By Dennis Bowling
Peotone senior Jenna Hunter and her Blue Devil teammates were cool, calm, and collected on Valentine’s Day. Hunter, who was ready for the challenge of playing Pontiac, recorded a remarkable performance on February 14.
An outstanding forward, Hunter had one of her best outings of this season, registering a team-best 25 points and 12 rebounds, to help Peotone eliminate Pontiac, 71-43, in the Class 2A Prairie Central Regional semifinal in downstate Fairbury.
With the win, the red-hot Blue Devils are 29-1 overall and will play Fairbury in the regional title game on Friday, February 17, at 7 p.m. Fairbury beat Herscher, 47-37. The winner of Friday’s game will advance to play in the Class 2A Coal City Sectional on Tuesday, February 21, at 7:30 p.m.
“We were just laughing and listening to our music on the bus ride down here, but we came out strong and intense at the game,” said Hunter.
“There was a huge height miss-match around the basket,” she continued. “I was very aggressive in grabbing rebounds, and we were able to run our plays very well.”
In the first quarter, the small mediocre Indians (12-17) were not able to stop the fired-up Blue Devils, and Hunter was able to make a pair of quick baskets for a 4-1 lead. Mady Kibelkis’ trey made it 7-3, which was followed by Madison Schroeder’s pair of buckets for an 11-3 advantage.
Moments later, Hunter went wild, making consecutive baskets for a 15-5 lead, with Kibelkis’ jump shot bucket pushing the margin to 17-5. Schroeder and Kibelkis closed out the stanza with baskets for a 21-9 lead. By the end of the half, the Blue Devils had raced to a 45-19 lead, which was followed by a Peotone 59-35 lead at the close of the third quarter.
Peotone Coach Steve Strough felt the Blue Devils were prepared for the Indians, saying, “We came ready to play, and our focus was there. We were able to get the ball where it needed to be. That great game beginning propelled us to an impressive start.”
“We wanted to get the ball to the right place, and we did,” he continued. “Jenna did a very good job of finishing around the basket.”
Peotone junior Addie Graffeo finished with five steals and four assists and commented on the game, “Jenna did an amazing job, and Madison (Schroeder) made a lot of great passes to everyone.”
Schroeder, a junior, finished with 18 points, along with making many dazzling passes to her teammates.
“Madison played within the game,” said Strough. “She just took what they gave her, was able to take the ball to the basket, and scored.”
“Mady (Kibelkis) was ready and making her treys early in the game,” he remarked. “She was taking the ball to the basket and did well from the outside to the inside.”
Also commenting on the victory, Kibelkis, who had 14 points, including a pair of treys, stated, “Jenna did a great job of finishing around the basket. They just couldn’t stop her. Madison (Schroeder) played very well, too. We had a height advantage over them, plus we wanted it more than they did.”
For the night, the Blue Devil seniors Kayleigh Anderson and Marissa Velasco, plus junior Abbie Chenoweth, each finished with four points.