GRANITE CITY - Talia Norman led the way with 16 points, including her 1,000th career point, as 10 different Alton girls basketball players scored in the game as the Redbirds allowed only four first-half points in gong on to a 77-17 win over host Granite City in the semifinals of the IHSA Class 4A Granite regional Monday night at Granite City Memorial Gym.
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The game was originally set for Tuesday, but moved up to Monday night, Feb. 17, 2025, due to a winter weather advisory for snow forecast on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025.
The Redbirds were the dominant team from the opening tip, allowing the Warriors only a pair of free throws in the first quarter, and not allowing a basket until the halftime buzzer in going out to a 50-4 lead, not looking back.
"I feel real good," said Alton head coach Deserea Howard. "I felt like everybody got up and contributed something, whether it was rebounds, steals, points. It was just a really good night. Obviously, we want to celebrate Talia (Norman) scoring 1,000 points tonight, it was (Madeleine) Ducey's birthday, and we were feeling good, so we just wanted to get out and give a good performance."
It was especially satisfying to see Proctor perform at a very high level. She missed the first part of the season with a knee injury she suffered in last year's super-sectional game.
"She's been playing well all season," Howard said. "The team is starting to click at the right time, and she was coming back. We were just trying to work her back into the offense, and getting her feeling really good about what we were doing. I felt like the last two to three weeks, that's what's really starting to show."
The most important result of the game was it was Alton's 30th win of the season — a very important milestone for the club.
"It's just something we really haven't been thinking about," Howard said. "We've been just trying to take care of regionals, and taking it one step at a time. So obviously, we're really proud of the 30 wins, and really happy we could get it done. But we're definitely focused on something bigger right now."
That would be a Class 4A championship, of which for the Redbirds, it's one down and six to go to take the championship on March 8, 2025, in Bloomington-Normal.
"One down, six to go," Howard said. "This is the tournament we've all been waiting on. Just a really good night, and I'm proud of the girls."
The Redbirds started the game by scoring the game's first 15 points, as Proctor hit a three, and Justice Haynes, Aryanna Anthony, Claire Delehanty, and Norman all contributed to the opening run. Granite got on the board with two free throws by Lhailione Douglas to make it 15-2, but both Norman and Proctor took the lead to 24-2 after one quarter.
In the second quarter, Alton scored all but two of the points, as Norman, Proctor, Jarius Powers and Kyridas Orr all scored early on, and Kaylea Lacey and Ja'Kayla Steen also hit shots near the end of the quarter, with Tyhlee Simms scoring for the Warriors at the first half buzzer to make it 50-4 for the Redbirds at halftime.
In the second half, Alton to dominate, as the Redbirds got baskets from Norman, Powers, Proctor and Steen to increase their lead, but Granite kept playing hard, and Taliyah Sykes and Megan Sykes to help cut the lead to 67-10 after three quarters, kicking in the running clock rule in the final quarter. The two teams cleared the benches in the fourth quarter, with the Redbirds coming away with the 77-17 win.
Proctor hit for 15 points for Alton, while Steen had 12 points, Haynes came up with three points, Orr scored six points, Kourtnee Evans had two points, Lauryn Wimbley scored three points, Delehanty had five points, Norman led with 16 points, Powers had 10 points, and Ducey scored a single point. Granite was led by Taliyah Sykes with six points, with Simms having two points, Megan Sykes hitting for a single point, Jailyn Rae Woods had four points, and Douglas also had four points.
The Warriors end their season at 12-18, while the Redbirds are now 30-2, and will play Quincy, a 42-34 winner over Edwardsville, in the final Friday night at 6.
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
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