The Junior High Girls’ Basketball team had their first state game at Rend Lake College on Friday, January 24, 2025, against the Smithton Cougars. The Rockets played Smithton before and won, but Smithton is a tough team to play against for the Rockets.
On Friday at 2:35, the Junior High Girls’ Basketball team had a send-off to kick off the start of their afternoon. At 6:00, it was time for the Rockets to play THEIR game! After the first quarter, the score was 5-2 in Okawville’s favor. The Rockets were going to stay strong for the next quarter. After the second quarter, the Rockets were in the lead by one point, scoring 7-6. With not many points scored for the first half, the Rockets still had great rebounding on the defensive end! After halftime, the Smithton Cougars were outscoring the Rockets 10-6 after the third quarter. The Rockets knew they needed to foul to get on the free-throw line. The Rockets were not doing their best with free throws this game. After the last quarter, Smithton ended the game with a score being 23-15. Scoring for the Jr. Lady Rockets were Jo Schmersahl with 11 points and Emme Hasheider and Lydia Waltrip with two points each. Brooklyn Meier, Kylie Klingenberg, Lily Gass, Delaney Viehl, Olivia Bergmann, Charlie Lintker, and Peyton Harris also played for the Rockets.
The Rockets ended their season with a 22-2 record! The Rockets also had some exciting highlights in their season. The Jr. Lady Rockets won the Okawville Round Robin tournament and the Clinton County Conference tournament. I asked the 8th grade basketball coach, Kim Litker, what she enjoyed about the team this year. Kim said, “The team had grit and don’t give up attitude. They worked very hard to be so successful! It was a wonderful season, even if it ended sooner than the team wanted. They will be very fun to watch in the future as the Lady Rockets in high school!” Great job Rockets and good luck for your next season!!!