3-point barrage propels girls basketball team to 3rd straight Regional Title, dominating Dragons 57-30

Iron to face winner of Rock Island/ East Moline contest in Sectional Semifinals

Inkspot Staff • Feb 16, 2024

Giana Rawlings continued to pad the school’s three-point record on Thursday night, hitting three more shots from range in the Iron’s Regional title win. Photo Courtesty: Mr. Jeff Christopherson

The Ironmen girls basketball team secured their third consecutive Regional title on Thursday with a resounding 57-30 victory over Pekin, slaying the Dragons on their home court.

While Giana Rawlings wasn’t in the lineup for Community’s Regional Semis win on Feb. 14, the school’s all-time three-point record holder made her presence known early in the Regional Championship contest.

Rawlings put Community on the board with a three, giving the Iron a 3-2 advantage–a lead they would never relinquish.

The Carthage College commit set the tone for the Ironmen’s offensive onslaught as her teammates unleashed a barrage of three-pointers in the opening period of play, leaving the Dragons struggling to keep pace. Community rattled off seven triples in the quarter, building a 23-7.

Four different Ironmen found the net from range in the quarter: Kenna Malinowski connected on three, Rawlings for two, with Rayna Powers and Olivia Corson each adding one.

As a low-scoring second quarter wound down, the Dragons could not cut the lead, trailing 30-14 after the Iron hit two field goals and went three for four from the line.

Ali Ince provided an exclamation point to the quarter, becoming the fifth player to drain a three-pointer, giving the Community a 33-14 lead at the buzzer.

Rawlings opened up scoring in the third, connecting again from beyond the arc. The senior finished the night with nine points for Community.

Malinowski was second on the stat sheet for the Iron, with all 12 of her points coming from the perimeter.

Corson led the Iron with 15 points.

Community will have to wait until tonight to find out their opponent in Tuesday’s Sectional Semifinals at Normal West at 6 p.m.

The Ironmen face the winner of this evening’s contest between Rock Island Rocks (19-9) and East Moline United Township Panthers (25-5).

The Panthers, led by former Iron assistant coach Mr. Chase Pavelonis, are 2-0 this season against the Rocks. Both victories were competitive contests, with East Moline U.T. winning 46-38 on Nov. 30 and 48-44 on Jan. 18.

Community has been victorious over the Panthers and Rocks this season–handing Rock Island a 66-45 defeat on Dec. 5 and knocking off the Panthers 75-49 on Dec. 12.

A Panthers win over Rock Island would set the stage for a rematch of last season’s Sectional Semis, where the Iron sunk 10 shots from beyond the arc on the way to a decisive 60-22 win over East Moline U.T.

This story has been corrected to provide the accurate Regional title streak.

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Inkspot Staff

Stories published under Inkspot Staff are unattributed to a single reporter because they: have been produced through a collaborative staff effort; individual staff member contribution is not easily distinguishable; and/or the story was disseminated from announcements or press releases.