For the third season in a row, the Lady Rockets are heading to the Elite 8. Okawville competed in the Jacksonville Routt sectional this past week. The Lady Rockets had high expectations to bring home the program’s third-straight sectional champions plaque, and they did just that.

The Lady Rockets first battled against the host Jacksonville Routt on Tuesday, February 21. Okawville came out strong grabbing an early 21-8 and never looked back. The Lady Rockets headed to the locker room at halftime, with a comfortable 43-18 lead over Routt. They continued to stretch their lead in the third quarter with a score of 61-21. The Lady Rockets defeated the host team 69-34 to advance to the sectional championship.

Alayna Kraus scored an impressive 25 points to lead the Lady Rockets. Megan Rennegarbe provided 21 points, along with 10 rebounds to earn a double-double in the semifinal game. Briley Rhodes added 9 for Okawville, Ellie Frederking put in 5, Madisyn Wienstroer had 4, Caroline Tepe ended with 3, and Jenna Hackstadt chipped in 2.

The Lady Rockets take the postseason one game at a time. “Any win in postseason is a big deal for us,” stated Rennegarbe. “Each game we win gets us more and more excited about the possibilities to come and push us to get better.” Rennegarbe played a big role in the team’s win on Tuesday. Her contributions on both offense and defense helped lead Okawville to the championship game.

Okawville would make the 2-hour drive to Jacksonville once again on Thursday to face conference rival Carlyle in the sectional championship. Carlyle finished second in the conference behind the Lady Rockets. Okawville had previously defeated the Lady Indians in the regular season 55-39 and 65-45. The Lady Rockets knew they had a battle ahead of them and were determined to beat Carlyle for the third time this season.

In the first few minutes of the championship game, Okawville grabbed a quick 8-0 lead. At the end of the first quarter, the Lady Rockets led 17-11 as Carlyle got within 6. Okawville would not allow the Lady Indians to get any closer as they ended the first half with a 29-18 lead. Okawville extended their lead at the end of the third quarter with a 45-30 score. The Lady Rockets remained on top to win the sectional championship over Carlyle 63-41.

The Lady Rockets were once again led by Kraus with 22 points. Rhodes also had a strong offensive game scoring 15. Wienstroer finished with 9, Raelyn Obermeier and Rennegarbe both ended with 8 a piece, and Caroline Tepe added in 1. Rennegarbe and Wienstroer had big contributions on defense. Rennegarbe got 8 boards with 2 steals, while Wienstroer had 7 rebounds and 3 steals.

The Lady Rockets will now play in their third straight appearance at the super-sectional level. Okawville has been unsuccessful in the past two appearances and hopes to earn a trip to the state tournament this year. Rhodes, a senior, will start in her third career super-sectional game. “I’m looking forward to getting redemption after a tough loss last year,” Rhodes stated. “We were so close last year, and now we have another shot.”

The super-sectional game will be played on Monday, February 27 at Brown County High School in Mount Sterling, Illinois. The Lady Rockets will take on Havana High School at 7 p.m. Good luck to the Lady Rockets as they try to punch their ticket to the state tournament.