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NORMAL – Tensions were off the charts as the Edwardsville High School Tigers girls’ basketball team faced off against the Montini Catholic High School Lady Broncos Friday night at the IHSA Class 4A State Semifinals at Redbird Arena.
Heading into the game with a 32-1 record, the Lady Broncos’ program held many threats to the Tigers, including stunning height (two girls on the team surpass 6-feet while two stand at 5-foot-10, another at 5-foot-11), remarkable shooting capabilities and a nearly impassible defense.
If any team could surpass Montini, it was Edwardsville, and that is exactly what they did Friday night. The Tigers defeated the Lady Broncos 37-35 at the final buzzer, leading them to qualify for the State Championship match Saturday evening. Edwardsville will play Geneva in the final at 7:15 p.m. for the state championship. Geneva defeated Palatine Fremd 34-33. Geneva carries a 28-4 record going into the contest.
In the first, Montini got off to take a seven-point lead over Edwardsville courtesy of Asilyah Patty, three-point dynamo Kaylee Bambule, Claudia Kunzer and Sam Mitchell. Toward the end of the first, the trouble to make it into the basket continued for the Tigers and at the buzzer, Montini led with a score of 18-7.
“You can never prepare them for the first quarter enough,” EHS head coach Lori Blade said in a post-game press conference. “All we knew was that we had to keep battling.”
The team did battle, and with the help of Rachel Pranger, Kate Martin, Myriah Noodel-Haywood and Makenzie Silvey, the Tigers caught up to the Lady Broncos and tied the game 20 points. A foul by Quierra Love let Kunzer shoot and earn two free points, allowing Montini to take the lead at the end of the first half with a score of 22-20.
When the teams returned to the court for the third, it took about two-and-a-half minutes before Pranger scored with a lay-up to break the scoring lull, tying the score at 22. Patty and Mitchell edged the Broncos back over the Tigers but a three-pointer by Martin, followed by a jump shot by Pranger to give Edwardsville the lead with 27-26 at the end of the third.
“We needed to make the adjustments to contain them a little bit better,” Blade said. “They took it right at us and were very aggressive, so we had to make those adjustments.”
The heart of the game occurred in the fourth and final quarter. Bringing the score into the 30-30 at the five-minute mark, a true test of both team’s defense was underway. A jump shot by Pranger allowed the Tigers to take the lead with 32 points, but a three-pointer by Montini’s Sam Mitchell took it away quickly.
Haywood, assisted by Martin, landed a jumper to take the lead, only to be taken away again by Illyse Pitts.
The Tigers’ unwavering defense froze the Montini offense and Bambule, one of their top shooters, was in foul trouble. With less than one second on the clock, a basket by Silvey and a free point earned by Noodel-Haywood earned Edwardsville the victory they needed to head to the State Championship Saturday evening with a score of 37-35.
A junior, Rachel Pranger sat at the post-game conference table with classmate Martin, Coach Blade and seniors Waters and Silvey.
“It took us a while to get into it, but as the game went on, we were able to hit the shots we needed,” Rachel Pranger said.
Noodel-Haywood, Silvey and Pranger all tallied nine points, while Martin had eight points for the Tigers. Criste’on Waters closed out the Edwardsville scoring with two points. Noodel-Haywood had five rebounds for the Tigers. Silvey and Pranger both had three rebounds.
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