BOBBY METCALF
With LSU commit Divine Bourrage and Iowa commit Journey Houston leading the way, there's no secret about the engine that drives Davenport North.
But with two losses in its last three games, that engine appeared to be stuttering a little bit.
It operated in perfect condition Saturday night.
The Wildcats scored the first 18 points of the game and rolled to a 75-40 win over Sterling in the nightcap of the IHMVCU Shootout at the Carver Center.
"That's our team," North head coach Paul Rucker said. "Collectively we were all on the same page right from the get go and our kids did a phenomenal job running our stuff."
Bourrage led the Wildcat blitz with 25 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and four steals, and was named the game's MVP after her standout performance.
Iowa won the shootout 8-5 on the day, extending its overall winning streak in the event to eight years.
"It means a lot. Those numbers mean a lot ... the Iowa side is absolutely better," Bourrage said. "Bringing the Illinois players and Iowa players together and bringing out big crowds and younger kids is inspirational."
Houston added 19 points and Alaina Dreckmeier scored 12 points as the Wildcats showcased court vision and crisp passing on the way to the win.
"We just came out with a whole bunch of energy," Bourrage said. "We just played as a team and just being able to not think about our past games has been helping us a lot."
After the early onslaught, Sterling found its footing in the second quarter, trailing 32-17 at halftime. But the talent of Davenport North was too much for the Golden Warriors in the second half as the Wildcats quickly pulled away.
Joslynn James led Sterling with 15 points and four rebounds and Madison Austin added nine points.
"We tried to go back to the things that I would consider basic for us - being able to defend in the halfcourt," Sterling head coach Taylor Jackson said. "I think our girls did a much better job of that in the second quarter and even into parts of the third."
Despite the tough loss, getting an up close and personal look at two high-level Division I players was an experience the Golden Warriors appreciated, and believe can help them the rest of the season.
"They are impressive basketball players," Jackson said. "They're skilled, their basketball knowledge and their execution are unbelievable and it's awesome for our girls to play against that and to also see that. ... I think that's an experience that we don't take for granted at all."
For North, the focus is on bottling this game's performance and building on it as the Wildcats head into the second part of the season.
"We've got to keep this thing moving forward, not take a step back, not relive something else that happened way before," Rucker said. "Just keep moving forward."
Sherrard 48, North Scott 43
The Sherrard Tigers are an experienced bunch.
A lineup full of juniors and seniors showed off that pedigree Saturday, fending off everything a young North Scott squad could throw at them, grabbing a 48-43 win over the Lancers at the IHMVCU Shootout at the Carver Center.
Sherrard was 19 of 28 from the free throw line in the game, making the shots they needed to keep the Lancers at bay.
"We've talked about it a lot this year of our experience," Sherrard head coach Doug Swanson said. "We've been in situations like that, we went through them last year where it was games like that we didn't win and we're winning close games like that this year."
It was a back and forth affair throughout - Sherrard leading 11-8 after the first quarter -- and North Scott taking a 25-24 lead at halftime.
The Lancers upped that lead to 31-26 early in the third quarter, but the Tigers responded with a 9-3 run to take a 35-34 lead into the fourth quarter.
Then Violet Meskan closed the door.
The senior scored six of her game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter, and hit 5 3s in the game, seemingly hitting a big shot every time the Lancers pushed into the lead.
"We knew North Scott was going to be good and at halftime we just wanted to step it up," said Meskan, who was named game MVP. "We knew they were going to come out ready and we needed to respond."
North Scott started just one senior, and was led by Allie Moeller. The junior had 15 points and 10 rebounds as well as three assists on the night.
The Shootout is a big date on the calendar - as teams now start prepping for the stretch run of the season. The Tigers like how they're playing.
"We want to be playing our best at the end and see what kind of run we can do," Swanson said. "We talk about getting better every day. We've got to compete in practice, be ready to go for every game and hopefully we're ready to go at the end of the season."
Rock Island 50, Assumption 35
Rock Island puts a lot of work into its free throws. The work paid off in a big way Saturday.
The Rocks were 25 of 34 from the line, lifting them to a 50-35 win over Davenport Assumption in the IHMVCU Shootout at the Carver Center.
It was a game filled with stops and starts that included 43 fouls.
It was a game the Rocks were happy to play.
"We were being aggressive," Rock Island head coach Henry Hall said. "That's what we have to do is be aggressive. ... Had to go to the basket, try to attack it, shoot some 3s when we get them but overall I thought we played pretty good."
Amyah Jackson was named the game's MVP with 15 points, and was strong from the free throw line, going 9 of 11. Despite that strong percentage, Jackson said a couple early misses drove her to a strong finish the rest of the way.
"I think I was 1 of 2 on my first free throws that I shot, then I was 2 of 4, so I had to make all the rest of them," said Jackson, who also added seven rebounds. "I get on myself because I shouldn't be missing free throws. They're free, the easiest things of the game."
Rock Island led the entire game - thanks also to Jordyn Randle, who scored 13 points - but Assumption hung with the Rocks for most of the contest. Rocky led 27-19 at halftime, but the Knights cut that to 33-29 after three. The Rocks put the game away in the fourth quarter from the free throw line.
Assumption got to the line 25 times, making 12 free throws in the game. Ella Curoe led the Knights with 11 points while Anna Timmons battled early foul trouble to score nine and add six rebounds.
"It was hard to kind of get into a rhythm but credit to them, they played their butts off, they played hard, and we made a few major mistakes," Assumption head coach Jake Timm said. "They took advantage of the way the game was being officiated. They said, 'You know what, they're going to call some fouls inside, let's keep jamming it inside.'"