Another January cold snap shortened practice time for the Bulldogs, although that failed to faze them as they cruised to two consecutive victories by 20-plus points against Elmwood Park and Illiana Christian. In the first of those games, the Dogs put down eight shots from beyond the three point line as 10 Bulldog players scored in the 74-35 win, led by freshman Samantha Bloom with 22 . Fellow freshman Dana Rettke contributed 8, as did juniors Janae Dabney and Caitie Rusen. In the second of those games, Dabney scored a season-high 23, while Bloom had another great game from the arc, draining four three-pointers and finishing with fourteen points in a 68-48 victory.

“[Samantha Bloom] is an inspiration to me,” Senior Caroline Waas said,” I know that she’s going to go really far. She’s a great leader and she has so much potential. The fact that she’s so great as only a freshmen is just amazing.”

The Bulldogs’ momentum was halted first by the Raiders of Glenbard South on February 4, as the Bulldogs lost 66-47 after being outscored 21-3 in the third quarter. Samantha Bloom provided 15 points in the loss, and Dabney and Rettke chipped in 21 combined points. After the trip-up at Glenbard South, the Lady Bulldogs picked the pace right back up again with a 71-27 victory against Ridgewood on February 6, led by Dabney, who scored 11 points in the 2nd quarter alone.

On February 8, RB traveled to Leyden and Lyons Township on Feburary 11 for a non-conference stretch before the regular season finale. Bloom led all scorers in the 55-38 win at Leyden with 15, and fellow freshman Lindsay Hoyd scored 7 and put up a good defensive showing. Bloom led all scorers against LT, chipping in 16. However, the game didn’t go the Bulldogs way, as they fell 46-38 in a close match.

In their final regular season game, RB faced off against Elmwood Park. After a flat first quarter that saw the Bulldogs trailing 13-12, Dana Rettke took over, showing a great defensive effort and putting up a season high 20 as both Dabney and junior Miranda Chavez fouled out.

“Dana gradually progressed over the season, she played her best at the end,” Waas said.

To open up the IHSA tournament, RB faced off against Hinsdale South, never trailing and leading  to a 52-41 victory. Dana Rettke recorded a triple double in the stat sheet, Samantha Bloom finished with 16, and Dabney came out with 19 in the win. However, their season was ended by Kenwood on February 20. In the 69-55 loss, Janae Dabney contributed 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Dana Rettke finished her season with an 11 point, 13 rebound performance.

Caroline Waas said, “It’s always tough losing, especially in your last game, but I’m extremely proud of our team. Not a lot of people expected us to win, so it felt good that we were able to keep it so close, and that we didn’t give up.”