Lacey Leads Redbirds With 15 Points, Steen Adds 12, Alton Pulls Away In Fourth Quarter To Defeat Edwardsville 62-39  

EDWARDSVILLE – Kaylea Lacey led Alton with 15 points, while Ja’Kayla Steen came up with 12 points as Alton, using an aggressive defense and good shooting in the fourth quarter, pulled away from Edwardsville to defeat the Tigers 62-39 in a Southwestern Conference girls basketball game Thursday night, Jan. 29, 2026, at Lucco-Jackson Gym.

Alton is now 20-2 on the season with the win over Edwardsville's girls.

The game was also a fundraiser for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, with all donations raised for the cancer research fund for the famed women’s college basketball coach who died of breast cancer in 2009. Both teams wore pink shirts during pregame warmups in her honor.

The Tigers came close in the third quarter, but in the end, Alton came up with the answers and managed to pull away in the final quarter to take the key win.

“The biggest thing for us is, obviously, we’re combating foul trouble,” said first-year Alton head coach Deiondre Riney. “We wanted to get our intensity back up, so I was OK with the foul count. I knew we just needed to come back, play hard, and kind of get back to it. So, it was a good game for us.”

“We played three really good quarters,” said Edwardsville head coach Kaylie Gudka. “We started a little bit slow, but we responded very well, and got back into the game, and then, in that fourth quarter, it really hurt us tonight.”

It was a well-played game for the most part, with both teams showing intensity and commitment all throughout.

The aggressive Alton defense led to first-half foul trouble, but it’s something that the Redbirds can live with, as long as the intensity level is up.

The Redbirds kept their intensity level up in the second half, and Riney felt it was an important factor in the game.

“That’s the thing,” Riney said. "You can play 10 kids that can come in and can give you some minutes. That gives you 50 fouls, so we’re cool with that foul count, we’re cool with that as long as we can keep that intensity and the aggression up the whole time.”

Lacey, Madeliene Ducey, and others all played well for the Redbirds on the night.

“Ducey came back off a rough one last night,” Riney said. “She was able to find herself. I think she tapped into our highlights, really came out here, found that spirit, and really started us off hot.”

The Redbirds are enjoying another successful season, coming off their 34-3 season a year ago, and a third place finish in Class 4A. Riney is taking a one day at a time approach to the final month of the season, and knows his team will be ready to go.

“We just take it a day at a time,” Riney said. “We try to just get it done. We know tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, but we take it one day at a time and just try to get the job done every time we step on here. We have seven seniors who come out here, and they play hard and give us everything."

Ducey sank a three to get things started, then Lacey scored inside, and Ducey hit another three to pushup the Redbirds' lead. Alton then extended its lead to 12-2 before freshman Journey Anderson scored a three-pointer to cut the Alton lead to 12-5 at quarter time.

In the second, Lauryn Wimbley, Steen, and Lacey all combined to push the lead to 24-12, but the Tigers came back with back-to-back threes from Kennedy Gieseking and Mia Semith to cut the lead to 24-18. The Redbirds maintained their intensity, getting good looks and scoring to take a 28-23 halftime lead.

The Tigers came back in at the start of the third quarter, with an Anderson basket pulling Edwardsville to within 29-28, but the Redbirds answered back with baskets from Kyrides Orr and Ducey to take a 37-30 lead.

The Redbirds helped keep Edwardsville in the game by missing close-in shots, which helped bring the Tigers back to within 37-33, but the Redbirds righted themselves to take a 39-34 lead after three quarters.

In the fourth, Alton used good free-throw shooting and its defense to pull away, with a three-point play by Aryanna Anthony being a key score, and Justice Haynes hitting five of six free throws, with Orr putting the finishing touch on the 62-39 win.

Lacey led the Redbirds with 15 points, while Steen added 12 points, and Jeriah Green hit 13 points. Anderson was the only Tiger in double figures with 14 points.

The Redbirds host Chatham Glenwood Saturday afternoon, Jan. 31, 2026, at 12:30 p.m., then hosts O’Fallon on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2026, at 7:30 p.m., and is at Lutheran St. Charles, Mo., on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.

More like this:

Alton's Comeback Cut Short by Belleville East in Sectional Semifinals

Feb 24, 2026

Alton Girls Claim Fifth Straight Regional Basketball Title

Feb 21, 2026

Lacey, Delahantny Lead With 10 Points Each, Redbirds Break Out In Second Quarter, Eliminate Kahoks 50-18

Feb 17, 2026

Senior Night Triumph Seals Conference Championship for Alton

Feb 12, 2026

Coach Deiondre Riney: Alton High Basketball Team to Graduate Seven "Great" Seniors

Mar 5, 2026