Sophomores honored as season comes to close

IVCCs+Karly+Near+%28center%29+drives+the+ball+to+the+hoop+against+Highlands+Courtney+Walker+%28right%29+and+Sherry+Calhoun+%28left%29++to+add+on+two+points+in+IVCCs+Jan.+27+68-57+loss+to+Highland+Community+College.+

Kyle Russell

IVCC’s Karly Near (center) drives the ball to the hoop against Highland’s Courtney Walker (right) and Sherry Calhoun (left) to add on two points in IVCC’s Jan. 27 68-57 loss to Highland Community College.

The IVCC Lady Eagle’s basketball team honored their sophomore players on Feb. 10 after the game against South Suburban.
Players honored included Karly Near of Mendota High School, Mia Porter of LaSalle-Peru, and Kaylee Kingen of Midland.

Sophomore night also marked the last home game of the season for the team as they took on the South Suburban Lady Bulldogs.
After surging to a 37-28 halftime lead behind solid and aggressive defense the Lady Eagles would falter in the second half ultimately falling 57-74.

This loss came on the heels of the biggest win of the season for the Lady Eagles after they topped Carl Sandburg College at home on Feb. 5 by a score of 61-56.

In that game sophomore Mia Porter led the way for the Lady Eagles with a team high 21 points. Strong performances by Raley Mauck, Karly Near, and Lexi Collins also significantly contributed to the win.

In addition to snapping a nine-game losing streak the win also was meaningful because the last time these two teams faced the Lady Eagles lost by 30 points.

The team heads into the final regular season game with a record of 4-21 and the focus of the team remains one of consistent effort.

Only one regular season game remains for the team, a game against Highland on Feb. 19, and most likely a play in game for the postseason tournament.

Even though the Lady Eagles season has been plagued by injury, including losing player Daniela Pavlovich early on due to an ACL tear, they have managed to show continual improvement and give maximum effort.

The Lady Eagles will play their last regular season game vs Highland in Freeport at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Feb 19. The postseason will begin with a play-in game at a still TBD location on Tuesday Feb. 24.