MOUNT VERNON — A pair of Lady Rams basketball players are continuing their sports careers at the college level.
Alaina Maurer and Loveleen Dunklin are both headed to Rend Lake College next season. The two players were key contributors to a Lady Rams team that tied the school record for wins in a single season.
Dunklin played a season for Mount Vernon after competing last year at DuQuoin.
“We’re just so thankful Loveleen came to us when she did,” Mount Vernon coach Jeff Lonnon said. “At any given point in time when she was in the game she had the potential to take over a game. She’s absolutely selfless because she came off the bench this year. She’s good enough to start in a lot of programs, and she accepted her role as our sixth person off the bench all year long, didn’t complain one time about it.”
Maurer played all four years at Mount Vernon and moved into a starting position this season.
“She anchored the inside for us, and we didn’t have to worry about that part of our game,” Lonnon said. “We knew we had a solid post player who was going to work her butt off and get us some points and disrupt people on defense. That’s a big part of being successful for any high school team. And she certainly gave that to us.”
Mount Vernon ended the season with a 28-7 record. The Lady Rams swept through the South Seven Conference with a 10-0 record and extended their winning streak to 28 games.
Rend Lake College coach Mike Helton said the high school success Maurer and Dunklin experienced will help the players transition into the college game.
“It’s very big, especially the kind of schedule they play,” Helton said. “So they’re used to playing against kids that are going to play college basketball. That brings a certain level of familiarity to it as opposed to playing against lesser competition all the time. The speed of the game won’t be as much transition for them as it might be a kid that plays in a smaller division.”
Rend Lake finished last season with a 12-14 record. The Lady Warriors were 7-7 in conference games.
