South Beloit 80, Dakota 61: Dakota’s offense struggled to stick with a potent South Beloit team that buried eight 3-pointers in the first half.
Dakota finished its season at 15-13.
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Dakota 64, Alden-Hebron 49: As if being pulled up to varsity as a sophomore wasn’t enough pressure for Kyle Benning, the Dakota forward is also the coach’s son.
It took some time to adjust, but after a slow start to the season, Benning has become one of the more dangerous players in the area. On Monday, he scored 22 points to help lead the Indians to a 64-49 win against Alden-Hebron in the opening round at the Class 1A Pecatonica Regional.
Hinckley-Big Rock 53, Dakota 44: The Dakota girls basketball team just couldn’t quite get over the hump in the fourth quarter Monday.
It entered the quarter trailing Hinckley-Big Rock by one in the Elgin Supersectional but could never take the lead back, losing 53-44.
The Indians trailed by two with 2:02 to play but missed the front ends of two one-and-ones and their final three shots of the game.
South Beloit 77, Dakota 58: From the 3-point arc, to midcourt, to three-quarters down the court — the Sobos hit their threes Friday.
South Beloit sank 11 3-pointers to beat Dakota 77-58. The win gave South Beloit a share of the NUIC East Conference title with Polo. This is the first conference win for the Sobos (24-1, 12-1) since winning the Four Rivers in 2002-2003.
Dakota 46, Stockton 38: The Dakota girls basketball team’s offense was struggling.
The Indians had scored just 11 points in the second and third quarter combined and trailed Stockton by one heading into the fourth quarter of the Class 1A River Ridge Sectional final Thursday.
But No. 4 Dakota came alive in the final quarter, outscoring the Blackhawks 22-13 in the fourth quarter to win 46-38 and advance to the Elgin Supersectional against No. 5 Hinckley Big Rock on Monday.
Dakota 60, Pecatonica 53: Kyle Benning’s 26 points led Dakota, which trailed 21-20 at halftime. Makenzi Peyton (14 points), Jared Reddy (13) led Pecatonica.
Aquin 54, Dakota 43: Zack Martin poured in a game-high 20 for Aquin. Jon Roemer’s 16 topped Dakota.
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Dakota 34, Pearl City 24: Pearl City’s defense did everything it was supposed to against Erika Lawson, not letting her get off a shot until 5:43 remained in the third quarter.
But No. 4-ranked Dakota had other scorers step in and played smothering defense to beat Pearl City 34-24 in a matchup of NUIC division winners to win a Class 1A girls basketball regional title.
Lawson had five points, but Alexys Cleaver had a team-high nine, Mikaela Schroeder had another strong game with seven and Brianne Boals had six for the Indians.
Dakota 33, Lena-Winslow 25: The Dakota girls basketball team didn’t flinch.
Lena-Winslow had just taken a one-point lead with 6:33 to go, and the top-seeded, one-loss Indians were in danger of getting upset at home and having their hopes of a deep postseason run end.
But the Indians took the lead right back on the next possession on a Brianne Boals basket and ended the game on an 11-2 run to beat fourth-seeded Lena-Winslow 33-25 on Wednesday.
Dakota 47, AFC 38: Kyle Benning scored 10 of his 17 points in the second half to help lead Dakota past AFC. Austin Oberbruner added 14 points for the Indians, who led 34-23 after three quarters. Adam Herwig scored 15 and Alec Borell had 12 for AFC.
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Dakota 62, North Boone 46: Kyle Benning sank seven 3-pointers and finished with 38 points to lead Dakota to a win Monday against North Boone.
Jared Boehmke added 11 points for the Indians, who pulled away with a 17-4 third-quarter run.
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Dakota 52, Durand 32: Kyle Benning poured in 25 points to lead Dakota (8-9, 4-3), which held Durand scoreless in the second quarter to open up a 27-10 lead. Zac Schafer topped the Bulldogs with 14 points.
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Dakota 45, Ashton-Franklin Center 23: Erika Lawson scored 14 points and Brianne Boals eight to keep Dakota (22-0, 11-0) unbeaten. The Indians, ranked No. 1 in Class 1A, led 23-9 at the half. Aubrey Kennay led Ashton-Franklin Center with 11 points.
