Huge middle quarters lead Serena to 6th straight LTC title

SOMONAUK — The Serena girls basketball team trailed Somonauk-Leland by four at the end of the first quarter of Monday’s Little Ten Conference game.

But over the next two quarters the Huskers outscored the Bobcats by 26 points and eventually posted a 50-37 victory.

The win completed an undefeated LTC regular season for Serena (23-6, 7-0) and secured a sixth straight league championship.

Somonauk-Leland dropped to 12-17 overall and 5-2 in loop play.

“I think we were all a little jump-scared in the first quarter,” said Serena senior RayElle Brennan, who finished with eight points, three rebounds and two steals. “I think we all calmed down in the timeout before the second quarter and started playing better. We didn’t come out with the energy we needed, but we were able to pick things up. I think we all knew we needed to play harder going into the second quarter and we did.”

The hosts hit 5 of 9 from the field in the opening quarter while forcing seven turnovers to push out to a 13-9 advantage.

Serena opened the second on a 15-3 run — including a 3-pointer and pair of free throws by Brennan.

“I’ve always considered myself more of a defensive player, but tonight I was left open for a couple of 3-pointers, and it felt good to be able to make them to help keep things goings for us,” she said.

The Huskers went to halftime up 26-17, then began the third on a 13-0 run to eventually head to the fourth with a 42-20 lead.

The Bobcats were able to close to within 12 after a steal turned layup by Ashley McCoy but it came with just two minutes to play.

Jenna Setchell had 11 points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks for Serena. Maddie Glade posted eight points, Kendall Whiteaker (seven rebounds) and Anna Hjerpe each added seven points, and Finley Jobst six points and three assists.

“I thought we pushed the ball up the floor better after the first quarter and got some good looks in transition, but the biggest thing was we started playing good, solid defense,” Serena coach Jim Jobst said, his squad limiting S-L to 11 of 30 (37%) shooting and forcing 26 turnovers. “We were able to get a few easy baskets from steals off our press and also did a much better job defending in the half court.

“We just didn’t have very good energy in the first quarter, but the girls were able to respond in the second and third quarters. I wasn’t really happy with how we finished in the fourth, but credit Somonauk-Leland for continuing to play hard and come at us.”

McCoy led the Bobcats with 12 points and four steals, with Kiley Mason and Abby Hohmann chipping in nine points each and Allayna Wold six points.

“That was probably our best first quarter of the season. We were really locked in,” S-L coach Jason Zaleski said. “Then from there we just had a hard time getting to the basket. We wanted to space them out and use our speed with the dribble and cuts. We did that in the first quarter, but then just didn’t have the consistency we need in the next two quarters. We just couldn’t find a way to get a basket to stop the bleeding.

“I’m disappointed with the outcome, but we did a lot of really good things, and I feel, still made progress. Serena is a great defensive team; it’s the reason why they been so tough to beat the last five or six years. They were able to put us into a lot of tough spots tonight, turned us over and converted at the other end.”

Serena is scheduled to host Morris on Thursday, while S-L is off until regionals next week.