SEE VIDEO:
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
ALTON - The Alton High girls basketball team met Edwardsville, the No. 3-ranked Class AA by the Associated Press on Thursday night at Alton and Redbirds head girls Coach Deserea Howard saw it as her squad’s “first real test.”
On the Alton side, Kiyoko Proctor led the offense the whole way from the point, driving to the basket for buckets and drawing contact and getting to the line. The Lady Redbirds had some success feeding Jarius Powers under the basket, and she looked strong on the low block and picked up a few baskets down low.
Coach Howard said: “I wouldn’t say we failed, but it was the gut check we needed to get back to the basics,” she said. “Defensively, we played really hard, sometimes too hard and missed rotations. Offensively, we definitely have to trust each other and stick to our plan a bit better.”
Alton was led by Laila Blakeny with 14 points, with Kiyoko Proctor adding eight points, Jarius Powers had seven points, Talia Norman came up with six points, Alyssa Lewis had five points and Khaliyah Goree had four points.
The Tigers are now 5-1 on the season, while the Redbirds go to 4-1.
The Redbirds play in the Thornton Township High School Crete Monee Cross Town Showcase on Saturday and host East St. Louis at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and travel to O’Fallon for a 7:30 p.m. Thursday matchup.
