This year’s Rockford Christian girls basketball team made it past sectionals, and now super-sectionals, for the first time in program history.
The Royal Lions now have their sights set on their first state title. That road begins with the IHSA Class 1A state semifinals in Normal on Thursday.
“We’re just now starting to really see what we’re capable of,” Rockford Christian head coach Ted Lawver said. “This team really has the potential to do something special… And it all starts here.”
So here is everything you need to know about Rockford Christian, and their 1A state tournament foes, as we head into the finale:
Who else is in 1A?
Mt. Pulaski (32-1) and Mt. Sterling Brown County (31-3), two teams that started the playoffs with a No. 1 seed, will first go to battle in the 10 a.m. semifinal on Thursday. Rockford Christian (25-11) will take on Deer Creek-Mackinaw (32-3), two more No. 1 seeds, at 11:45 a.m. Thursday, or when Game 1 is complete.
There will be a new 1A state champion this year since none of the four made it this far last year. None of them even made it to the sectional finals.
Rockford Christian’s road
The Royal Lions lost four in a row, and six of 10, down the backstretch of the regular season, but that was as they wrapped up their brutal schedule that maneuvered through the Big Northern Conference, and Byron. Byron qualified for state in 2A, and that was two of the Royal Lions’ late-season losses.
The others were to the 1A defending state champions from Pecatonica, and then to three other 2A teams. In fact, Rockford Christian hasn’t lost to a 1A team this season.
“Absolutely,” Coach Lawver said, “we definitely believe that playing all of those tough 2A teams in the Big Northern has gotten us ready for this… It helped establish this mental toughness that we’ve built.”
But Deer Creek-Mackinaw, also known as Dee-Mack, hasn’t lost to a 1A foe this season either.
“Our goal,” Dee-Mack head coach Joni Nightingale said, “is to not lose to a 1A team this year.”
Rockford Christian’s stars
The Royal Lions are led by Shea Ludwig, the 5-6 senior who is averaging 14.9 points per game and 8.7 rebounds and has started every game at forward this year. Junior guard Josie Becker is averaging 10.9 points and just over three assists; sophomore guard Jaden Conerly is averaging 8.7 points per game and is shooting 72 percent from the free-throw line; senior guard Lucy Gargani is averaging 8.4 points; and sophomore center Teagan Lawver is averaging 6.0 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.
“We really have five girls,” Coach Lawver said, “who can lead us in scoring on any night.”
What Coach Lawver had to say
“I don’t necessarily put them up there with Byron,” Coach Lawver said about Dee-Mack. “But they are solid, and (Dalia Dejesus) is very good.”
Dee-Mack’s stars
Dee-Mack has been led all year by all-stater Dejesus, the 6-1 senior forward. She’s averaging 20.0 points and 9.7 rebounds and is shooting over 54 percent (257-for-476) from the field. No one else on the team averages in double figures in scoring or has half as many rebounds, though. Jaelyn Nunley is second on the team at 9.8 points per game and owns the team’s 3-point shooting record, and Anna Schmidgall is second on the team with an average of 7.1 rebounds per game.
What Coach Nightingale had to say
“Especially our seniors,” Nightingale said, “they’ve just been able to find another gear here in the postseason.”
Interesting Rockford Christian bit
The Royal Lions have three sets of sisters: coaches’ daughters Teagan (junior) and Harper (freshman) Lawver; Shea (senior) and Reese (freshman) Ludwig; and Madigan (junior) and Avalon (freshman) Rhode.
Also, the Royal Lions finished with 11 losses in the past two seasons (2023-2024 and 2024-2025), and currently they have 11 losses.
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and sign up for the Rockford High School Sports Newsletter here at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears and Blackhawks to local youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Everything you need to know about Rockford Christian girls at 1A state
Reporting by Jay Taft, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
