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At first glance, Elaina Rager finally did something wrong on a basketball court.
A cameraman asked Pecatonica’s all-time leading scorer to autograph her photo on the camera itself after Saturday’s Rising Stars Classic at Rock Valley College. “It was sick,” Rager said of the new technology.
Except the glass plate fell off the camera, leaving a small pile of broken glass near the scorer’s table after Rager led the All-Area Girls to a 95-82 Rising Stars victory over the NIC-10.
But even the broken glass wasn’t her fault.
“He was moving it and accidentally hit the glass and it fell to the floor,” said Rager, who still enjoyed the experience of signing digital autographs.
More: Pecatonica is moving up in class, but officials of newest Rockford sports power confident
She also enjoyed the final, final chapter of her record-setting high school career.
First, Rager won a state championship at a school that had never even gone to state in any sport in its 90-year history.
Then she was named the best girls basketball player in the state in Class 1A. And finally, Rager made her statement as the best Rockford-area player — in any class — this year. The Pecatonica guard scored 22 points and was named the MVP of the 27th annual senior girls all-state basketball game.
She did this in a particularly star-studded year, with a game featuring four of the 19 players in area history with more than 2,000 career points.
“That senior class was stacked,” Rager said. “Everyone shared the ball well. It was a blast playing with all of them.
“I am still on a high from winning state with all my teammates. But it was also cool playing with all of my competitors that I have played with and against. It was just cool having a last hurrah with everyone. And we got the dub.”
The All-Area girls now trail the NIC-10 only 15-12 in the all-time series. Genoa-Kingston’s Ally Poegel also scored 22 points and Stillman Valley’s Taylor Davidson scored 18.
More: All of Pecatonica celebrates girls state title 1 day after No. 1 boys' team loses
The NIC-10 had wiped out an 11-point deficit late in the first half. But four straight steals (two by Poegel and one each by Rager and Davidson) led to four straight uncontested layups that powered an 11-0 run to break the game open. That gave the All-Area team a 70-53 lead late in the third quarter and the NIC-10 never got closer than 10 points again.
Attendance for the girls game at 5 p.m. was only slightly less than for the boys at 7, filling up 90 percent of the main bleachers on the west side of the gym.
“We’ve really grown the game a lot,” Davidson. “It’s great to bring in so many fans here to watch the girls.”
She also enjoyed one last game with Rager as her teammate. The two used to play AAU ball together on the Rockford Wildcats several years ago.
“It was nice to reconnect with her again and be on the same team this time.” Davidson said. “She is very talented. Her athleticism helps her do whatever she wants to out there. It’s really hard to stop her from getting to the rim and then when you stop that she can pull up and shoot as well.”
Belvidere’s Emma Pierson led the NIC-10 with 17 points and Auburn ’s Alivia Brown added 14.
Matt Trowbridge is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @MattTrowbridge.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: All-Area Girls beat NIC-10 95-82 in 27th annual Rising Stars Classic
Continue reading...
A cameraman asked Pecatonica’s all-time leading scorer to autograph her photo on the camera itself after Saturday’s Rising Stars Classic at Rock Valley College. “It was sick,” Rager said of the new technology.
Except the glass plate fell off the camera, leaving a small pile of broken glass near the scorer’s table after Rager led the All-Area Girls to a 95-82 Rising Stars victory over the NIC-10.
But even the broken glass wasn’t her fault.
“He was moving it and accidentally hit the glass and it fell to the floor,” said Rager, who still enjoyed the experience of signing digital autographs.
More: Pecatonica is moving up in class, but officials of newest Rockford sports power confident
She also enjoyed the final, final chapter of her record-setting high school career.
First, Rager won a state championship at a school that had never even gone to state in any sport in its 90-year history.
Then she was named the best girls basketball player in the state in Class 1A. And finally, Rager made her statement as the best Rockford-area player — in any class — this year. The Pecatonica guard scored 22 points and was named the MVP of the 27th annual senior girls all-state basketball game.
She did this in a particularly star-studded year, with a game featuring four of the 19 players in area history with more than 2,000 career points.
“That senior class was stacked,” Rager said. “Everyone shared the ball well. It was a blast playing with all of them.
“I am still on a high from winning state with all my teammates. But it was also cool playing with all of my competitors that I have played with and against. It was just cool having a last hurrah with everyone. And we got the dub.”
The All-Area girls now trail the NIC-10 only 15-12 in the all-time series. Genoa-Kingston’s Ally Poegel also scored 22 points and Stillman Valley’s Taylor Davidson scored 18.
More: All of Pecatonica celebrates girls state title 1 day after No. 1 boys' team loses
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The NIC-10 had wiped out an 11-point deficit late in the first half. But four straight steals (two by Poegel and one each by Rager and Davidson) led to four straight uncontested layups that powered an 11-0 run to break the game open. That gave the All-Area team a 70-53 lead late in the third quarter and the NIC-10 never got closer than 10 points again.
Attendance for the girls game at 5 p.m. was only slightly less than for the boys at 7, filling up 90 percent of the main bleachers on the west side of the gym.
“We’ve really grown the game a lot,” Davidson. “It’s great to bring in so many fans here to watch the girls.”
She also enjoyed one last game with Rager as her teammate. The two used to play AAU ball together on the Rockford Wildcats several years ago.
“It was nice to reconnect with her again and be on the same team this time.” Davidson said. “She is very talented. Her athleticism helps her do whatever she wants to out there. It’s really hard to stop her from getting to the rim and then when you stop that she can pull up and shoot as well.”
Belvidere’s Emma Pierson led the NIC-10 with 17 points and Auburn ’s Alivia Brown added 14.
Matt Trowbridge is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @MattTrowbridge.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: All-Area Girls beat NIC-10 95-82 in 27th annual Rising Stars Classic
Continue reading...