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Freeport Aquin 43, Dakota 36: The Land of the Undefeateds just grew a tad smaller.
In the past four years, Dakota has won undefeated state titles in football (twice) and wrestling and also had undefeated regular seasons in boys basketball and football. The Indians girls basketball team, ranked No. 1 in Class 1A, lost its chance to make it six perfect records when Freeport Aquin pulled off a 43-36 upset Saturday in Dakota’s final home game before a packed gym on Senior Night.
Dakota 66, Pecatonica 29: Dakota (21-0) took a 21-8 first quarter lead as Erika Lawson finished with 18 points in Northwest Upstate Illini action.
Dakota outscored Pecatonica 33-12 in the second half and finished 8 of 12 from the free-throw line.
Vona Valenti scored nine points and Amanda Poggioli had seven to lead Pecatonica.
South Beloit 70, Dakota 61: Antonio Little had four 3-pointers and finished with 27 points for the Sobos. Denzel Woods and Katonka Friar added 16 and 14 points, and Matt Peterson had nine rebounds.
The Dakota girls extended their record to 20-0 with a 48-34 win against Eastland.
Dakota got off to a fast start, taking a 28-12 halftime lead, but the Indians struggled to hold onto the lead in the second half.
Eastland charged back in the second half with a run, but it wasn’t enough to overtake Dakota.
Erika Lawson scored 20 points and Alexys Cleaver had 12 for Dakota, which went 15-of-20 from the free-throw line.
Kirby Kniss had 11 points for Eastland.
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Dakota 60, Alden-Hebron 37: Dakota also finished 3-1 with the win over A-H. Kyle Benning poured in 34 points, which included six 3-pointers.
Polo 62, Dakota 48: Matt VanOosten scored 14 of his team-high 23 points in the first quarter when Polo outscored Dakota 24-12.
Scott Scholl and Connor Lincoln added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Polo beat Mooseheart 70-65 later in the day to finish 3-1 in the tournament.
SOUTH BELOIT — There’s no doubt anymore. South Beloit is the real deal.
The Sobos remained unbeaten with a convincing 72-52 win against Polo Saturday at South Beloit’s Martin Luther King Tournament.
Polo (13-3) was one of the area’s top preseason picks and reached the finals of the Forreston Holiday Tournament last month. But the Marcos couldn’t keep up with the fast-paced Sobos (16-0), who forced seven turnovers in the deciding third quarter while also hitting 11 3-pointers in the game.
Pecatonica 56, Dakota 33: Led by Kyle Lepak’s 14-point night, Pec rolled to the win.
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Rochelle 47, Sycamore 39: Katie Schwartz scored 14 points and Jordan Miller added eight as Rochelle pulled away from Sycamore.
The Spartans cut the Hubs’ lead to 32-27 headed into the fourth quarter, but Schwartz went 3-for-4 from the free-throw line and six Rochelle players scored in the fourth quarter alone to hold onto the win.
Dakota 40, Durand 27: Dakota’s Erika Lawson was the only player to reach double figures, nailing three 3-pointers and scoring 17 in the Indians comfortable victory.
Durand scored just three points in the first half.
FREEPORT — Suporia Dickens scored 15 points to lead Freeport to a 70-49 home win against Guilford Wednesday. Katie Norman and Courtney Shiffer added 12 points apiece, while Kelsey Hoefer chipped in 11. Tiffany Martinez (10) and Stephanie House (10) led the Vikings.
Auburn 51, Belvidere North 47: Led by Atiya Roby (14), Anita Amisi (12) and Tierny Austin (12), Auburn held off Belvidere North. Jillian Leutscher led North with 9 points.
FORRESTON — Freeport Aquin held on for a 59-58 win against Oregon on Wednesday at the Forreston Tournament.
Aquin led 28-23 at halftime, but the Hawks outscored the Bulldogs 35-31 in the second half.
Amboy 58, Christian Life 57, OT: Amboy survived a tight match that was tied at 25-25 at halftime and again at 51 at end of regulation.
