WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Lady Eagles second in conference
By Maria Borri
IV Leader Sports Editor
The women’s basketball team finished their conference in second place; Black Hawk took first place. The overall record for the Lady Eagles is currently 19-10.
The Lady Eagles will go into post-season play March 2. The IVCC women will face the winner of the Lake County Waubonsee game with their starting players, Katie Kohr and Karissa Dinges back on the team following injuries that side-lined them earlier in the season.
Kohr hurt her shoulder at the beginning of the Black Hawk game Jan. 29, which kept her out most of that game and the next one against ICC. She returned Feb. 7 against Highland.
Dinges was to be out for the rest of the season after tearing her ACL Jan. 24 at the end of the Kishwaukee game. After attending a few practices with the injury, she decided she would be able to play, and she has postponed surgery until after the season is over.
Coach Steve Crick said: “I give her (Dinges) a lot of credit for her determination. She loves to play basketball and didn’t think her injury was bad enough to keep her from playing. I have to respect her for that.”
He continued, “Her production is just as good as it always was. She still plays as hard and scores as many points as before.”
In the most recent game before press time, the women defeated Black Hawk East, 84-60. The Eagles had just got beaten by their competitor by one point on Feb. 15.
Then on Feb. 21, IVCC led throughout the game and the margin kept increasing as the game went on.High scorer of the game ws Jennifer Stokes with 23 points and 13 rebounds. Kohr contributed 20 points and Camia Brown contributed 13.
IVCC beat the conference winning team, Black Hawk, on Tuesday, Feb. 19. At nine minutes before the end of the game, the Eagles were trailing 57-55. They turned around and outscored Black Hawk 23-7. The final score was 78-63.
High scorer of the Black Hawk game was Kohr with 27. Other contributers included Brown (15), Stokes (14 and 15 rebounds), and Gapinski (10).
On Feb. 24, the Lady Eagles played a neck to neck game against Black Hawk East before losing by a point, 65- 64. This matchup was a make-up game for the one originally scheduled for Jan. 31 that was canceled due to a snow storm.
High scorers were Jennifer Stokes with 21 points and 16 rebounds, Dinges with 13 and Kohr with 12. On Feb. 12 the Eagles lost to Carl Sandburg in what coach Crick called a “cold shooting night.” Crick also credited the strong Sandburg defense for the loss. Overall, the women average 45% on shooting. That night, however, the team dropped to 30%.
On Feb.14, Kohr hit a 30 foot shot at the end of the Kishwaukee game tobreak a tie and put the Lady Eagles on top 74-71. The entire game was close with neither team leading by more than three points.Stokes led the team with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Crick commented, “I think she has really stepped up in the past two games and has reallyplayed up to her full potential.”
Other high scorers included Kohr with 19, Dinges with 11, and Camia Brown with 10.