Lincoln retires the Lady Generals 72-57 

“Winning Mentality” advances Lady Railers to Sectional Championship

[February 24, 2022] The Lincoln Lady Railers were very impressive playing in their first game of sectionals on 2-22-22 at Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium. 

Lincoln took the court Tuesday night dressed in their visiting red uniforms, but with the hometown crowd behind them all the way, the ladies were able to overcome an early deficit and earn the 72-57 win over a very talented Decatur MacArthur Lady Generals team. 

The Lady Generals came out strong in the first quarter and held a 15-8 advantage over Lincoln after the first four minutes of incredibly fast-paced action. Sophomore Becca Heitzig was instrumental in bringing the Lady Railers back in the first quarter. In a matter of two minutes of play, Heitzig scored on a layup, dribbled in the lane for a jumper, stole the ball and dished it off to fellow sophomore Kloe Froebe for two points, and then used just an old-fashioned bank shot in the middle of the lane to make the score 18-16, still in favor of MacArthur, but not for long. Taryn Stoltzenburg, another sophomore, tied the game 18-18 with her jumper at the 1:21 mark. That was a beautiful 10-3 run by the Lady Railers. After a three by Kayla Jackson, the Lady Generals were on top 21-18, but here comes Tori Geriets and the Lady Railers. Geriets, also a sophomore, fought hard in the paint for an offensive rebound and she put it back up for two points with just under a minute to play. With 19.5 seconds on the clock, Geriets was fouled on her shot under the basket and she would get a chance at two free throws. Geriets sank both foul shots to give Lincoln a 22-21 first quarter lead.

The two teams traded slim leads back and forth early in the second quarter, but after just a little jumper from Heitzig, the Lady Railers would take a 26-25 lead and never look back. Free throws from Froebe and Heitzig were key in allowing Lincoln to stretch the lead to 32-27 with 3:47 left to play in the second quarter. At precisely the two minute mark it would be Heitzig on the steal and quick bucket to increase the lead to 34-27. Forty seconds later, Reese McCuan added a basket in the lane and the Lady Railer lead was 36-27. With exactly a minute left in the quarter, Lincoln never let up and the crowd inside Roy S. Anderson loved every second of what was unfolding in front of their eyes. Taryn Stoltzenburg hit a soft jumper first with 1:00 flashing on the clock. Then it was Heitzig on the next possession with a sweet little baseline jumper for two for Lincoln. Finally, it was Froebe open and taking the three with 7.0 seconds left. As the ball fell through the net, the gym erupted for the “visitors” on the scoreboard, who had just completed an impressive 15-0 run over the Lady Generals. The Lady Generals last field goal in the quarter was at the 4:28 mark when the score was 28-27, Lincoln’s lead. With Lincoln trotting off to the locker room at the half, the smiles were well-earned and the Lady Railers lead was 43-27. 

Lincoln had outscored Decatur MacArthur 21-6 in the second quarter and deserved the applause they got for that outstanding first half of basketball. For those of you who were not there, it was really incredible to witness. This team is special.

Early in the third quarter, the sophomore trio of Taryn Stoltzenburg, Heitzig and Froebe guided the Lady Railers offense to a 51-32 lead. Although give credit to the feisty Lady Generals, they put up a good fight and took a 10-0 run themselves to lead the charge back. The score was 51-42 as the Lady Railers glanced up at the scoreboard with 1:18 remaining in the third quarter. McCuan’s basket that rolled in was good for a 53-42 Lincoln lead. With 2.4 seconds left, Froebe’s drive was good and that set the third quarter score at 55-44.

These Lady Railers just really kept their composure and control of the game heading into the final eight minutes of play. They chose their shots wisely and protected the ball, all the while keeping the Lady Generals at a comfortable distance. Froebe would sink the first basket of the fourth quarter for Lincoln, it was a three from the top to make the score 58-46. After McCuan’s sweet little eight-foot bank shot in the lane, the lead was 60-48. And then it was freshman Piper Whiteman tossing in two points under the basket for Lincoln to make the score 62-50. The Lady Railers even rattled off six straight points in the lane in a matter of thirty seconds to show the fans a 68-51 lead. With under a minute to play the final score would be decided via the free throw line. With Froebe sinking four foul shots down the stretch, Lincoln would walk away with the 72-57 win. 

Following the win, Lincoln Coach Taylor Rohrer spoke highly of her team’s performance and attributed the girls with a “Winning Mentality.”

