Lacey Scores 20, Redbirds Outpace CM In Non-Conference Clash

BETHALTO – The Alton Lady Redbirds took to the court at Civic Memorial High School on Monday, December 15, and led wire to wire, beating the Eagles 52-42, handing them their second straight loss.

Alton improved to 7-1 on the season. CM falls to 8-2.

The two schools used to play annually, but the rivalry took a seven-year hiatus from 2014 to 2021. They saw each other twice in the 2021-22 season, two wins for CM, including one in the Mascoutah Holiday Tournament.

They last played on December 12, 2022, a 61-42 win for the Redbirds.

“It’s a rivalry. We’re right down the street,” Alton head coach Deiondre Riney said. “It’s always good when Alton and CM play each other. Two good basketball programs. It’s always good to walk out of here with a win.”

Alton jumped out to a 6-0 lead thanks to straight baskets from Kaylea Lacey, Aryanna Anthony, and Madeline Ducey, forcing CM into a timeout with 5:57 left.

But Alton resumed play and pushed their lead to 11-3.

CM flipped it with a 7-2 run that made it 13-10, but back-to-back threes from Ducey and Lauryn Wimbley put Alton up 19-10 after the first quarter.

Lacey opened the second with a basket, followed by another three from Wimbley to make it 24-10. CM went on a dry spell, finally getting a three from Marley Ogden with 3:40 to go in the half. Alton led 29-18 at halftime.

From there, the game was never particularly close. The Redbirds widened the margin to 42-22 midway through the third quarter after another deep shot from Wimbley. Alton led 46-30 after three.

“Obviously, we’re on game film now. So, a lot of people know what to do,” CM head coach Jeff Durbin said. “This is two games in a row where they send two people at us, at our ball, which kind of takes us out of our sets. We worked on it the last couple of days; we just didn’t execute tonight.”

“It’s tough. We’ve got a couple banged up girls. But we need these games,” Durbin continued. “I don’t love the result, but if we learn from it, this game made us better.”

The Eagles are typically a team that likes to run set plays that usually culminate in a three-point shot. But Alton’s man defense proved problematic on the night.

“We were telling them, well-coached teams don’t like to play a lot of one-on-one basketball,” Riney said. “They like to shoot the three, move the ball. Once you take that stuff away, you make them play one-on-one; that’s when everybody has to earn everything.”

“I think we have a roster full of girls who can guard one-on-one and get it done,” Riney added. “I trust them on an island by themselves. It’s unconventional, but they get it done.”

The Eagles weren’t helping the cause with 27 turnovers, giving up 14 offensive rebounds.

“We got caught standing around too much,” Durbin said. “I know some girls got tired, but when they’re running two at the ball, you can’t have three or four girls just standing, leaving your team out to dry.”

After starting the season 8-0, the Eagles have now lost two straight, having lost a nailbiter at Triad on Friday, 57-54.

Ogden led the Eagles on Monday with 14 points. Allie Truetzschler added eight points. Addi Jeffery had six, Marlee Durbin had five, and Bryn Helminger had four.

Lacey led all scorers with 20 points. Wimbley made four threes for 12 points. Ja’Kayla Steen scored six points, Ducey and Anthony each scored five, and Kyridas Orr added four.

Both teams have a few days to regroup before heading back into conference action.

Alton travels to O’Fallon on Thursday, December 18, and CM hits the road to Waterloo on Friday.

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