Lady Railers punch their ticket to State with 61-39 win over Highland

 

[February 28, 2023]  The final destination on this road trip has been reached! All along these girls planned on ending their season in Normal, Illinois at what was once known as Redbird Arena. The name may have changed to CEFCU Arena but the address is still the same. On Friday morning at the corner of College Avenue and Main Street in Normal, Railer Nation undoubtedly will occupy a good portion of the building as the Lady Railers take on Deerfield at 11:45 a.m. in the semifinal game of the Class 3A IHSA Girls State Basketball Tournament.
 
 The Lady Railers punched their ticket to the State Tournament with a 61-39 win over the Highland Lady Bulldogs on Monday night at the Super-Sectional in Taylorville.

Lincoln was off to yet another fast and furious start on Monday night, with Kloe Froebe on a mission early. After Lincoln controlled the tip, it only took Froebe a matter of seconds to get the Lady Railers on the board with a quick field goal. She extended the lead to 4-0 after putting back an offensive rebound for two more points. With Taryn Stoltzenburg stealing the ball and tossing it ahead to Becca Heitzig for two points, the Lady Railers were in front 6-0 and the Highland coach called a timeout. It became evident early on that this Highland team just didn’t have the shooters or the ball handlers that Lincoln has. Highland was tossing up some forced bad shots early and Lincoln knows all too well how to take advantage of their opponent’s mistakes. And as the game would go on, it would become more clear that the Lady Bulldogs didn’t have the stamina of the Lady Railers either.
 
 So after that timeout, the Lady Bulldogs had possession of the ball, but quickly lost it at the hands of Froebe. She took the ball to the hoop and in less than two minutes of play, the Lady Railers had an 8-0 lead. The Lady Bulldogs would get in the scoring column at the 5:51 mark as Larissa Taylor sank two free throws. Taylor would also score a field goal thirty seconds later and the lead was cut in half, 8-4 now the score. After Froebe sank two free throws at the 5:06 mark the lead was 10-4.
 
 Highland’s freshman, Jordan Bircher, sank a three to trim it to 10-7, but Froebe’s spin move over Taylor in the lane set the score at 12-7. Sophie Schroeder scored her first basket of the game to make the score 12-9. With the first quarter coming to a close, Froebe would call for the ball on the inbounds play and hurl a three in the air good for a 15-9 Lincoln lead. Froebe finished the quarter with 13 points.
 
 At the 7:20 mark in the second quarter, the Lady Bulldogs slipped a basket in on the Lady Railers and the score was 15-11. But remarkably after that, the Lady Railers would go on a 17-0 run that absolutely buried the Lady Bulldogs. It was practically a flawless second quarter, with Froebe scoring 14 points. But first, it was Stoltzenburg with a corner three to start the run. Then it was Froebe with the steal and tossing the ball ahead to Heitzig, who then decided to show the Highland fans her signature stop ’n pop move for two points. Tori Geriets also scored a bucket in the middle of the huge run. In the midst of all the action, the Lady Bulldogs continued to struggle and would even get called for a ten-second violation. You gotta love that Lady Railer defense. You also gotta love it when Froebe does that step back jumper that makes the opponent just lose her mind. Here’s just a sample of what Froebe did next: score off the Lincoln steal, hit two free throws, sink a three that just about blew the roof off the Taylorville gymnasium and then hit a bank shot just for fun. Prior to the bank shot, Highland scored a point on a free throw, giving them their total of three points scored in the quarter. Lincoln, meanwhile, had a 34-12 lead after Froebe’s bank shot. Heitzig added to the lead with a nice little 10-foot jumper with a minute left. And how about a little more excitement from Froebe to end the scoring in the first half?! As the seconds ticked away, Froebe hit a bank shot as she was surrounded by Bulldogs. As the ball went through the net, the referee signaled for a foul. Needless to say, Froebe was pumped and she showed it. She sank the ‘and one’ and Lincoln was on top 39-12. In fact, with Froebe at the line, the Highland student section began chanting, “Kari Froebe, Kari Froebe!” That was so sweet of them to recognize greatness across the gym. Anyway, it was the junior Froebe finishing the half with 27 points and well, the Lady Bulldogs, they just looked finished…exhausted. Lincoln had just worn them down.
 

