Lady Indians basketball sets stage for fall
The 2020-21 girls basketball season for the Du Quoin girls basketball team turned out to be a roller coaster ride, that started with a 2-1 record and ended with a 5-0 winning streak.
The COVID-19 shortened season gave the Lady Indians their first back-to-back winning seasons since the early 1980s.
The season opened on Feb. 6 and ended this past Monday.
"If you think about it only eight teams in a normal year end their season with a win either in the championship game or the third place game, so for us to end ours with five it just sets the stage for our future," said Du Quoin coach Shawn File.
"I told the girls that we've never gone over .500 three years in a row, so we've got a chance to do that next year. We are looking at this being a pivotal group in regards to putting Du Quoin basketball to where we want to be."
Du Quoin finished the season with a 7-6 record and 5-5 in the SIRR-Mississippi Division. Last year the Lady Indians were 15-14 and 3-7 in the conference.
Since girls basketball began in 1978 the Lady Indians have posted only eight winning seasons, including the last two years. The first and only other time Du Quoin had back-to-back winning seasons was when the 1982-83 team finished 14-11 and the 1983-84 team followed with a 16-7 record.
In 1984-85 the Lady Indians barely missed making it three in a row, finishing 11-11.
Du Quoin came into the season finale against Anna-Jonesboro on a four-game winning streak. They beat Sparta twice, and Elverado and Pinckneyville - sweeping the Lady Panthers for the first time in a long time.
Monday was the last home game for seniors Delaynie Dearmond, Maya Russell and Maddie Robison. Dearmond scored eight points, Russell five points and Robison three as the Lady Indians took a decision 45-28 win to split the season series with the Lady Wildcats.
"We played well," File said, adding it was probably their best "team" win of the year, and they won all four quarters.
"The scoring was spread out well and everybody contributed. We did a good job of limiting them to one shot. It was a complete team game."
Junior Lauren Heape led the Lady Indians with 10 points. Junior Abbi Mocaby scored nine, sophomore Sophie Hill finished with a career high eight points and junior Grace Alongi had two.
The remainder of File's squad are juniors Ayanna Dunklin, Olivia Phillips, and Emma Fischer, sophomore Ella Davis and freshmen Kallie Oestreicher and Ashlyn Waters.
The remarkable aspect of the season-ending winning streak was it achieved without one of the leading scorers - junior Loveleen Dunklin, who transferred to Mount Vernon in midseason when the Lady Indians were 2-4.
"The last game she played with us was Benton," File said. "When we played the next game against Nashville we played without her and lost by three (after losing the first time against them by 10 with her).
"That shows how much this team got better as the season progressed. However, if Loveleen moves back we'd take her in a heartbeat."