High School Girls Basketball
Lady Railers win the battle with Kankakee 64-28
Team improves to 34-0 with a running clock

 

[February 21, 2024] 

There really was never a doubt that Lincoln would survive and advance on Tuesday night in the sectional semifinal against Kankakee in East Peoria.

After all, the Lincoln girls are on a mission and pound for pound they are some of the toughest athletes in the state. However, with blood being shed early in the first quarter, there was reason to be concerned. Luckily for Lincoln, Kloe Froebe (the one bleeding) is used to getting hit in the nose and she knows how to get the bleeding stopped pretty quickly.

And as for the team as a whole, nothing shakes these girls up. They continue to dominate the court this postseason and in the game with the Kankakee Senior Lady Kays, Lincoln was up by 36 points at the end of the third quarter and fortunately we know all too well what that means: here comes another running clock. Only this time it’s in a sectional game. Impressive. That’s your no. 1 ranked Lady Railers.

On Tuesday night the Lady Railers were led in scoring by Kloe Froebe with 28 points and Becca Heitzig tossed in a season-high 18 points.

First Quarter

The crowd was energized from the second that Kloe Froebe hit the first three of the game at the 7:37 mark to give Lincoln that opening 3-0 lead.

The Lady Kays came back to tie the game on a three by Benkwasha Stroud. After two free throws by Froebe and another basket by Stroud the game was knotted at 5-5.

Jenna Bowman’s explosive three gave the Lady Railers an 8-5 lead at the 3:50 mark. Seconds later Froebe found herself in the thick of things, battling in the opponent’s lane for a rebound and coming in contact with an elbow to the face by one of the Lady Kays.

This did cause Froebe to head towards the bench eventually, as by the time she made her way to the other end of the court and got another knock in the face, the blood was dripping.

Froebe’s exit was brief but while she was out, the Lady Kays tied the game 8-8 and they would even take an 11-8 lead after another three by Stroud.

Spoiler alert: no worries here because Lincoln’s ability to explode on offense is phenomenal and an 11-0 run to end the quarter was just what the doctor ordered.

It all began at the 2:15 mark with Heitzig at the free throw line making two shots. Next Mia Clark, fresh off the bench, hit a huge three to give Lincoln a lead that would stick. Her shot from the top of the key was nothing but net and Lincoln was up for good in this one, 13-11 the score. Clark’s shot was not easy by any means as she had a 5’11 senior, Aniya Lewis, flying towards her. Clark has come up clutch time and time again this season. Her three was a huge moment that really brought the crowd to their feet.

Froebe’s basket off the steal would stretch the lead to 15-11 and then it was Heitzig gently knocking down the last two buckets in the quarter, giving Lincoln a nice 19-11 lead over Kankakee.

Second Quarter

For as fast and athletic as the Lady Kays were, they sure didn’t get in a hurry to score. And they were really struggling against Lincoln’s tremendous defense. Those two strikes against them led them down a rabbit hole.

In fact, the Lady Railers held the Lady Kays to just three points early in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, there is no stopping the Lady Railers scoring machine, engineered by Froebe and Heitzig. Froebe’s three put the Lady Railers up by double-digits, 22-12 the score. She kept the lead strong after she was fouled shooting a three and made 2-of-3 shots from the line. Froebe then stole the ball and got the bucket, the foul and the ‘and one.’

The 27-14 lead was enough for the Lady Kays coach to call a timeout. After the timeout, it was Heitzig’s turn to get a couple baskets and with the game hovering around the three minute mark the score was 31-14 and another timeout was called. While Lincoln would not score the rest of the half, neither would Kankakee.

Third Quarter

Get ready for another run in the third quarter!

Taryn Stoltzenburg’s three is going to be the first basket of the second half that’s going to send the Verderber (Bob and Barb) siblings flying off the bleachers. Ten seconds later it’s Heitzig getting the basket off the steal. Twenty seconds after that, it’s Froebe with a basket in the lane and then, don’t blink or you’ll miss it. Froebe steals the inbounds pass from the Lady Kays not even ten seconds after her previous bucket and she tosses that ball up and in for two more points.

With the clock flashing 7:02 Lincoln was up 40-14. And they weren’t quite done yet. Froebe ended this 11-0 run with a basket and the 42-14 lead was absolutely amazing.

Then it was time to entertain the folks with some 3s. TaLeah Turner will take a turn first and make a three for Kankakee. Froebe and Bowman then take their turns from beyond the arc. After Bowman’s three Lincoln was over that 30-point hump, 48-17 the score.

Are you girls for real?!

Heitzig, Bowman and Froebe made sure the lead would stick. The quarter ended on yet another high note for Lincoln, who outscored the opponent 9-2 in the final minutes, increasing the lead to 57-21.

Fourth Quarter

RUN THE CLOCK!

How often does that happen in a sectional game? With Heitzig and Froebe not taking any time to cool off, the Lady Railers were up 61-21 in a flash in the fourth quarter.

If that doesn’t show you that the Lady Railers are on another level, I don’t know what more proof you need.

Clark will sink one more free throw in the fourth quarter and Makinley Knapp will get a bucket in the lane to complete the Lincoln offense.

With the Lady Kays tossing in a basket here and there, the final score of 64-28 was in the books when the buzzer sounded.

The Lady Railers (34-0) went through the line shaking hands with the Lady Kays (22-10) at the end of the game while the Lincoln crowd gave the girls a well-deserved standing ovation.

Lincoln’s ability to explode on offense has been consistently phenomenal all season long and on Tuesday night in East Peoria it was on full display. It has to be noted that not every girl is feeling their best yet. Some are battling illness and injury but yet they give it their best on the court. They want to win.

On Thursday night they will have another shot at winning when they take on Morton for the sectional championship at 6:00 p.m. Morton defeated Washington 40-34 in the other semifinal game.

Scoring

Lincoln 64

Froebe 28
Heitzig 18
Bowman 9
Clark 4
Stoltzenburg 3
Knapp 2

Kankakee 28

Johnson 13
Covington 8
Turner 5
Lewis 1
Harrison 1

[Teena Lowery]