By Fred Kroner
For the first time this season, the Villa Grove/Heritage girls’ basketball team had a two-game winning streak following a Thursday (Feb. 25) victory at home over Arcola, 43-32.
There’s a catch.
Due to the program being on a hiatus due to COVID-19 protocol, the games were played 17 days apart.
Even without all of its players available, the Blue Devils rode a game-high 29-point outburst by Kyleigh Block in the win against the Purple Riders.
Block nailed four of her eight baskets from beyond the three-point arc. She also had a double-double with a team-high 12 rebounds.
Kaylee Arbuckle scored six points for VG/Heritage. Maci Clodfelder added four points.
The Blue Devils led, 14-11, after one quarter and outscored Arcola (3-4) in each of the subsequent three quarters.
On Saturday (Feb. 27), the winning streak came to a halt against Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond, 62-24, in Arthur. A-L/A-H has a 9-1 season record.
Block again netted four three-pointers and swished a team-high 13 points. Clodfelder scored four points and Hailey Stutz added three points.
“Take two weeks off and the rim seems to get smaller and the ball a different shape,” VG/Heritage coach Dan Sappenfield said. “We shot under 20 percent from the field.”
Now that the VG/Heritage season has resumed, the squad faces a busy road – literally – trying to complete its schedule by the IHSA-imposed deadline.
The game with Arcola is the first of four on the road in a row during a five-day span for a team with a 3-4 season record. On Monday (March 1), VG/Heritage plays at Toledo Cumberland. That will be followed by games at Decatur Lutheran on Tuesday (March 2) and at Argenta-Oreana on Wednesday (March 3).
