ARGYLE — With a 65-32 win over River Valley on Monday, Jan. 8, Argyle-Pecatonica extended its winning streak to 14 games. The last time the Orioles lost was their season-opener on Nov. 14 against Division 4 Belleville — with two starters missing.

“We are playing pretty good basketball right now,” Argyle-Pecatonica head coach Jen Krogman said. “It’s a really good team atmosphere we have here. It’s not about ‘me,’ it’s about ‘we’ big time with this group. If we can keep that mentality going, we will be in good shoes.”

Argyle-Pecatonica’s schedule has been stacked. In addition to Belleville, the Orioles have played two other Division 4 teams — Abundant Life Christian School and Cambridge. River Valley was the second Division 3 team Argyle-Pecatonica beat, the first being Turner on Dec. 11. In addition, the Orioles have defeated two ranked teams — Albany-Monticello, which was ranked No. 2 in Division 5 at the time, and Belmont, who was ranked No. 9 in Division 5 at the time.

With their recent success, Argyle-Pecatonica jumped two spots in the rankings to No. 2 in Division 5. But the Orioles don’t let rankings or divisional differences faze them.

“That’s not in our head,” Pecatonica senior Anna Tisch said. “We just know that we have to let the game come to us.”

“They don’t care about those things. They don’t care what rank you are. They don’t care what division you are in,” Krogman echoed. “They are 14-18 year-old kids playing against 14-18 year-old kids. They don’t care if they are drawn out of a bigger crowd, they are going to step up to the plate regardless.”

It took Argyle-Pecatonica five minutes to find its footing, though. In the first five minutes, the Orioles missed eight shots and two free-throw attempts. The only basket that counted was Kylie Butler’s 3-pointer nearly three minutes in.

Despite the lack of offense, the Oriole defense kept the game low-scoring. In the same time frame, River Valley committed five turnovers. 

“Our best offense is our defense,” Krogman said, referencing her team’s 19 steals per game average and 12.9 forced turnovers per game. “At least a quarter of our points come off steals. Our defense is what saves us most days.”

Tisch made the team’s second field goal three minutes after the first. She then drained a 3-pointer with a kickout from Maddie Hirsch. Brooke Wellnitz’s putback gave AP a 10-point lead four minutes into the half. Butler and Hirsch extended the advantage to 14-0, forcing the Blackhawks’ second timeout of the frame.

River Valley was able to break the press for its first points of the game with 12:40 remaining. Although the Orioles extended their lead to 17 points on a baseline drive from Butler, the Blackhawks cut their deficit to just 10 points with five minutes left in the first half.

Brooklyn Stokes, who recorded River Valley’s first points of the game, scored back-to-back points. The Blackhawks broke the Oriole press once again, leading to an easy bucket for Alexis DeViney. Osborne and DeViney then drained back-to-back 3s, as the AP defense was late on closing out.

The Orioles responded, quickly building up a 20-point advantage. Butler drove baseline and kicked it out to Alexis Rosenstiel for three. Butler assisted in another bucket, grabbing a defensive rebound and feeding Wellnitz up the court for two. Off the bench, Leaha Doescher hit a three, followed by an Tisch basket for the 35-15 lead.

River Valley ended the half with momentum, though, as DeViney went 1-for-2 at the line. She grabbed her own missed shot and scored for a 3-point play.

Out of the locker room, AP quickly regained its 20-point lead. Butler opened with a 3-pointer, stole the ball and assisted on a fastbreak Wellnitz for two. 

The Oriole advantage reached 30 points with 4:44 remaining with a baseline drive from Butler. Following three straight buckets from Butler in the final two minutes, Bri Peterson went to the line for bonus. She made one of her shots, giving AP its largest lead at 65-29.

With under a minute left, Elizabeth Gostomski scored the final points from beyond the arc.

Butler led all scorers with 28 points. She also had a team-high seven assists. Tisch tallied 14 points, going 2-for-4 from beyond the arc with four steals. Wellnitz also finished in double figures with 11 points, with team bests in rebounds (8) and steals (6). In total, 11 players saw action.

“This game would have ended differently if we played how we usually do,” Krogman said. “That’s not what it’s about for us. Those kids that don’t get to play a lot also work their butts off in practice, so we want to reward them when we can.”