Lady Railers defeat Wheaton North 91-54 in shootout

Team improves to 23-0

[January 17, 2023] The Lady Railers traveled two and a half hours away on Monday to participate in the 33rd Annual Coach Derril Kipp’s Hoopsfest 2023 at Benet Academy in Lisle and it’s safe to say after the phenomenal performance the ladies turned in up north, even more eyes will be on this team. Lincoln played a very talented team from Wheaton North and led nearly the entire game, winning by a final score of 91-54.

The 36-team shootout consisted of primarily Chicago-area teams, with a handful of teams from Indiana and then our beloved Lady Railers, who were listed as being from Lincoln, Il. That’s right. Lincoln is in Illinois. And it’s not really that hard to find on the map, but I bet after the ladies left their mark in the Benet Academy Alumni Gym, a number of people were googling Lincoln and the Lady Railers basketball program. Folks, your Lady Railers were very impressive!

Before diving into the details of the game, everyone should know these girls had an incredible first half of shooting. They shot 65% (20-for-31) from the field and they sank 10 three-point baskets in that first half.

In the second half their shooting dipped a little to 45% (14-for-31) from the field, but they still managed to sink four more 3s and set a new team record for 14 total 3s in a game. Jenna Bowman had seven 3s, Kloe Froebe had six 3s and Taryn Stoltzenburg had one 3. The girls were also 9-for-11 from the free throw line as a team.

Lincoln also out-rebounded a taller Wheaton North squad 28-20. Lincoln outranked them in assists, 25-9. The Lady Railers beat them out in steals too, 10-7. Lincoln also forced 17 turnovers, while committing just eight as a team. It was a good day for the Lady Railers.

These awesome stats were compiled by the tournament staff on hand, who were incredibly impressed with the team and especially Lincoln junior Kloe Froebe, who is a nominee for the 2023 Gatorade Player of the Year. (This is Froebe’s second nomination for the coveted award.)

On Monday afternoon Froebe had a terrific first half, pouring in 27 points. In the second half she tossed in 16 more points to finish with 43 points for the game. She even had quite the day all over the court. Froebe finished her stat line with 11 assists and 11 rebounds, thus completing a triple-double!

In the midst of all this, Froebe was also shattering the LCHS girls basketball scoring record for juniors. Froebe broke the record of 602 points scored in a season, that was once held by Steph Reichle. In her current junior year, Froebe sits at 629 and counting for the season. Just as a refresher, Froebe broke the scoring record her freshman year as she scored 475 points in a very-shortened Covid season and then she shattered the record her sophomore season by scoring 679 points. For her Lady Railer career it looks like she’s resting on 1,783 points until the next game on Saturday.
 

Time to talk about the game.

It would be Jenna Bowman quietly striking first for Lincoln, hitting a three to open the scoring against the Wheaton North Falcons. With Kloe Froebe capturing the rebound off her own missed shot a possession later, she was able to put it back up and in for a 5-2 Lincoln lead. Taryn Stoltzenburg hit a three with 5:50 showing on the clock and Lincoln was up 8-4. The Falcons kept answering but each time back down the court, Lincoln was ready to retaliate. A three from the top by Froebe allowed Lincoln an 11-6 lead. Literally two seconds later, Stoltzenburg stole the Falcons inbounds pass and dished it off to Froebe for a nice bucket. The quickness of the Lady Railers was just too much for the Falcons to handle. Plus they were so busy gathering around Froebe, they lost track of the shooters around her. Tori Geriets knocked down the next two Lincoln baskets and it was a 17-6 lead. Near the three minute mark Froebe picked the pocket of the Falcons point guard and went on to score, giving Lincoln a 19-6 lead. Froebe scored again a minute later, this time surrounded by two Falcons in the lane. After a three by Froebe with just under a minute left in the first quarter, the murmurs could be heard in the crowd. Also overheard was “Wow, this team in green has excellent ball movement.” And the ladies weren’t done yet. Bowman, who had been quiet offensively since the opening basket, sank a three with :25 seconds remaining and after a quick two by the Falcons, the ball found its way into Bowman’s hands again. Bowman swished another three just ahead of the buzzer and what a sweet treat that was. A glance at the scoreboard showed Lincoln on top 30-12.

