ROCKFORD — There’s something about playing Rockford Auburn that brings out the best in Hononegah’s Jordan Johnston.
She had two of her best games of the season in two regular-season wins over the Knights, scoring 19 points in a 60-48 victory in the first meeting and tallying 17 in a close 44-37 rematch.
Thursday’s IHSA 4A Auburn Regional championship game was just more of the same as she tallied 12 points and played a terrific floor game in a bruising 43-34 victory over the Knights.
“I’m not sure what it is, but against Auburn it seems like I have my best games,” said Johnston. “I feel like part of it is that against them I know I can get some mismatches and get down low. That’s where I was scoring.”
“Jordan has had some of the best games of her career in this gym,” said Hononegah head coach Jason Brunke. “It’s a game where if there is a lot of chaos she is really good. She’s always been that way. She is that steadying force we have. She does a lot of things you don’t see in the boxscore. When she’s in the game I always feel more comfortable and confident because she’s going to keep us structured.”
The NIC-10 champion and top-seeded Indians (29-4) advance to play second-seeded Lake Zurich at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in a sectional semifinal at McHenry on Tuesday. Lake Zurich edged Mundelein Carmel 37-33 on Thursday.
At Auburn, Hononegah also got a strong game from senior guard Olivia Robinson, who was 6-for-6 at the foul line in the fourth quarter and scored a team-high 15 points.
“So many people were telling us not to let happen to us what happened last season,” said Robinson, referring to an early upset loss to Harlem in the postseason. “That’s really been our motivation all season, to avoid that and win this regional. It’s always hard to beat a team three times in one season, too, particularly a team like Auburn.”
The old adage “the third times a charm” just didn’t pan out for the Knights, despite having homecourt advantage at the place they call “the castle.” Auburn certainly gave it their best try early, taking a 13-8 lead after one quarter.
“They gave us that initial push, and we figured they would do that,” Johnston said. “They’re a tough team and they play hard. But we knew we could get back in the game.”
“We knew this wasn’t going to be an easy game,” Brunke said. “When we saw the sites (for the regional) come out, we knew this was going to be what it was going to be like. They’re a team that has played us really tough and they have some very talented kids. Obviously getting down wasn’t the way we wanted it to go, but we were able to keep battling and stay with it.”
The Indians fell behind 18-10 but finished the half on a 12-0 run. The 5-foot-10 Johnston gave the Indians the lead at 19-18 with 3:27 left in the half when she shot in the lane over 5-3 Destiny Robinson.
“We saw the last time we played that we should have opportunities when we can get Johnston down on the block and use her size and her ability to post up,” Brunke said. “It was huge that we got the lead before halftime. It’s nice going in feeling like there had been sort of a turn there.”
A team known for its reliance on 3-pointers, Hononegah took few and converted just one, by 6-foot sophomore Jordan Dimke in the first quarter. She had nine points to go with a bundle of rebounds.
Auburn was able to stick around, trailing just 31-25 after three quarters and cutting it to 31-28 when Ava Gray converted a traditional three-point play to open the fourth.
Defense dominated the quarter as neither team scored again until Robinson broke free for a layup with 4:15 left. Johnston followed with a drive to make it 35-28. Auburn got within 36-32 with 2:16 remaining, but managed only one more basket while the Indians clinched the game by hitting 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch. Six of those belonged to Robinson.
“I didn’t start feeling confident until the last couple,” Robinson said. “You never want to let off the gas, particularly against a team like Auburn.”
The Knights were led by Robinson with 12 points.
HONONEGAH 43, R. AUBURN 34
Hononegah 8 14 9 12 — 43
Rock. Auburn 13 5 7 9 — 34
HONONEGAH (fg ft-fta pts) — Johnston 5 2-6 12, Simpson 0 2-4 2, O. Robinson 3 9-11 15, Niedfeldt 1 1-2 3, Dimke 4 0-0 9, Pierson 1 0-0 2. Totals: 14 14-23 43.
ROCKFORD AUBURN (fg ft-fta pts) — Haley 1 0-0 2, D. Robinson 2 6-6 12, Cates 2 0-0 4, Mueller 2 0-0 4, Brown 2 0-0 4, Gray 3 1-1 8. Totals: 12 7-7 34.
3-pt. Goals: Hono 1 (Dimke), RA 3 (D. Robinson 2, Gray). Fouled out: none. Total fouls: Hono 12, RA 20.
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