CHS Girls Hoops Sweeps Opening Two Games

By Mark Jurgena

It was a solid week of basketball for the Collinsville Kahoks as they recorded big wins over Cahokia and Granite City.

Collinsville 51 Granite City 29

Sometimes they fed the post, sometimes they drove the lane but they always played defense.

That was the story of the Collinsville girls basketball win at Granite City on November 18th.

Granite City just could not prevent the Kahoks from getting the ball into the paint as CHS scored 36 of their 51 points on the inside. The rest of the Collinsville points came from the free throw line.

Collinsville started sluggishly as they fell behind 4-0 courtesy of four turnovers and zero shots on the offensive end. At the 5:26 mark, CHS coach Colin Moore called a 30-second timeout. The break allowed the Kahoks to gain some focus and they went on a 12-4 run to complete the quarter. 

Talesha Gilmore scored seven of those points due to her excellent play on the left block.

Collinsville extended their lead in the 2nd quarter thanks to the post play of Jenna Scheller on the right block early and more points from Gilmore on the other side later in the stanza. During that period the two combined to score all 12 of Collinsville’s points to take a commanding 24-14 lead into halftime.

After the break, it was time for point guard Megan Janson to take over…in the paint. The junior point guard had several 1st half assists but no points. That all changed as she cut and slashed her way to the basket and totaled all 13 points the Kahoks scored in the third. They led 37-18 going into the last frame.

CHS outscored Granite 14-11 in the final frame to secure the victory.

For the game, Janson finished with 15 points and seven assists while Gilmore also scored 15 but added seven rebounds. Scheller had 12 points and six assists.

Meanwhile, the Kahok defense forced GC into 25 turnovers.

Collinsville 83 Cahokia 23

Collinsville used a 27-0 run over a 7:54 stretch of the opening two quarters and cruised to an 83-23 home victory over Cahokia on November 16th.

That big run was fueled by nine Collinsville steals and 12 Cahokia turnovers during that span. It gave the Kahoks a 35-5 advantage early in the 2nd period.

“Our goal for the game was to come out and play at the pace we wanted to play at,” said coach Colin Moore. “We were able to push the ball down the court and get some easy buckets to help build our confidence.  

I am hoping that this will show our girls that we are able to play at a faster pace while still staying under control.”

To end the half, CHS went on a 15-0 run and took a 54-10 lead into the locker room.           

During that dominant 1st 16 minutes, Collinsville forced 19 turnovers and recorded 12 steals. Janson had six steals while Guerrero and Scheller recorded two each. Ricki Merlak and Gilmore had one apiece.

“We were able to pick up the intensity and we did a great job looking to trap right when they crossed half court,” said Moore. “Defense is a team effort and when all five girls are playing hard it is fun to watch.”  

Statistically, Janson had 20 points and eight steals during the contest while Gilmore had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Guerrero had 12 points. Elliana Rhinehart added 10.

CHS grabbed 44 rebounds on the night including 25 on the offensive end.

Collinsville returned to action at the Nashville Invitational Monday night against Benton and Tuesday night against the host school, but results were unavailable at press time. Saturday at 1:30 p.m. they square off with Trenton (Wesclin).

Kahok Notes: The Collinsville JV team is also 2-0 after one week. They pitched a shutout against Cahokia 25-0 and beat Granite City 51-8.