Lincoln wins the Peoria Manual Tournament 

[December 31, 2021] The Lady Railers claimed the championship of the 2021 Peoria Manual Tournament with a 52-23 win over the Dunlap Lady Eagles on Wednesday night. 

Lincoln was off to a hot start in the first quarter as Kloe Froebe drained a three to ignite the offense. Following a steal, Froebe battled fiercely in the lane for two points and Lincoln was up 5-0. A three by Ryen Stoltzenburg stretched the Lincoln lead to 8-0. Another three by Froebe bounced in at the 2:50 mark and the Lady Railers lead grew to 11-0. Froebe added a free throw near the end of the quarter and the Lady Railers had shut out the Lady Eagles 12-0 in the first quarter.

Jenna Bowman hit a jumper from the corner to stretch the Lincoln lead to 14-0 a minute into the second quarter. The Lady Eagles finally scored with 6:20 showing on the clock. Two baskets in a row by Dunlap would excite the Lady Eagles fans, as the scoreboard showed 14-4. Another jumper from Bowman put Lincoln up 16-4. Froebe’s jumper was good just under the 5:00 mark and the Lady Railers were in the lead 18-4. A couple free throws ended the second quarter scoring and Lincoln didn’t even appear to be breaking a sweat with a 20-7 halftime lead. 

Reese McCuan earned her first points in the paint, on the assist from Imagin Werner, to start the third quarter action. Froebe scored the Lady Railers next seven points in a row. Then it was Bowman driving the lane, making the layup and getting the foul. Her ‘and one’ was good and Lincoln was cruising with a 32-12 lead over Dunlap. Froebe completed the third quarter scoring with five more points and Lincoln was in front 37-13. 

Playing great defense and continuing to show no signs of weakness, the Lady Railers easily kept their big lead in the fourth quarter. Lincoln earned a lot of their fourth quarter points in the paint. One moment it was Froebe on the drive, then she went coast to coast to bank it in and finally she showed the ball fake and Dunlap fell for it as the ball kissed the glass and Froebe drew the foul. Her seven consecutive points guided the Lady Railers to a 44-21 lead. McCuan, who played like a beast under the basket, pulling down rebound after rebound, would sink two free throws to pad the lead with 3:15 left to play. Two more free throws by Froebe and the score was 48-21. With 2:05 remaining, Bowman drove the lane and she got the ball to drop through the hoop for a 50-21 score. Lincoln seemed to just be toying with the Lady Eagles at this point. A steal by Taryn Stoltzenburg as the game was winding down resulted in a pass to Rebecca Burge under the basket and the freshman got herself into the scorebook with two points. The crowd cheered and seconds later the Lady Railers walked off the court champions, winning the game by a blowout score of 52-23. 

The 2021 champions of the Peoria Manual Tournament - your Lady Railers!

Kloe Froebe led the Lady Railers with 33 points. 

Lincoln improved to 15-2 on the season. 

After the game, Lincoln coach Taylor Rohrer, who is in her 10th season as head coach of the Lady Railers, said this is the first time any of her teams have beat both Peoria and Dunlap. The Lady Railers’ back-to-back wins over these two teams in the tournament was very impressive to say the least. 

Congratulations, Lady Railers!

Lincoln will return to the court on Wednesday, January 5, 2022 at Mahomet-Seymour with a Varsity game beginning at 6:30 p.m. 

Lincoln 52

Froebe 33

Bowman 9

McCuan 5

R. Stoltzenburg 3

Burge 2

Dunlap 23

Erickson 10

Haley 3

Morris 3

Chatterton 2

Steffen 2

Kirtly 2

Fossett 1

[Teena Lowery]