‘Now or never’ as Jillian Hoffman shoots Alleman past St. Bede

Jillian Hoffman was the most unlikely hero for Rock Island Alleman going into Thursday’s 2A girls regional championship game at St. Bede.

She’s a defensive-minded player, who had scored just two points, missing her only three-point attempt. But when her team needed her the most, the 5-4 senior guard hit back-to-back three-pointers to shoot the Pioneers to a 37-34 lead early in the fourth quarter, their first since early in the second quarter.

That spark propelled the Pioneers to the regional championship, defeating the host Bruins 42-40.

“It was a regional game. It was now or never,” Hoffman said. “I’m a senior and it was really a great opportunity. I knew I had to take it for my team and coaches. I’ve been playing with these girls for so long. It means the world to me to have another couple games with them.”

The Pioneers (16-17) will play AP No. 2 ranked Byron (29-2) at the Mendota Sectional on Tuesday, Feb. 24. Byron beat Rockford Lutheran 67-36 at the Somonauk Regional.

“I’m super excited. It’s amazing,” Hoffman said. “It (three straight regionals) hadn’t been done in over 20 years I think. So, it’s a really big accomplishment and I’m happy to do it with my favorite girls ever. It’s insane.”

Senior sharp-shooter Lili McClain hit three straight 3-pointers to fuel a 10-0 St. Bede second-quarter run, sending the Bruins to a 24-16 halftime lead.

St. Bede maintained its 8-point edge with a drive by freshman Hannah Heiberger and a putback by Ava Balestri for a 28-20 lead to start the third quarter. Senior center Savanna Bray added a hook shot off an inbounds play to send the Bruins to a 7-point lead, but Alleman’s Megan Hulke drained a 3-pointer with a minute left to bring the Pioneers within 30-26 at quarter’s end.

Hanna Waszowiak followed a hoop by Lili McClain off a lob pass from Bray to put the Bruins up 34-28 early in the fourth quarter.

Emilye Polich scored on a 3-point lead to cut the St. Bede lead in half.

St. Bede's Hanna Heiberger fights for a jump ball on the hardwood with Alleman's Alysa Brinkman during the Class 2A Regional finals on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026 at St. Bede Academy. (Scott Anderson)

Then Hoffman, who scored all of her eight points in the second half, decided it was her time to step up. She hit one 3-pointer from the top of the key to tie the game at 34 with 3:55 left to play. Hoffman liked that one so much, she did it again with 3:15 remaining, this time a little farther, to shoot the Pioneers to a 37-34 edge.

“Oh, man, Jill. “She’s a quiet player,” Alleman coach Steve Ford said. “I love when she shoots the basketball. She doesn’t shoot it very often. She loves Caitlin Clark and she hit a couple fairly close to Caitlin Clark’s distance. Big for us.”

Hoffman acknowledged that Clark, the former Iowa legend and WNBA super star, is a “big inspiration.”

St. Bede coach Tom Ptak admitted while the Bruins had prepped for Hoffman’s defense prowess, she was off their radar offensively.

“Big-time (surprise). On the second 3, I turned to the bench, and said, ‘I don’t remember her scoring like that.’ But that’s basketball,” he said. “Those were huge 3s. Changed the momentum on us. Totally threw me off.”

McClain shot twice deep for the tie, but missed. Bray grabbed a rebound and scored with a putback to pull the Bruins within 38-37 with 49.2 left, but couldn’t convert the 3-point play from the charity stripe.

St. Bede's Lili McClain shoots a jump shot as teammate Savannah Bray blocks out Alleman's Megan Hulke during the Class 2A Regional finals on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026 at St. Bede Academy. (Scott Anderson)

Hulke (18 points) made two free throws to put Alleman up 40-37, and after McClain fouled out, Ashlan Heersink hit 1-2 free throws to cut the Alleman lead to two.

Hulke made two more free throws with 12.8 remaining with Waszkowiak scoring at the buzzer as the Bruins ran out of time.

Ford said the Pioneers were just taking it one basket at a time as they mounted their second-half comeback.

“We just started leaving in that next-play mentality. You can’t do anything about the last play. You can do it the next play. We just kept continuing to believe in the second half. Obviously, you’re not going to get an 8-point shot. You just got to slowly inch it back and continue to play hard.”

The Bruins bow out at 19-14 and Ptak was proud how they battled to the end.

“They gave us every ounce of energy they had. I’m really proud of them, Couple things didn’t go our way. Couple shots didn’t fall. But if you were a fan, you got your money’s worth.

“Wonderful game. Good environment. It hurts. I feel bad for the seniors. They had great careers.”

Lili McClain led the Bruins with 17 points before fouling out and Bray finished with 10.

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St. Bede's Savanna Bray and teammate Lili McClain react after losing to Alleman in the Class 2A Regional finals on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026 at St. Bede Academy. (Scott Anderson)