Grace Bickers drives to the paint during Unity's Country Financial Shoot game at St. Joseph-Ogden High School in December. The rising sophomore star led the Rockets in their home win over Prairie Central on Thursday.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
TOLONO - Grace Bickers' total point production in Unity's home conference game against Prairie Central was greater than the combined effort of any three players from the Hawks' girls' basketball team. The
sophomore shooting forward led all scorers with 15 points and capped the game with six rebounds for the Rockets.
Unity, behind a solid second half of play, outscored their opponents 29-13 and defeated Prairie Central, 50-26. The win moved the Rockets over the .500 mark with a 12-11 overall record and 4-1 in the Illini Prairie Conference.
"It was a great team defensive effort, and we were able to convert that defense into points on the other end," said first-year head coach Michael Donovan on the win. "Offensively, we were patient against the zone and moved the ball well to create good shots for teammates."
It was nearly a total team effort for the Rockets on Thursday, with 10 of the 11 players on the roster contributing to the final score. In supporting roles, Kendal Zerrusen and
Emily Decker finished with five points each.
Decker, who recently signed her National Letter of Intent to
continue her cross-country running career at Ball State University in Indiana, also snagged six rebounds for the Rockets.
It was outside shooting that gave Unity the advantage they needed, making five of 19 attempts from behind the arc. Prairie Central made just one of 11 long-range shots. The Rockets also dominated the points-after-turnover stat, with nearly half their total points (26) coming after Prairie Central turnovers.
Prairie Central was paced by Jayla Hammond's five points.
Unity has three games lined up next week, with two opportunities to move up in the conference standings. The Rockets travel to Pontiac (11-12, 3-2) on Monday to face the Indians in a regular-season conference game. On Thursday, they will host Illinois Valley Central (15-6, 5-1) at the Rocket Center and finish the week on Saturday with a home game against PORTA (18-5).
