BELLEVILLE - The Alton High School girls basketball team hit the road again this weekend, taking part in game five of the SWIC Shootout.
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The Redbirds took on the Whitfield Warriors from St. Louis and won convincingly 62-19.
Alton only allowed three total field goals from Whitfield in the first half, leading 14-2 after the first quarter and 32-6 at the half.
“This was our first game this week where we came out in the first and really tried to get it done,” Alton head coach Deiondre Riney said. “Struggled on the execution side, but the energy was there. Trying to make things work, trying to keep building.”
Alton improves to 6-1 on the season.
Last weekend, the Redbirds played a double header in Morton, going 1-1. They beat Springfield Southeast 65-34 and lost to Morton 38-23. It was the fewest points Alton had been held to since the pandemic-shortened Spring 2021 season.
Saturday was Alton’s third game in three days, beating Collinsville 70-32 on Thursday and Granite City 59-26 on Friday.
Now riding a three-game win streak, news gets even better for Alton.
They’ll be getting their starting point guard Justice Haynes back.
With it, comes some personnel decisions for Riney and the coaching staff.
“That’s a big piece for us, so just trying to figure out rotations, how those lineups look with certain people in there,” Riney said. “This week was kind of tough to figure it out, but it was good that everybody got to play.”
Everybody got to pay on Saturday as well.
With the big lead, the Redbirds went to their bench to give some players some minutes. Alton used all 14 of its healthy players.
“That’s a good thing,” Riney said. “They got some varsity minutes and experience. They’re excited to see it. Those are the points that count. They don’t really keep track of those JV ones.”
Alton got 17 points from its bench from six different players.
The Redbirds were led by Kaylea Lacey’s 15 points. Ja’Kayla Steen had 11 and Kyridas Orr had 10. Madeline Ducey and Aryanna Anthony each scored five while Lauryn Wimbley and Ava Harris each scored four.
Riney praised the well-put-together SWIC Shootout, saying it’s a great way for his players to gain some exposure.
“Obviously, the most important thing is for them to get the chance to play in front of some [college] coaches,” he said. “And these shootouts are what brings coaches, because they’ve got eight games, it gives coaches a lot to look at.”
Alton was game five of the shootout. Other Southwestern Conference foes took part as well. O’Fallon took on Cardinal Ritter, Belleville East played Peoria Notre Dame, and Edwardsville closed things out against Civic Memorial.
The Redbirds now have a bit of a break to prepare for their next pivotal SWC game against Edwardsville on Thursday, December 11.
“We get a while to prepare,” Riney said. “So, I feel like we’ll be ready when we see them.”
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