EDWARDSVILLE – Makenzie Silvey led Edwardsville's girls basketball team in scoring last season, averaging 16.3 points per game as the Tigers went 30-2 overall, 13-1 in the Southwestern Conference and reaching the final eight in the IHSA Class 4A girls basketball playoffs before dropping the Illinois Wesleyan Supersectional in Bloomington to Lisle Benet Academy, who went on to claim the state title.
Silvey will be playing a key role on this season's Tigers, but made her college decision official by signing a letter of intent to join teammate Criste'on Waters at SIU-Carbondale for the 2017-18 season.
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“I'm really excited that I'll get to play with my AAU teammates and one other girl; we should have a really good career there,” Silvey said. “I liked how (the Salukis) had been recruiting me since I started playing AAU (basketball). It's a good distance from home where it's not too far from home.
“There will be a lot of good competition (in the Missouri Valley Conference) and I think we can succeed in that conference if we work hard.”
“It's a good fit for her,” said Tiger coach Lori Blade. “I think she can step in and make an impact and get some playing time her freshman year; that was something that was important to her.
“She's excited about (playing with her AAU teammates in Carbondale); there's going to be two or three of them. She's excited about that and because it's close to home; she's a family person and her family will get to see her play a lot. She has some family in Southern Illinois and that's really going to be important to her.”
Silvey's skills and knowledge will serve her well with the Salukis, Blade feels. “She's a sleeper-type kid,” Blade said. “Her overall game and basketball IQ is really outstanding; they're really excited to be getting her. With her overall game and understanding of the game, the ceiling's pretty high of what she's capable of doing.”
“We have great coaches and great teammates,” Silvey said of her time with the Tiger program. “Hopefully we can go out with a bang and and finish off our career on that note.”
Silvey has not decided on a major, but plans on something business-related.
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