Pekin Lady Dragons on Fire

Pekin has been one of the hottest girls basketball teams in Central Illinois and the hottest team in the difficult Mid Illini Conference. I talked to Pekin’s senior Allie Lambe about the team's recent success. 

Pekin has won eight straight games dating back to December 28th in the Manual Holiday Tournament where they beat a great Lake Central team out of Indiana. 

 How has this team been so successful during this part of the season? “It’s been a total team effort and everybody has been contributing this season. We have been working hard and it’s beginning to show. We have all bought in defensively and have made it a priority. The consistent energy we’ve brought to the defensive end has carried over to the offensive end.”

You’re playing the number one team in the state this week. What does the team have to do to get the upset win? “We need to keep playing with confidence and trusting our teammates. We’ve shown that we can compete with and beat really good teams. It’s important that we control the things we can control, like our effort, intensity, and staying composed. We need to continue to play good team defense. I think that dominating on the boards will be crucial, specifically on the defensive end to prevent any second-chance points. If we do those things, we will put up a good fight.”

Allie is a senior at Pekin and the season is almost over. I asked her how it feels to be spending her final season with Pekin. It’s your senior year and I know you have options for college coming up but how does it feel to be spending your final season with the lady dragons as the season starts to come to an end? “It’s definitely sentimental. I’ve been teammates with several of these girls since I started playing basketball and it’s crazy to think that it will all be coming to an end. We’ve created tons of memories together over the years that are fun to look back on and knowing this is our last season together is making those moments a lot more meaningful and bittersweet. Whether we’ve been together for years or just one season, basketball has brought me many friendships through my teammates and I’m very grateful that everyone has contributed to making this season the best one yet. It’s all gone by way too fast, especially these past four years, so I’m just trying to soak it all in and enjoy every minute of it.” 

The Pekin Dragons are breathing fire in 2025. The toughest task is up next where they put the eight game winning streak on the line against the number one team in the state, the Washington Panthers.