ALTON - In their last home game of the season, the Alton High School Lady Redbirds basketball team honored LaJarvia Brown and Jewel Wagner for all they had done for their team throughout the year in their special Senior Night ceremony this Thursday.
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After the celebrations had concluded, it was time to get down to business. Unfortunately, the 3-20 team could only muster so much against the 25-1 Edwardsville High School Tigers. In all 32 minutes of play, however, the Redbirds held their own and didn’t let their opponents get into their heads despite their 67-38 loss.
Emotions were high and had a key in his team’s play Thursday evening, according to Alton Head Coach Bob Rickman.
"Our nerves and emotions got to us early in the game,” Rickman said. “We got frustrated with the flow of the game and just dug a huge hole the first quarter.”
Despite their loss, Rickman is extraordinarily proud of how his two seniors have stepped into leadership roles and reassures that they will be extremely missed as they head onto their extremely bright futures.
“It is tough when two seniors have to finish their potential last home game like that, but these young ladies are a special part of turning this program around,” he said. “They compete and work hard and I hope the young players learn from them and continue to get our program to the level it is capable of competing."
Edwardsville Head Coach Lori Blade was calm, cool and collected as always after adding the 22nd win in a row to her team’s record.
“We don’t really look at the whole “third in the state” aspect as a whole,” Blade said. “We try to prepare for each game. It’s nice to for the program to be seen like that. We take a lot of pride in what we do. We understand the target we have on our back.”
Heading into their IHSA regional match at Belleville West High School, Blade and her team will have to prepare for play against two extremely different teams - competing with either Collinsville or East St. Louis High School on Tuesday.
“We look forward to getting started next week at Belleville West,” Blade said. “The tough part is to prepare for two different looks Monday night not knowing who it’s going to be Tuesday.”
Blade is incredibly aware that her team is young, but luckily for her, their resilience and skill shines through well beyond their years, allowing them to keep the Tiger pride going strong with each generation.
Over the course of the game, the Tigers held quite the command. After an offensive push by Alton in the second half, the ladies in black and orange were forced to turn their defense up a notch; nothing of course they couldn’t handle.
Junior Makenzie Silvey produced 18 points in four quarters of play. Behind her with 16 points was sophomore Rachel Pranger. Sophomore Kate Martin locked down 12 points between the first, second and fourth quarters. Junior Jasmine Bishop held her own and produced some solid shots, knocking in seven total. Senior Aaliyah Box kept the ball moving down the court and her defense strong, scoring five. Junior Criste’on Waters knocked in three points in the second and third periods. Seniors Annie Ellis, Kayla Johnson and sophomore Lauren Taplin each scored a standard basket in the fourth period.
For the Redbirds, seniors LaJarvia Brown and Jewel Wagner held lead the team in points with 18 and 9 points scored respectively. With 25 points added to Alton’s scoreboard for the night was junior Ayonna Clanton. Freshman Cri’Shonna Hickman locked down a basket in the fourth quarter while her classmate Deija Carter was fouled upon in the second and earned a free point.
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