Halftime was an opportunity to gaze around the gym and see the who’s who in attendance. With Railer Nation really taking over the place, it was easy to spot the usual fans. But in the front row was one Railer alum who drove a pretty good distance to see the Lady Railers in person. The fan dressed in Railer green was none other than Tyler Horchem, 2014 LCHS graduate and a member of the runner-up team in the Class 3A Boys State Tournament that year. Horchem said, “These Lady Railers are impressive. They never stop running.”

His assessment of them couldn’t have been more accurate. Now is a good time to mention that 2020 Railer alums Kaden Froebe and Dylan Singleton also made the trip to Taylorville Monday night. In fact, at the game the other night in Rochester, Railer legend Max Cook was in attendance. Nice to see the support of these former Railers, too.
 
 Let’s pick up the action in the third quarter, with the score 39-12. The Lady Bulldogs highlight of the quarter was back-to-back 3s from Addison Crask. The rest of the highlight reel belonged to Lincoln. Froebe started things off with a jumper in the lane and that was followed by a spin move in the lane and a “I think I’ll lay this one in with my left hand” kinda move. On this night, any way she was going to toss the ball up, it was going to go through the net.
 
 It’s pretty clear the entire team is happy to have Heitzig back on the court, but perhaps no one has a bigger smile than Froebe because let’s face it, these two are like peas and carrots. And with a quick glance at each other, they make things happen. First, it was Heitzig spotting Froebe cutting towards the basket and she tossed a swift pass over to her friend, who obliged by scoring. Next time around, it was Froebe returning the favor. She sent a one-handed bounce pass sailing towards Heitzig, who was cutting to the basket and without missing a beat she tossed the ball through the hoop. Lincoln was up by 25 as the scoreboard flashed 47-22.
 
 Next, it was Jenna Bowman on the steal and with the determination to go all the way, she scored and it was a 49-22 ballgame. As the quarter dwindled down to 2:35, Froebe hit another three and Lincoln was cruising 52-23. Seconds later, Froebe would steal the ball and add two more points to push Lincoln beyond that 30-point plus lead. Oh, how the fans love that!

Fans also love to see the swift ball movement of the Lady Railers. Froebe to Heitzig to Stoltzenburg on the break put the team up 56-23. One more Heitzig to Froebe feed would make the score 58-25 and this would give Froebe 40 points in the game. Bowman would also score on a three with about twenty seconds left in the quarter and while she would tie the record of 72 threes in a season on that basket, she would tell you that more importantly her team was on top 61-27.
 
 The Lady Bulldogs had plenty of time to get off a shot before the third quarter ended, but they failed. It was pretty clear, Lincoln had just taken them out of the game completely and the Lady Bulldogs were like a dad on a cross country vacation in the 70’s, just completely lost and not about to ask for directions.
 
 The fourth quarter started with a running clock and the Lady Railers leaving no doubt who would be advancing from here. While Lincoln would not score in the final quarter, they would still collect the Class 3A Super-Sectional plaque with a final score of 61-39.

 Froebe would end the game with a double-double, 40 points and 11 rebounds. And in an amazing performance, she outscores her opponent in a Super-Sectional! Her shots included: 13 two-point field goals, three 3s and a 5-for-5 shooting performance from the free throw line.
 
 From the minute the game started, you could sense Froebe was not about to see the season end yet for her and her teammates.
 
 Their goal has been the same all year: to get to State.
 
 On Friday, March 3, 2023 the Lady Railers will play at State for just the third time in school history.
 
 Lincoln (35-0) will play Deerfield (28-5) at 11:45 a.m. in the semifinal game at CEFCU Arena.
 
 In the 10 a.m. semifinal, Peoria High School will play LaGrange Park Nazareth Academy.
 
 The winners will play each other at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
 
 Congratulations, Lady Railers, on your Super-Sectional win!
 
 Scoring
 
 Lincoln 61
 Froebe 40
 Heitzig 9
 Stoltzenburg 5
 Bowman 5
 Geriets 2
 
 Highland 39
 Schroeder 9
 Taylor 8
 Crask 6
 Maas 5
 Bircher 5
 Schultz 3
 Wilke 3
 
 [Teena Lowery]

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