Edwardsville Seniors Win Final Home Game With 64-34 Win Over Lutheran North, Harris Leads With 14 Points

Colin Feeney, Contributing Sports Writer

Feb 4, 2020 5:43 AM

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EDWARDSVILLE - On a night where the Edwardsville girls basketball Class of 2020 were honored, many of the senior did shine through, as Maria Smith scored 12 points, Kylie Burg added 10 and Jacquelin Anderson scored seven points in the final minute as the Tigers defeated St.Louis Lutheran North 64-34 in the regular-season home finale Monday evening at Lucco-Jackson Gym.

Before the game, Que Love, Anderson, Amanda Mills, Burg and Smith and their parents were all honored in the annual ceremonies thanking the seniors and their families for their contributions to the Tiger program, then took control in the second half after leading the Crusaders 28-24, outscoring North 17-4 in the third quarter.

"You know what? I just think our team defense was better in the second half," said Edwardsville head coach Lori Blade. "We focused on giving them gaps to take anything, and take a little bit more pride in our defense, and they took it to heart and did a much better job for each other."

And it wasn't an easy task either, as the Crusaders are a very athletic team that's difficult to guard.

"They are," Blade said. "The biggest issue with them is they're young. So that's the biggest thing. We put together a little bit of a run, and that just seemed to snowball a little bit, but (Crusader coach Chris Forrest) does a great job with them, and considering everything they graduated, they compete hard."

All five seniors played in the game, and in fact, started, on what's usually a fun night for everyone involved.

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"Yes, it is," Blade said, "and to have fun with it. It was great to see Jacquelin score some points; she doesn't necessarily, when she gets in, get good looks at the basket, so that was awesome, and everyone was excited for her. But to just get her and Mills and some of those kids some time means a lot on Senior Night."

It was Smith who hit the first basket of the game on a driving layup, and after a Crusader free throw, Love hit a pair from the line to make it 4-1. Kayla Sullivan hit a three from the side, then scored on a three-point play to give North its first lead at 7-4. A driving basket from Sydney Harris and two Smith free throws gave the Tigers the lead back at 8-7, but Raven Addison scored underneath to give the Crusaders the lead back at 9-8. A Harris three and a basket from Sullivan left the two teams tied at 11-11 at the end of the first quarter.

Elle Evans scored at the start of the second quarter to give the Tigers the lead back at 13-11, and Tale ah Dilworth immediately retied the game at 13-13. A Love free throw and a Harris basket off a steal gave Edwardsville a 16-13 advantage, but a two Sullivan free throws and another basket from Dilworth gave the Crusaders a 17-16 lead. It became 20-16 on a free throw from Laila Blakeny and a basket from Dilworth. but the Tigers then scored five straight points on a three from Macy Silvey and an Ariana Bennett basket to give Edwardsville the lead back at 21-20. Dilworth got a good bounce to score a three, and a Smith steal and score tied the game 23-23, and from there, Love scored to put Edwardsville back in front, and Burg hit a big three from the near side, sandwiched around a Crusader free throw, to give the Tigers a 28-24 lead at halftime.

The Crusaders hit a free throw to cut the lead to three at the start of the second half, but Harris immediately hit a three to push the Tigers lead to 31-25. After an exchange of baskets and a Neveah Howard free throw, a Harris basket and a Burg three pushed the Edwardsville lead to 38-28. The Tigers then pushed the lead to 43-28 on a Harris basket and a Silvey three, and a basket off a steal by Evans made the score 45-28 at the end of the third quarter.

Edwardsville started off the fourth quarter by extending the lead to 50-28 on a Smith free throw and baskets from Smith and Burg. The Tigers eventually went on a 5-3 run into the final minute, when Anderson scored on a driving layup, a three from near the top of the key and a pair of free throws that delighted her teammates and the Edwardsville supporters in attendance, and helped make the final 64-34.

Harris led the Tigers with 14 points, with Smith scoring 12, Burg hitting for 10 points, Anderson having seven points, Evans and Silvey each scored six, Love five, and Bennett four on the night. The Crusaders were led by Sullivan's 10 points, Dilworth and Cynaa Coleman had seven points each, Symone Thomas had four points, Addison and MaKayla Williams two points each, and Howard had one point.

Edwardsville is now 22-1 on the season, and finishes up the regular season with three important Southwestern Conference games on the road, starting Thursday at East St. Louis, then the Tigers go to O'Fallon Feb. 11 and finish the regular season Feb. 13 at Alton. Blade knows how important the final road stretch will be, and is looking forward to what lies ahead.

"It is," Blade said. 'We go down to East Side on Thursday, which will be a tough one; we're going to have to rebound well, and it'll be very similar to this, very athletic kids that are tough to get off the boards. And then, we'll close it out next week, and see how it goes. But oh boy, it's flown by. It's hard to believe it's the first week of February, and we're not far from postseason, but this has been a fun group to work with, and they're headed in the right direction, which is good to see, to give us a chance to compete night in and night out."

And Blade smiled when asked about a favorite memory of the seniors.

"Oh, I don't know," Blade said. "They are a handful, how about that?," she said with a smile and laugh. "They provide you with tons of memories, just because they're a handful. They're a very fun-loving group, lighthearted, and just will lay it on the line for us, which is good. But they've been good leaders, not only on the court, but off the court."Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.

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