BELLEVILLE – Kayla Gordon led O’Fallon with 21 points and helped lead O’Fallon in a fourth-quarter rally to help the Panthers to a 61-58 win over Edwardsville in the IHSA Class 4A Pekin sectional semifinal game played Monday night at Belleville West High School.
It was the first win for the O”Fallon over the Tigers since Jan. 13, 2003, ending a 35-game winning streak for Edwardsville over the Panthers, as O’Fallon used a 15-2 run to take over the game in the fourth and go on to the win.
“We lost our composure, we really did,” said Tigers’ head coach Lori Blade. “They got up in our grill and made it tough on Que (Love), and nobody really wanted to step in and help. It took us completely out of our offense, and we knew coming in, I told them if they got to 60, we would lose the game. And they got to 61, that was the magic number that I thought we couldn’t allow them to get to, and they did, through transition, get to the free-throw line 33 times, offensive boards, all the things they do really well. And we just didn’t shut it down well enough to keep them below that mark.”
Gordon was able to penetrate into the lane and create chances for O’Fallon that the Panthers were able to convert into baskets.
“Second half, they just jammed it down our throat,” Blade said. “And we didn’t respond very well to stop the penetration and to stop the so-called bleeding. But they’ve been close; we just didn’t have it tonight. And unfortunately, it’s earlier than usual for us, but it’s going to end at some point, and it was tonight. And hopefully, this isn’t their state championship, and they can continue to represent the Southwestern Conference is the way it deserves to be represented.”
Panthers coach Nick Knolhoff agreed that the win is probably the biggest one in the program’s history.
“Elated,” Knolhoff said. “It’s probably one of the biggest wins in program history. We’ve been so close over the past couple of years, and just to have the girls come out with as much fight as they did after being down by, I think, 13 in the second half. Just super proud of these girls who never quit, never gave up.”
O’Fallon got into the bonus very early in the second half, which Knolhoff felt was a big key in starting the team’s comeback.
“I think we got into the bonus quickly,” Knolhoff said, “we got them in a little bit of foul trouble, and we were able to get to the free-throw line and make some free throws, and just kind of taking it to them, and not be complacent from the outside.”
The Tigers did enjoy a 32-25 lead at halftime, and it was a common theme in the three games between the two teams this season.
“It was actually seven all three games we played them this year; we were down seven,” Knolhoff said. “We were just not patient enough on offense in the first half, we got in a little bit of foul trouble; I think we had 10 first half fouls, and we had two girls with three or two fouls in the first half we had to have to put on the bench, so we just had to kind of weather the storm, compose ourselves, come out in the second half and just say ‘hey, we’ve got to get back in this one shot at a time.'”
Gordon’s 21 points led all scorers and was a big factor in the game.
“That’s my senior point guard,” Knolhoff said of Gordon. “You know, that’s what I asked for her to do tonight. I said ‘step your game up. You’re the leader of this team,’ and that’s exactly what she did. She was awesome.”
A Gordon basket and a pair of free throws from Shannon Dowell gave O’Fallon an early 4-0 lead, and after an exchange of baskets, the Tigers went on a 10-0 run, with Sydney Harris hitting a pair of threes, another basket from Harris and a Maria Smith basket to give the Tigers a 12-6 lead. After an exchange of baskets, an Edwardsville 6-2 run, courtesy of a pair of baskets from Smith and another from Harris, made it 20-10 before a Gordon basket made the score 20-12 at the end of the first quarter.
A Smith basket and Harris three at the start of the second quarter gave the Tigers a 25-12 lead, but the Panthers launched a comeback with a 10-1 run, as Aubrey Mister and a pair of baskets each from Gordon and Dowell cut the lead to 26-22. A pair of Harris free throws increased the Tiger lead to 28-22, but a three-point play from Amelia Bell made it 28-25 late in the half, but an Ariana Bennett basket through the lane and free throws from Elle Evans and Love made the score 32-25 for Edwardsville at halftime.
An exchange of baskets started the second half before a three from Love after Evans blocked a shot in the lane made it 37-27 Tigers, and another Love three increased the lead to 40-27. The teams exchanged three-point plays before a Gordon basket and free throws from Dowell cut the lead to 43-34, and another Dowell basket made the score 43-36 Edwardsville after three quarters.
At the start of the final quarter, a pair of Harris free throws and a basket from Love increased the lead to 47-34, but then, the Panthers staged their comeback. It started with a Gordon three-point play. Another Gordon basket and a big three from Mister made the score 47-44 with 5:19 left, and after a free throw from Gordon, a Katelynne Roberts basket off a great pass from Evans gave Edwardsville a 49-45 lead. After Gordon hit two free throws came what may have been the key play of the game. Tyana Lovelace hit a jumper to tie the game at 49-49, and after the shot, a foul was called against Edwardsville, sending Bell to the line on the double bonus. Bell hit both of her shots to give O’Fallon a 51-49 lead with 3:43 left. A pair of Love free throws tied the game again at 51-51, but then, the Panthers scored the next six points, with Dowell scoring the go-ahead basket, then free throws from Lovelace and Gordon made it 57-51. The Tigers had one last chance, with Kylie Burg hitting a three with 9,7 seconds left to make it 60-58, and after Gordon hit one of two free throws, a desperation shot fell way short, making the final 61-58, setting off a big celebration from the Panthers and their supporters.
O’Fallon is now 26-7 and moves on to their first-ever Sweet Sixteen, where they’ll face the winner of Tuesday’s game in Pekin between New Lenox Lincoln-Way West and Joliet West in the final Thursday night at 7 p.m. Knolhoff is very excited about the berth, and knows his team will be ready.
“We’re feeling really good,” Knolhoff said. “I think this is the furthest we’ve been, and this is the game we wanted to get to, so we’ll see how we can do.”
The Tigers close at 27-2 overall on the season.
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
