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

Alton had won both regular season meetings, albeit close, by scores of 59-55 on January 13 in Belleville and 60-58 on February 12 in Alton.

Feb 24, 2026 9:43 PM Feb 27, 2026 10:18 AM

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COLLINSVILLE – The dream of a sectional three-peat for the Alton High School girls basketball team was ended Tuesday night.

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The top-seeded Redbirds, fourth ranked team in IHSA Class 4A (Associated Press), were downed by their newly formed Southwestern Conference rivals Belleville East in the Class 4A Peoria (Richwoods) Sectional semifinals, played out at Collinsville High School, by a score of 45-40.

The Redbirds came in riding high on an 18-game win streak seeking a third straight sectional championship game appearance. East was looking for its first in nearly 20 years.

Alton opened the game with a couple of free throws from Jakayla Steen to take its one and only lead of the game. The Lancers answered with a 12-2 run that had them leading 14-6 after the first quarter.

East opened the next frame by scoring eight of the game’s next 10 points, growing its lead to 22-8, forcing Alton into a timeout with 3:45 to go in the first half. The Lancers led 26-11 heading into the locker rooms.

During that Lancer run, Alton’s Kaylea Lacey picked up her third personal foul with just over four minutes to go and was subbed out immediately, not returning in the first half.

But the Redbirds showed fight by opening the second half on a 13-2 blitz, cutting the lead to four at 28-24.

That was the good news.

The bad news was that during that stretch, Lacey picked up her fourth personal and had to watch from the sidelines again for most of the second half.

Alton still trailed 34-27 after three.

A basket from Steen and two more from Aryanna Anthony sparked a 6-1 run to open the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to two points at 35-33, but the Redbirds never tied the game. The closest things got was at 38-37 after a Justice Haynes basket.

“You cut it from 15 to two, you’re down 15, you have to play perfect from there,” Alton head coach Deiondre Riney said. “We cut it within two, unfortunately missed a shot to tie it and then they go make six free throws to end it. Just unfortunately we started down early.”

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It didn’t help that foul trouble had caught up to the Redbirds.

Both Kyridas Orr and Lacey began the fourth quarter with four fouls apiece. Orr started the final frame. Lacey did not.

Lacey was brought on with 3:19 left in the game. 30 seconds later, Orr fouled out. Two minutes later, trailing by four, Lacey fouled out also.

“It’s tough,” Riney said of his team’s foul trouble. “You hope when a kid with [Lacey’s] career that she’d at least be able to play in her final game, but when she plays maybe six minutes, that’s tough. Hats off to her for an amazing career, and unfortunately, it didn’t end the way she wanted to, or even with the opportunity to impact the game like she usually does.”

The Lancers went 9-for-12 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

“They were crucial,” Belleville East head coach Shardae King said. “That’s all we do is shoot free throws. It was big time. So, I’m super proud of those girls for stepping up.”

Now, East will compete for a sectional title for the first time since 2007.

“It’s been a while,” King said. “I’m always up for a challenge. I always want to compete against the best, our girls want to compete against the best, so this is big for us.”

Ramiyah Young and Vanessa Stacy led all scorers with 14 points each. Hailey Gray added 12 points as the Lancers improved to 27-5 on the season.

They’re set to play the host team, Richwoods High School of Peoria, in the sectional championship on Thursday, February 26 at 6 p.m. The Knights are 24-4 and have won nine in a row.

The Redbirds were led by Lauryn Wimbley and Steen with 10 points apiece. Madeline Ducey and Anthony each scored six, Haynes had four, and Lacey and Orr each scored two.

Alton’s season ends at 28-3.