By Dennis Bowling
Peotone senior Madyson Kibelkis is without a doubt, one of the top players in Class 2A girls basketball circles.
Kibelkis, who employs that good old fashion midwestern work ethic, joined a very select group on February 21.
Kibelkis scored her fourth point, the first of two free throws, which put her into the very exclusive 1,000 point club.
Peotone senior Jenna Hunter, an outstanding power forward, scored a team-high 20 points, had ten rebounds, to help the Blue Devils rout St. Joseph Ogden 55-39 in the second semifinal contest of the Class 2A Coal City Sectional in Coal City.
With the win, Peotone (31-1) and winners of eight games in a row, will play Fieldcrest (29-3) in the Class 2A Coal City Sectional title game on Thursday. It is the first time since 2017 that the Blue Devils are in the sectional title contest.
Earlier, in this season, the Knights beat Peotone 60-42, it was the Blue Devils only loss of the season. Peotone will be seeking to turn the tables on the Knights.
After Kibelkis scored her 1,000 point, right before halftime, the Blue Devils were in complete control holding a 40-14 half time advantage.
At the conclusion of the game, the Blue Devils teammates celebrated with Kibelkis.
Peotone coach Steve Strough praised Kibelkis 1,000 point scoring accomplishment.
“Mady always finds a way to score in different ways,” he said. “It is a real testament to all of the hard work that she has put in. She always plays great defense. She always goes to the basket.”
Peotone senior Marissa Velasco finished with ten points and six rebounds.
“Mady is just very good,” she said. “She’s just very impressive. I am so proud of her.”
Kibelkis finished with five points and five rebounds for the Blue Devils.
At the conclusion of the game, the Blue Devils teammates celebrated with Kibelkis.
Peotone coach Steve Strough praised Kibelkis 1,000 point scoring accomplishment.
“Mady always finds a way to score in different ways,” he said. “It is a real testament to all of the hard work that she has put in. She always plays great defense. She always goes to the basket.”
Peotone senior Marissa Velasco finished with ten points and six rebounds.
“Mady is just very good,” she said. “She’ s just very impressive. I am so proud of her.”
Kibelkis finished with five points and five rebounds for the Blue Devils.
“I am very happy to be able to achieve that 1,000 point scoring goal,” she said. “I didn’t think that I could do it. I just kept working and my game got better. This is a pretty cool accomplishment.”
“We were able to get every rebound,” she said. “That helped us to run our fast break. It took a lot of teamwork.”
The Blue Devils Strough was very pleased with the Blue Devils strong first half start.
“We were just attacking their mismatches,” he said. “We were moving the ball very well. That was fun to see. We were just locked in.”
In the first quarter, Peotone quickly pulled away to a 10-0 lead over the Spartans (14-16). A Hunter basket made it 2-0. Kibelkis and Velasco buckets pushed the advantage to 6-0. Hunter made consecutive baskets for a 10-0 lead.
Right before the close of the stanza, Hunter made back to back baskets for a 23-8 lead. The Blue Devils junior Madison Schroeder finished with 15 points. Peotone junior Addie Graffeo finished with six points.
If Peotone were to beat Fieldcrest, they would advance to play either Chicago Phillips or Chicago Noble Butler in the Class 2A Peotone Supersectional on February 27 at 7 p.m.
