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VOL. 88 • NO. 1
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WEDNESDAY, DEC. 29, 2021
Lady Blackhawks earn ninth victory After starting their season 6-4, the Stockton Blackhawks girls basketball squad is riding a three-game winning streak. Earlier in December, the Blackhawks dropped back to back games against Pearl City and Stillman Valley. With a tough schedule of three games against formidable opponents over the next seven days, Stockton quickly bounced back. On Tuesday, Dec. 14, Stockton traveled to face off with the Dakota Indians. Holding a record of just 3-7, the Indians came into the game as clear underdogs. That was evident in the first quarter, as the Blackhawks quickly jumped out to a 13-4 lead. The big quarter forced Dakota to play catch up for the rest of the game. Despite a big, twenty-point fourth quarter, the Blackhawks managed to hold off Dakota’s comeback attempt. Stockton was buoyed by a strong performance by senior Brynn Haas. With twenty-seven points while shooting above fifty percent, Haas was Stockton’s main contributor on offense. A good chunk of her production came at the free throw line, where she hit on nine of fifteen attempts. Brynn also led the team in rebounds with nine. Stockton’s next leading contributor was Whitney Sullivan. The junior point guard finished the game with six points and seven rebounds. Just two days later, the Blackhawks were slated to face off with a 3-6 Eastland Cougars squad. The first quarter was an exciting show as both teams combined for twenty-nine points in an opening quarter shootout. Heading into the second, Stockton held a one point advantage, up 1514. Things slowed down in the
second quarter as both teams combined for just twelve points. Stockton controlled a majority of the quarter, however, outscoring Eastland 9-3. Both offenses came back to life in the second half as the Cougars hoped to overcome the ten point halftime deficit. Fortunately for Stockton, the Blackhawks were able to shoot their way to a 48-41 victory over the Cougars. It was another impressive performance by Brynn, who posted a double-double with twenty-four points and thirteen rebounds. Kassadie Sullivan, a senior guard, was the next leading scorer with eleven points. Alexi Haas was productive on the boards with eight rebounds, five of which came on the defensive end. With an 8-4 overall record, the Blackhawks found themselves set to face off with one of their toughest tests of the season. On Wednesday, Dec. 22, the Blackhawks played host to a 10-4 Pecatonica Indians squad. The Blackhawks got out to a hot start on their home court, nearly doubling the Indians’ score in the first quarter. They managed to expand their sixpoint advantage in the second quarter by outscoring Pecatonica 17-10. With a 30-17 lead at the halftime break, Stockton was putting all the pressure on their opponents to comeback, once again. Pecatonica came out of the locker room looking like a new team, however. They outscored the Blackhawks 20-13 in the third quarter, helping to slim Stockton’s lead to just six points. Stockton’s strong first half wound up being too much for Pecatonica to overcome, however. Despite outscoring the Blackhawks in both of the final quarters, Stockton managed to hold onto a 52-50 victory.
It was a game that came down to the very end. Free throws played a major factor as Stockton managed to get to the line for twenty-two attempts, while Pecatonica had just nine. Despite Stockton shooting only fifty percent at the line, it was just enough to
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hold off the Indians’ comeback hopes. Although Brynn led the team in scoring with twenty-three points, she got some family support to beat Pecatonica. In her return, Kenze Haas was the team’s next leading scorer with sixteen points.
Together, Brynn, Kenze, and Alexi combined for forty-three of Stockton’s fifty-two total points. Kenze led the team in rebounds with ten, giving her a double-double. Brynn was close behind with seven rebounds of her own, while Alexi, Kassadi, and Whitney
each had six boards. It was their third victory in a row as Stockton managed to improve their overall record to 9-4. They have another tough home game on the horizon as the Blackhawks will play host to a 12-2 Galena squad on Friday, Jan. 7.
SUBMITTED PHOTO Rock Valley Publishing
River Ridge Santa Store back in business PR SRT STD US POSTAGE PAID ROCK VALLEY PUBLISHING LLC
By Trenten Scheidegger
The Santa Store was back at River Ridge after a pandemic hiatus. The annual event is sponsored by the River Ridge Parent Teacher Organization. The Store provides elementary students an opportunity to shop for their loved ones. Middle and high school students were Santa’s helpers and wrapped gifts and became personal shoppers.