COLLINSVILLE – Senior point guard Que Love led Edwardsville with 10 points, while forwards Elle Evans and Sydney Harris scored eight points each as the Tigers came back from a tough start to defeat Pekin 52-21 in the first semifinal of the IHSA Class 4A girls basketball regional Wednesday night at Collinsville’s Vergil Fletcher Gym.
Edwardsville used very good defense in the second half, starting the third quarter off on a 13-0 run, and allowed only one basket in the second half in going on to the win over the Dragons.
The Tigers led only 11-10 late in the first quarter when a three from Love started an 11-2 run that ended with a Harris basket in the lane late in the second quarter that helped make the halftime score 22-14 for the Tigers. The 13-0 run at the start of the second half brought the score to 35-14, and from there, the Tigers went on to the win, leading by 31 twice in the final quarter.
Edwardsville held a 14-10 lead after the first quarter, then had their 22-14 lead at the half, increasing it to 42-19 at the end of the third, with the Tigers outscoring Pekin 10-2 in the final quarter to take the win.
Besides Love, Evans and Harris, both Ariana Bennett and Maria Smith scored seven points, Kylie Burg scored six, Katelynne Roberts had four points and Amanda Mills scored two.
The Dragons were led by Taylor Goss, who had 12 points, with Jenna Taphorn having six points and Gracie Kizer scored three points.
Pekin ends its season with a 12-16 record, while the Tigers improve to 26-1 and advances to the final against the host Kahoks, a 70-53 winner over Belleville East in the second semifinal, on Friday night in a 7 p.m. tip-off. The Tigers-Kahoks winner will take on the Alton regional winner, either O’Fallon or Belleville West, in a semifinal of the Pekin sectional next Monday at a local site to be announced, with a 7 p.m. tip-off.
Chris Rhodes also contributed to this story.