Bowman would pick up right where she left off in the second quarter. A quick three by no. 14 just ten seconds into the action and Lincoln was out to a 33-12 lead. Now the Falcons were not a subpar team by any means, they just evidently didn’t think they’d run into such a mighty little freight train that keeps an address of 1000 Railer Way. So with that being said, the Falcons did put together a 7-0 run on Lincoln. Froebe finally put a stop to that with her three at the 6:12 mark. Froebe would later score on a couple free throws and it was a 38-22 ballgame. After Bowman pulled down the weak side rebound and scored, the Falcons were left shaking their heads, wondering how in the world they were down 40-24 so quickly. Froebe showed them immediately with another three, hitting absolutely nothing but net. For the next trick out of her hat, she simply took them on, one on three to be exact, and old school out ran them. She left those three girls in the dust as the score rang up 45-25. At the two minute mark, Froebe found an open Piper Whiteman near the basket and the super sophomore banked it in for two points, leaving the big girls mystified. A minute later, Froebe stole Bowman’s spot in the corner and she hit a three that tickled the bottom of the net as the Railers lead was an impressive 50-31. Stoltzenburg scored one more basket with 34.5 seconds left and the halftime score was set at 52-31.

The Lady Railers were the talk of the stats keeper, scorekeeper and media during halftime. Honestly, they could not stop shaking their heads and asking questions about this team. They were impressed by how well the entire team played together and they were obviously focused on the two leading scorers, that would be no. 5 and no. 14. While Froebe scored 27 first half points, Bowman tossed in 14 points.

Froebe scored the Lady Railers first six points in the third quarter, four of which were from the free throw line. She threw the Falcons off by shooting a couple mid-range jumpers and drawing fouls. Bowman would also hit back-to-back 3s in the third quarter, the latter one coming at the 4:38 mark and actually tying the previous record of 12 which was first set by the 1999 team and then tied by the 2016 team. This current Lady Railers team had also tied the record of 12 previously. The tie would be broken thirty seconds later as Froebe hit a record-breaking 3 at the 4:08 mark. That made the score 67-38 but just wait, after Froebe made a couple free throws fifteen seconds later, she was now matching the Falcons point total - 38 points.
 

Just a quick random fact.

Before the quarter was over, Bowman, Geriets, Stoltzenburg, Whiteman and Froebe would each score another basket and again, this TEAM was impressive. Lincoln was holding a 79-44 lead at the end of the third quarter and it was Froebe making heads turn by pouring in 40 points. The guys near the media table were also inquiring about Froebe’s scoring record and they were really hoping she’d break 50 points in this game. While it would not happen, they were still floored when it was noted that she set the record of 49 points scored in a game back on December 1, 2022, by only playing three quarters. They could not believe it. (Insert big smile here)

Rolling into the fourth quarter, one would think there would be a running clock, but not in this tournament. That was okay. In all reality, with the level of talent in the shootout, tournament officials probably were not planning on a blowout of this magnitude. At any rate, some of the subs still came in for Lincoln and got plenty of playing time, along with a few starters. Mia Clark had an opportunity to score in the middle. Lily Holmes made the most of her time on the court and she also scored. But after a few missed 3s in the quarter for Lincoln, Bowman finally hit one at the 4:40 mark and appropriately for no. 14 that was the 14th three of the game and of course, that is the new team record. With 3:28 on the game clock, Kloe Froebe pulled down a rebound from a miss by Clark and she scored in the paint and drew a foul. Froebe connected for the ‘and one’ and that three-point play had the gym buzzing as the junior completed her day with a triple-double. There was one more applause left in the crowd after Grace Schneider scored and pushed the score to 91-50. The final score of the game would be 91-54.



Immediately after the handshakes, Lincoln’s Kloe Froebe and Wheaton North’s Zoey Bohmner were named Players of the Game.

Froebe led the team with 43 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. That’s a stat line for some entire teams, no joke.

Jenna Bowman also turned in a great performance with 25 points and 8 rebounds and 4 assists.

Lincoln improves to 23-0 on the season.

The Lady Railers will host Peoria High School on Saturday. The JV game will start at 1 p.m. and the Varsity game will tip-off at 2:30 p.m.
 

It would be really awesome to pack the gym for these girls! They feel the support of the community and appreciate it, but to experience it on a Saturday afternoon would be pretty cool. Let’s see if Railer Nation can make it happen.

This is a special team. It didn’t happen overnight. It’s been years in the making. And when it’s all said and done, this team will be talked about for years.

Lincoln 91
Froebe 43
Bowman 25
Stoltzenburg 7
Geriets 6
Whiteman 4
Clark 2
Holmes 2
Schneider 2

Wheaton North 54
Abdul 18
Fadel 13
Bohmner 8
Pearson 5
Spillane 5
Skidmore 2
Tebbe 2
Snow 1

[Teena Lowery]