“It was a big team effort and oh my God, they just played so great,” said Rohrer. “We could talk about each of them as an individual but I think that the main point that each of my kids has is a winning mentality. They are winners and they are going to do everything that they can until the horn sounds to make sure that that “W” is coming in our column. They just played so hard and that’s what they do. They play hard. The shots fell tonight and we rebounded. That was the thing that we knew was key to this game, hitting the boards, and they did that.” 

Rohrer was quick to emphasize the importance of every single girl on this team. 

“This team is really special and the five, six, seven girls that played a lot, you know they’re going to get a lot of recognition,” said Rohrer. “They did an excellent job and they deserve that recognition. But the kids that are sitting on that bench in our gym, they are the kids getting the others ready in practices. So every single player on our team deserves credit because this was a team win. We couldn’t have done it without all 14 players.”  

Coach Taylor Rohrer and her team with a "Winning Mentality" pick up a 72-57 win over Decatur MacArthur.

It is truly noticeable how each and every girl offers encouragement to one another, whether it’s during a timeout or playing on the court. 

“That’s another reason why this team is so special,” added Rohrer. “They support one another. They don’t care who’s in, they want our team to succeed and that’s what it means to be a team. It’s really special.” 

Talk about special and the performance by Becca Heitzig comes to mind. This sophomore was playing out of mind versus Decatur MacArthur on Tuesday night. Heitzig tossed in 20 points, pulled down 7 rebounds and contributed 3 assists. The stat sheet said she had one steal, but anyone in that gym can testify, she was involved in every aspect of the game and without a doubt she’s got a winning mentality. You are not gonna break this girl’s will to win. Oh and she was 9-for-10 shooting from the field. Impressed yet? 

After the game, the smiling, sweaty sophomore was going through the interviews like a champ and she offered this for our Lincoln Daily News readers.

“I am just overwhelmed with adrenaline and everything,” said Heitzig. “I am so excited right now. I don’t even know what to say but I am just so excited. Everyone just did their job and we worked together so well today. They (MacArthur) are a good team. They are great at driving and shooting so it was hard to stop that drive. Everything just came together tonight. We’ve got two more games to see if we can get to the state finals and see what we can do.”

Even teammate Kloe Froebe, who was standing nearby finishing up interviews, smiled and said of Heitzig, “She was going off!” 

Froebe, who led all scorers with 29 points, also had 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals. Lincoln’s candidate in the running for the prestigious Illinois “Gatorade Player of the Year” in girls basketball, Froebe is breaking out of the shadow of big sister, Kaelyn, and she seems to be enjoying every minute of it, with all due respect to past Lady Railers. 

“It was truly amazing,” said Froebe of the big win in front of the home crowd. “You know we were all in the stands, (current) seniors through freshmen, when the 2016 Lady Railers went on their run. So it’s cool for us to finally live out our dream and follow in their footsteps. Hopefully we can even make it farther than them.”

Froebe credited the defensive play of her team and the crowd’s involvement as heavy factors in the win. 

“We knew we had to pick up our defense,” said Froebe in reference to that early start. “Our defense ultimately leads to our offense and once we did, we went on like a 15-0 run. It was amazing.” 

“The crowd was amazing, too,” added Froebe. “When we have big crowds out here supporting us, we feel that support and it ultimately leads us, it really does.” 

There is just one more tidbit to add to the amazing night. Sergio McClain, a former Illini basketball star who was also Mr. Basketball of Illinois in 1997, was in attendance Tuesday night watching the Decatur MacArthur girls. He was immediately impressed with Heitzig and Froebe, asking after the game, “Who are no. 4 and no. 5?” He was eager to talk to the girls and their parents after Lincoln dominated the Lady Generals. McClain lives in Champaign and runs the Wayne McClain Basketball Academy. 

As for the Lady Railers, they improved to 24-8 on the season.

Decatur MacArthur ends their season 23-8. 

The Lady Railers will advance to the Class 3A Sectional Championship on Thursday night at 7 p.m. at Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium. Lincoln will take on Mahomet-Seymour, who eliminated Rochester Tuesday night by a final score of 34-33.  

Lincoln 72

Froebe 29

Heitzig 20

McCuan 6

T. Stoltzenburg 6

Geriets 4

Whiteman 4

Bowman 3

Decatur MacArthur 57

Rice 16

Lawrence 14

Pender 14

Jackson 9

Null 4

[Teena Lowery]