Kahok girls split contests
By Mark Jurgena
Threes were wild in the second half for Collinsville.
They hit six shots from beyond the arc and made three more conventional three point plays in the second half to pull away from Belleville West for a 57-36 win at Fletcher Gym.
“We were able to execute working the ball inside and then made good passes out to our shooters,” said CHS coach Colin Moore. “It was nice to see shots go in. The girls were having fun and playing with momentum. Ella (Guerrero) and Megan (Janson) have been shooting the ball much better as of late. Confidence is key with our girls and I was happy for them and they definitely enjoyed the moment.“
CHS began the deciding half on a 14-2 run to expand their 21-20 halftime lead.
Jenna Scheller – who committed to play college basketball at SWIC last week – got the scoring spree started with a pair of free throws to give CHS a 23-20 lead.
After the Maroons hit a bucket the three point festival began.
Scheller returned to hit a conventional three before Megan Janson hit one as well. In a nod to simplicity, Janson shunned the concept of contact at the rim and just buried a 3-pointer instead to make it a ten point game.
Scheller returned with three points the hard way to make it 35-22 Kahoks.
West cut the lead to eight with 18 seconds to play in the third before Janson hit another shot from long-distance at the buzzer to lead by 11 points heading into the fourth.’
Her three started a 9-2 run that carried into the final stanza as Ella Guerrero and Katie Bardwell buried threes to make it a 15-point game.
Janson and Scheller both hit threes in the fourth with the final bucket coming from eight feet away by Lily Carlisle. It was the only two of the half for the Kahoks.
Additionally, Collinsville went 8 for 10 from the free throw line in the second half.
For the game, the Kahoks went 18 for 42 from the floor and 10 for 20 from three. They also went 11 for 16 from the free throw line.
Kahok Stats
Janson had 17 points on the evening including those three from long range while Guerrero had 15 – all on three pointers.
Scheller had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. She led CHS with four assists and four blocked shots.
East St. Louis 49 CHS 43
Collinsville just couldn’t stop Shakara McCline defensively.
She filled up the stat sheet in the second half to allow East St. Louis to flip a 14-point deficit midway through the third quarter into a six point win at Fletcher Gym on Jan. 26.
McCline scored 13 of her game high 20 points in the second half but her biggest contribution was disrupting the Kahok offense. She had seven steals and two other deflections that led to runouts for the Flyerettes.
She added five assists during the final two quarters.
The Kahoks took the lead at the 5:15 mark of the opening quarter thanks to a bucket by Talesha Gilmore to make it 5-4 on a conventional three point play.
They held it until the 2:41 mark of the fourth when McCline buried a three. The possession started with her own steal.
Collinsville briefly regained the lead after two free throws by Scheller but Heaven Williams hit a turnaround jumper at the 2:01 mark to give ESL the lead for good at 44-43.
CHS took that 14-point lead in the third quarter thanks to big offensive games from several players including 12 points from Gilmore before she had to leave the game after getting knocked to the floor.
Guerrero had nine markers to that point as well.
For the remainder of the game, the Kahoks were outscored 29-9.
For the game, Scheller had 10 points, eight rebounds, four blocked shots and three assists for Collinsville. Gilmore had nine boards and Janson led CHS with five assists.
Collinsville sits at 13-13 overall and 4-5 in the SWC. East St. Louis is 10-17 overall and has one once in the conference.
Upcoming Schedule
The Kahoks traveled to Edwardsville Tuesday night however results were unavailable at press time. Saturday they play at Lincoln High School in Central Illinois at 2:30 p.m.
CHS returns home Monday to face Jerseyville at Fletcher Gym and travels to O’Fallon Tuesday night.
