Hononegah gets past Rockford Guilford 45-43 in the IHSA 4A regional girls basketball final

The Hononegah Fieldhouse in Rockton, IL played host to a great battle between the Hononegah Indians and the Rockford Guilford Vikings on Thursday, February 20th, 2025. Tipoff was at 6:30 p.m., but for the teams, the game started Tuesday night after they found out about the matchup.

The Indians got a big scoring game from freshman sharpshooter Ainsley Hughes (21 points). She started the game for Hononegah with 12 points in the opening quarter and allowed Hononegah to grab the lead early in the game. 

Every time Hononegah thought they had control, the Vikings fought back to get close and make the Indian Tribe fans uncomfortable.

The first quarter ended with a 16-14 Indians lead. The second quarter was a back-and-forth defensive struggle, with each team scoring 12, and the halftime score was 28-26. The defense continued throughout the second half, with both teams playing good, but the physical defense was hard, and neither team was willing to give an inch. The third quarter saw only 15 points scored between the teams with junior Jordan Dimke controlling the paint and grabbing rebound after rebound after rebound.

When the 4th quarter began, you could feel the tension in the fieldhouse as each team knew neither was backing down. The 4th was filled with turnovers, missed chances, and big defensive plays from both teams. Hononegah got its only points from junior Kylie Simpson. She seemed to be playing at a different speed on defense in the 4th quarter. She got her hands on balls and harassed the Vikings into turnover after turnover. Rockford Guilford scored one bucket themselves and three free throws, and at the end of four quarters, the game was tied at 38.

Overtime started like the 3rd and 4th quarters defense and mistakes on both sides. Finally, Dimke was able to get Hononegah ahead on a bucket with about thirty left on the overtime clock. That was quickly followed up by a 3-pointer from Rockford Guilford’s star freshman Baylee Sandine. The ball was quickly pushed back up court and Hononegah star freshman Ainsley Hughes pulled up for an answer 3-pointer that hit nothing but the bottom of the net 44-41 Hononegah. The Indians got a stop on defense and got fouled. They hit one of two from the free throw line 45-41 Hononegah 9.8 to go. The Vikings raced up the court and got a quick jumper at 7.4 on the clock. Indians called a timeout, and they inbounded the ball, ran off the last few seconds, and took home the regional championship 45-43. 

The next game for the Hononegah Indians is a rematch with number-one seed Libertyville, who knocked them out last year, or fourth-seeded Mundelein (Carmel). The game is set for Tuesday night, February 25, 2025, in Huntley. Tipoff is set for 7:30 pm

Thanks to Hononegah Girls Basketball on X for the image used in the story.