ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO/WQRF)–The Rockford area doesn’t have any men who will be playing in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament this week, but two women who are former NIC-10 stars will compete in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.
Boylan graduate Peyton Kennedy will compete for the St. Louis Billikens, and Hononegah graduate Jordan King will compete for the Marquette Golden Eagles.
Kennedy and St. Louis got into the tournament by winning the Atlantic 10 Tournament a week ago. The Billikens will open up NCAA Tournament action this Friday by playing the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. St. Louis is the #13 seed. The game will be played Saturday at noon CT.
Kennedy is a junior who averages 9.8 points and 4.7 rebounds a game for St. Louis. In her senior year at Boylan in 2019-2020, Kennedy was the NIC-10 MVP. She led the NIC-10 in scoring (24.2ppg), rebounding (12.8rpg), and blocked shots (1.7 per game). She is one of only two players in NIC-10 history to finish her high school career with more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
King and Marquette go into the NCAA Tournament as a #9 seed. Marquette will play #8 seed South Florida in the opening round Friday in Columbia, South Carolina.
King is a senior, who is Marquette’s leading scorer at 15.9 points per game. She also averages 4.2 points and 4 assists per game. She was named First Team All-Big East this season. Marquette won 21 games during the regular season including wins over #3 Texas and #4 Connecticut.
King is the all-time leading scorer in NIC-10 history with 2,505 points. She led the NIC-10 in scoring three seasons. Her senior season in 2018-19 she was named First Team All-State in Class 4A after averaging 21 points per game and leading Hononegah to 33 wins and a third-place finish in the state.