River Ridge 65, Dakota 40: Dakota hung early with River Ridge, but a 29-point third quarter would secure the win for the Wildcats. River Ridge led 23-19 at halftime, but extended it to 52-36 by the end of the third.
The star that always was and the star that’s never yet been lead a pair of NUIC girls basketball teams that harbor state tournament hopes.
NUIC East favorite Dakota, ranked No. 3 in the preseason Class 1A poll, sports a different look with more height but less experience surrounding senior point guard Erika Lawson.
DAKOTA — It didn’t take long after the final handshakes for all Orangeville fans to storm the field in jubilation of what the Broncos had just accomplished.
The Broncos ended the Indians’ 23-game winning streak in the first round of the playoffs, 20-7.
Orangeville coach Toby Golembiewski admitted minutes after the game that he was touched by the win, and what it meant beyond the team.
“I just can’t believe it. I was in tears a little bit on the sidelines,” he said. “This is so huge — not just for the players, but for our town. Our town.
DAKOTA — Dakota proved to have the heart of a champion Friday night, overcoming a spirited Forreston team and hanging on to win 18-14 in a contest decided in the final seconds.
The Indians became only the third team in school history to finish the regular season 9-0, and have now extended the Dakota football win streak to 23 consecutive games.
PECATONICA — For three quarters, the Pecatonica football team was throwing one heck of a surprise party.
But on the first play from scrimmage in the fourth quarter, Tommy Bowers and No. 1 (Class 1A) Dakota crashed the party and held on for dear life, winning 13-12.
“When we first came to this conference, the one thing I was concerned about was how we would play against these physical teams,” Pecatonica coach Brett Frederick said. “We still have problems with speed and athletes, but tonight, this was just two heavyweights going right at each other.”
ORANGEVILLE — Wade Dettman hadn’t played running back since his junior varsity days at Dakota, and was the starting guard this season.
But injuries to both Cody Jacobson (knee) and Evan Dornink (ankle) made it possible for the senior to make a return at the position when the Indians needed it most.
Orangeville (4-3, 4-2 NUIC Upstate) was about as competitive as any team has been during Dakota’s flawless run this season, but the Broncos’ efforts weren’t enough as the Indians (7-0, 6-0 NUIC Northwest) won on the road 24-14.
DAKOTA - Evan Dornink had 222 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries to lead Dakota past Warren/River Ridge 46-13.
His first two runs of 30 and 35 yards put Dakota out front 12-0 in the first quarter.
Warren/River Ridge quarterback Jared McNutt finished the game 19 of 34 passing attempts, for 251 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
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DAKOTA — For a moment, South Beloit looked competitive against Dakota on Friday night.
The Sobos were within six points of the lead before Dakota (4-0, 3-0 NUIC Northwest) ran over South Beloit, winning 44-8.
“Offensively we probably played as well as we can,” Dakota coach Jerry Lano said. “Defensively, our four young linebackers needed some work. Next week we’ll do a little better.”
After junior running back Tommy Bowers broke off a 57-yard run to the Sobos 5-yard line, Cody Jacobson ran in the remaining yards for the Indians’ first score.
DAKOTA - It was Matt Wenger and Tyler Olsen in 2005, and Chad Goeke and Curt Daughenbaugh in 2007.
In 2008, Dakota’s playmaker is Evan Dornink.
“The sky’s the limit for that kid,” Lena-Winslow coach Ric Arand said about Dakota’s junior running back.
The latest in the recent list of Dakota’s all-star running backs, Dornink had two touchdowns and 189 yards on 18 carries to lead Dakota to a 23-15 home win against Lena-Winslow Friday. Dornink scored the game-winning touchdown on a 29-yard run with 5:25 remaining and followed it with the two-point conversion run.
The varsity team went undefeated, winning 14 games by a combined score of 497-165.
The fresh-soph team also was perfect, winning all nine of its games for the first time in school history.
Until someone can knock Dakota off that hill, the Class 2A defending state champs are the kings of an ever-tough NUIC-Northwest conference.
