It was a big week for the Danville Blue Devils, (15-6, 8-4) as they finished out with a pair of important wins with the postseason right around the corner.
Danville 52, East Knox 43
The Danville girls’ basketball team came away with a big 52-43 win over KMAC rival East Knox (5-13, 2-9) in front of a home crowd on Senior Night on Jan. 30, with their upperclassmen leading the charge on both offense and defense to take the conference victory.
“This was our senior night, so as a team we always strive to send them out with a win for their last home game,” Coach Matt Proper said. “We came out very aggressive on defense, which helped us jump out to a nice lead. East Knox played with a lot of energy, but we were able to maintain momentum and the lead throughout the game.”
The Blue Devils took a 3-2 lead on a three pointer by senior Ella Proper early in the first quarter. After East Knox hit a bucket to take a one point lead, senior Broegan Staats grabbed a loose ball for a steal. This led to Proper’s second three of the night to regain the lead, 6-4. With about 4:30 left in the quarter, Proper jumped in front of a pass for a steal and took it all the way to the hole to make it a four point lead for Danville. Proper then nailed her third three of the quarter to put the Blue Devils up 11-4.
“Ella scored our first 11 points, and did a great job from the PG position, along with the rest of our team, in controlling the tempo of the game,” Coach Proper said. “We only had six offensive turnovers.”
Addison Mickley had a steal and a block, while Proper each had a steal in the following three possessions for East Knox, as well. With the score 15-4, Kylee Hess blocked a shot of her own. Danville ended up cruising through the first quarter with a 19-6 first half advantage. Proper put up 13 points in the opening quarter.
East Knox woke up in the second quarter with a dominant 15-6 frame, and it was a 25-21 Danville lead at the half. Proper led with 13 points and Hess added four points. Grace Gronberg had a key block at the end of the half. Jasmine Smith had seven points, including a three, for East Knox.
Danville had a 13-10 third quarter advantage, with Staats nailing a three and Mickley putting up four points. The Blue Devils finished out with a 14-12 fourth quarter to secure the win.
Proper’s 19 points led all scorers, as she made a big mark on senior night. She had three makes from downtown in the win. Staats had nine points and Hess, also a senior, put up eight points. Mickley had eight points in the win, as well. Senior Jaylyn Smith put up four points and fellow senior Gronberg had three points, while Ashley Smith had a point.
East Knox was led by Molly Totten with 13 points, and Smith hit double figures with 10 points.
Danville shot 39% and 24% from three, while East Knox hit 33% of their shots and were 43% from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs led 39-26 in boards, but Danville had a 12-11 assist advantage and led 10-4 in steals.
“We share the ball really well, and found open teammates throughout the night,” Coach Proper said. “Congratulations to our seniors.”
Danville 52, Ridgewood 49
Last week the Blue Devils won their fourth straight, with a 52-49 win over Ridgewood on Feb. 30, where freshman Kelsey Hackman stepped up with 10 points including a couple of clutch free throws to help seal the win.
Hackman hit both both free throws to put the Blue Devils up with 30 seconds in what was a tightly contested battle throughout. Hackman also had four boards and two assists.
Proper once again led the scoring charge with 23 points in the victory, and she was lights out shooting the ball. She drained five of seven three point attempts, and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line. Proper put together a well-rounded game with six assists, six rebounds and a pair of blocks.
Coach Proper was very happy with the way the team stepped up as the Blue Devils were short-handed due to a couple of players being sick.
“It was really exciting to see some of our younger players step-up, contribute, and help us get the win against a good Ridgewood team,” Coach Proper said. “We played a solid defensive game in the half-court. We were a little undersized in many of our match-ups, so I thought we showed a lot of toughness by fighting for position and rebounds all game.
Staats had six points and three boards, and Smith was big on the boards with eight rebounds. Smith also had three points. Kendal Lepley put up six points and did a nice job on the glass with five rebounds. Grace Gronberg tallied four points and six rebounds in the win.
This was the fourth straight win for the Blue Devils, who are hot just in time for the playoffs. They will have the chance to rest themselves and get healthy this week.
“We have the upcoming week off from games, so our goal will be to continue to gear up for our tournament and hopefully make a run,” Coach Proper said.
Next up for the Blue Devils is a home non-conference matchup against the Highland Lady Scots on Feb. 13 at 7:15 p.m. This will conclude the regular season, and then it is playoff time for Danville.
