ALTON – A year ago, the Alton High School girls basketball program had its best season ever.
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The Redbirds finished a 34-3 campaign that culminated in their first-ever trip to the IHSA state tournament, where they won a third-place trophy.
That season was spearheaded by Alton’s three seniors – Kiyoko Proctor, Jarius Powers, and Talia Norman. Head coach Deserea Howard led the Redbirds.
The four of them are now gone, and the Redbirds look to turn the page in the 2025-26 season.
Howard’s shoes were big ones to fill, and that’s what her replacement, Deiondre Riney, has to try and do. He praised Howard for what she was able to build in her six years at Alton.
“I think coach Howard built a great thing here, obviously coming off a third-place state run,” Riney said after his team’s 61-47 season-opening win over Breese Central a week ago.
“She brought a lot of attention to Alton, so now it’s easy to come in and try to keep that tradition going. It’s hard following someone like that when you win 150 games in four seasons. I think it’s a good transition, and I hope I can keep the legacy going.”
Howard’s first season was in 2019-20, where the Redbirds went 4-25. They’d go 2-11 in a pandemic-shortened spring 2021 season before winning 20 games in 2021-22.
After that came three straight 30-win seasons, which saw three regional titles, two sectional titles, and a third-place trophy at the program’s first-ever trip to the state tournament.
Howard finished her six-season stint with a 124-51 record, including a 118-15 record in her final four seasons.
Those last 118 wins can be credited a lot to Proctor, Powers, and Norman.
All three ended their high school careers as 1,000-point scorers, Powers and Norman each with a mountain of rebounds to go along.
Proctor finished her career with 1,738 points and 367 boards and now plays a significant role at SIUE. Powers had 1,695 points and 915 rebounds, and Norman had 1,096 and 836. During their four seasons, the trio combined for a little over 60 percent of Alton’s scoring.
“You lose three, but the next ones step up and get it done,” Riney said. “I think these kids are very talented. I think we have seven or eight kids on the team still with collegiate offers.”
The team now has double the senior leadership at six – Justice Haynes, Ja’kayla Steen, Kaylea Lacey, Kyridas Orr, Lauryn Wimbley, and Aryanna Anthony.
Lacey was a constant starter alongside the trio last season, while the fifth spot was constantly up for grabs between Orr, Anthony, Haynes, and Madeline Ducey.
All of these mentioned players were more of supporting characters alongside Proctor, Powers, and Norman, but now they’re the main attraction.
“We lose 45 plus points a game, so you’ve got to come in and find ways to fill it, but then you come out, Kaylea Lacey shows you who she is, Ducey got on the scene. They’ve been working hard in practice; a lot of them are ready for that jump,” Riney said.
“They’re coming in and playing their role,” he continued. “I think it’s more of a collective now. You see kids playing with confidence and making some plays that I don’t think they were making because of that big three; they were kind of taking a back seat. But now I think everyone has bought into the collective; they all make their plays, and all play for one another now.”
The Redbirds will still be a team with plenty of postseason experience as they aim to continue a tradition of winning.
“We have a lot of girls who have elevated their role. I think it will be a great transition, a great year for us. I think we’ll be able to shock a lot of people,” Riney said.
As for the coaching change, Riney fits the mold. He was named Howard’s replacement in early July and comes in with a ton of coaching experience.
“It was an easy transition for me. I’ve coached like 11 of our 15 before,” Riney said.
That was during the high school offseason, when most of the team plays Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) ball for various teams, mainly Mid Pro South or Ball Hogg Academy.
A former player at St. Pius X High School in Crystal City, Mo., Riney has coaching and playing experience. He was already in the Alton system after serving as interim coach for the boys team during the pandemic-shortened 2021 season.
“I’ve got to shout out to coach [John] Steen; he was the one who really put me over here,” Riney said. “He’s got a good tie with the community, and he kind of helped ease my transition. And then coach Tam [Tamara De La Fuente] has been a great pick up for us. I think the girls have really bought in, and we gel, mesh well together.”
