played for. He is just great under pressure.”
Schroeder really has enjoyed the Blue Devils exceptional conference run in the past two years, also.
“It has been a lot of fun and excitement,” she said. “We work extremely hard and play good defense. Coach Strough is always very calm, and Jenna (Hunter) is always there for us.”
In the first quarter, Wilmington had its only lead of the game at 5-4. Then, the Blue Devils offense exploded, outscoring the Wildcats by an 11-0 count for a 15-5 advantage.
Kibelkis made a trey for a 7-5 Blue Devil lead. Hunter went wild making three baskets in a row to increase the lead to 13-5. A Schroeder jump shot bucket pushed the margin to 15-5, and at the close of the stanza, the Blue Devils had a comfortable 22-7 advantage.
The Devils margin continued to grow and, by the half, Peotone had a commanding 42-16 lead, then owning a 57-23 advantage at the close of the third stanza, thanks to a Velasco rebound bucket.
In the Class 2A Fairbury Regional, Peotone will play on February 14, at 6 p.m. The Blue Devils are hoping to have a strong successful run in Class 2A post season play.