Kahok girls beat Triad, fall to O’Fallon

By Mark Jurgena

Old School vs. New School. Pound it inside vs. bombs away.

In the Dec. 12 matchup between Triad and Collinsville at Fletcher Gym, the old school play of the Kahoks was able to beat nine threes by Triad 50-43.

Collinsville got the vast majority of their points on layups, runners, and good old-fashioned post play by the bigs underneath.

The combo of Jenna Scheller and Talesha Gilmore went for 26 points with Scheller scoring 20 of those points on 10-for-11 shooting including the first four points of the game.

As a matter of fact every Kahok point but one in the opening half was from inside the paint. The one? A free throw by Megan Janson.

CHS began the game on an 8-0 run thanks to four straight layups, two from Scheller and one each from Gilmore and Janson.

They built their lead up to 14-7 late in the quarter on a layup by Janson, a putback by Scheller and finally a runner by Janson with 2:00 to go.

However Triad ended the quarter on a 6-0 run courtesy of two threes to make it a one-point game at the break.

To start the second, CHS once again pounded the ball inside for a 6-0 run thanks to buckets by Scheller, Gilmore, and Janson to make it 20-13 with 5:27 to play.

At that point, Collinsville was 10-for-13 shooting with all ten baskets from close range.

However the Knights quickly cut into the lead with a pair of threes. CHS was eventually able to gain a 27-23 lead at the break.

CHS jumped out to a 12-point advantage early in the third but Triad’s shooting from distance kept the CHS lead from expanding. 

Triad even cut the lead to seven with 7:30 to play in the game with, you guessed it, a three but Collinsville responded with their first and only three of the night thanks to Ella Guerrero.

CHS would eventually take a seven point win.

Triad hit more threes and two-point field goals in the contest making nine from behind the arc and seven from in front of it.

The Kahoks finished 1-for-10 from distance.

Kahok stats

Janson scored 13 points to help the cause but really filled up the stat sheet with seven assists and seven steals.

Scheller led in rebounds with eight.

O’Fallon 68 CHS 33

They led all the way.

O’Fallon got a three from D’Myjah Bolds 12 seconds into the contest and never looked back as they earned a huge 35-point win over Collinsville on Dec. 13 at Fletcher Gym.

The win raised the OTHS mark to 10-2 overall and 3-1 in the SWC while the Kahoks six-game winning streak was snapped as they fell to 7-4 overall and 3-1 in the SWC. Alton leads the conference with a 4-0 mark and beat O’Fallon earlier this season.

Collinsville could only manage buckets by Talesha Gilmore and Megan Janson in the opening frame as they trailed 17-4 after one.

The next period saw CHS score a bit more with eight points from Gilmore and four from Janson but still trailed 34-16 at the break.

CHS matched shots with the Panthers to begin the 3rd quarter but couldn’t stay with them as OTHS was on fire going 10-for-14 in the frame including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc. For their part, CHS was 4-for-9 with no threes and five turnovers during that time.

Gilmore had six in the period but O’Fallon bumped their lead to 58-28 after three to invoke the running clock in the final period.

O’Fallon hit 7-of-14 threes on the night while Collinsville was 1-for-10 as Deairra Spears hit the one for the Kahoks. 

For the Kahoks Gilmore had 17 points and eight rebounds.

The Panthers were led by Shannon Dowell and her 20 points. Dowel, the #2 all-time scorer in the history of the OTHS girls program. She recently committed to playing NCAA Division I ball next season for Illinois State.

Upcoming Schedule

CHS hosted Alton (Marquette) Monday and played at Granite City Tuesday however results were unavailable at press time.

They are off until the day after Christmas, Monday, when they face Kirkwood, Mo. at the 2022 MICDS Holiday Invitational in Ladue, Mo. The tip-off is scheduled for noon. They will play their next game Tuesday. If they win the opener they play at 7:30 p.m. Should they lose they will play at 4:30 p.m. They will play either O’Fallon, Mo. (Fort Zumwalt West) or Ladue. 

After the girls take a day off, the tourney concludes on Dec. 29.