AMBOY — The Amboy Lady Clippers had the biggest week of their season when they took their state ranking against two other state-ranked teams.

The fourth-ranked Lady Clippers hosted conference foe and second-ranked Lanark Eastland on Jan. 7 at the AHS gym. The overflow crowd was thoroughly entertained as the two teams battled to the wire with Amboy coming out on top, 60-57.

Amboy jumped out to a 15-5 lead after the first quarter, but Eastland came back strong and trimmed the AHS lead down to one (28-27) at intermission. The Lady Clippers carried a 41-39 margin to the fourth frame and held on for the win.

Amboy had many heroes in the game. The first hero was the crowd, which created a great atmosphere. 

Mallory Powers paced the offense with 16 points and four assists. Gabby Jones was next with 14 points on six of eight shooting and two of two from the line. Abi Payne had a great second half, scoring all 12 of her points and adding a game-high eight assists. Despite foul trouble, Kyleigh Donna tallied nine points and led with eight rebounds. She also had two steals and two blocked shots. In addition, Olivia Dinges added seven markers, including two big three-point field goals in the first half. She chipped in with three assists and a pair of steals.

Of Amboy’s 19 fourth-quarter points, eight came from the free throw line. Payne sank three, Donna and Jones had two apiece and Dinges added one.

***

Amboy met another highly-ranked foe on Jan. 9 when it journeyed to Rock Falls to take on the Lady Rockets, who were ranked No. 10 in Class 2A. It was another heart-stopping game, but this time the Lady Clippers were on the short end of a 45-42 score.

From the first call of the game, Amboy fans knew it would never be easy. The Lady Clippers held a 10-8 lead after the initial stanza, but Rock Falls’ physical play allowed it to outscore Amboy, 17-7 in the second period to take a 25-17 advantage to the locker room.

The third quarter continued much the same way and Rock Falls led at the conclusion, 36-26. Amboy never stopped working hard and won the fourth frame, 16-9, but came up short in the final score.

The Lady Clippers outscored Rock Falls from the field, 42-33, but they shot only two free throws compared to 16 for the home team. Amboy did not react very well to the rough game and did not shoot the ball well, making 17 of 48 field goal attempts.

Powers again led Amboy with 17 points and four steals, while she also had three assists. Dinges was next with eight points and three steals, Payne contributed five points and nine assists, Jones tallied six points and grabbed six rebounds, and Donna provided five points and four caroms.

Amboy (16-1) had four players with three more fouls, while no Rock Falls player had more than two fouls in the game.

Inclement weather prevented Amboy’s game with Dakota from happening on Jan. 11.