COLLINSVILLE – Edwardsville junior forward Katelynne Roberts played an important part of the Tigers’ girls basketball season, especially in the IHSA Class 4A Collinsville regional final on Feb. 21, as Roberts scored 10 points to help the Tigers rally to a 50-40 win over the host Kahoks at Vergil Fletcher Gym.
The Tigers came back from being as much as 12 points down in the first quarter to tie the game 33-33 at the end of the third, then scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to take a lead they would never relinquish as Edwardsville advanced to the Pekin sectional.
And it helped Roberts, who plays for head coach Lori Blade, to be named the Riverbender.com female Athlete of the Month for March, 2020.
“It feels really good,” Roberts said in an interview after the Collinsville game. “I just ran with my team. It was a team effort all around.”
Although the Tigers trailed throughout the first half, Roberts and her teammates knew that keeping up their intensity and sticking with the game plan would help the team come back from the deficit.
“We just had to keep our intensity, and play our own game,” Roberts said, “and we just had to keep it going, and pick each other up if something happened.”
That Edwardsville did, and it helped in their fourth-quarter comeback, as the Tigers went on to the win. Roberts felt that getting the lead helped her team keep moving forward.
“It just kept pushing us forward, to push the lead up more, and we were elated.” Roberts said. “We decided to keep working hard.”
Roberts summed up the key to the game in practically four words.
“I think it was defense,” Roberts said, “and playing together.”
The Tigers used their defense, along with hitting key shots that they hadn’t been able to hit earlier, to build their lead in the fourth quarter. And it allowed Edwardsville to advance to the sectional semifinals, but the Tigers lost to O’Fallon 61-58 on Feb. 24 at Belleville West, ending their season.
Roberts felt that Edwardsville’s success was in playing their game and using its stout defense to create opportunities for their offense.
The Tigers ended the season with a 27-2 record, and Roberts knew what her team’s recipe for success was throughout the season, and also felt good about how things progressed for the team.
Riverbender.com’s Athlete of the Month program is made possible by the generosity of our sponsors and the cooperation of our area high schools. This is a great accomplishment, and one to be very proud of. Please join us in congratulating this young athlete. We at Riverbender.com wish you continued success in your future!
