EDWARDSVILLE – Alandyn Simmons led Edwardsville with 20 points, while Mia Semith added 11 points, and both hit big free throws during the stretch run, while Sophie Shapiro sank a crucial three, as the Tigers held off O’Fallon to take a hard-fought 50-46 win in a key Southwestern Conference game Tuesday night, Jan. 28, 2025, at Lucco-Jackson Gym.
The Tigers were ahead at the half 20-18, and started the second half on a 7-2 run to go ahead 27-20, but the Panthers fought back to lead after the third quarter 34-32. Edwardsville came back to take a 43-37 lead on Shapiro’s three late, with O’Fallon fighting back to within 45-44, but Simmons and Semith went five-for-six from the line combined to help Edwardsville clinch the win.
“I am feeling pretty good,” said Tigers head coach Bryan Young after the game. “I’m happy for the girls, they really earned this victory. I’m proud to see their work show to fruition, because they’ve been working at a game like this, and they earned it tonight.”
Simmons had a big game for Edwardsville, and other players made a significant contribution to the win, as well.
“We’ve been waiting for Alandyn to have a breakout game like that,” Young said. “I thought she did a really good job on the boards, stepped up and made some free throws. I thought Gabby Cook did a good job on the boards. We tried to emphasize before the game our size advantage, and I think we took care down low, on defense and offensive rebounds. The girls really, like I said, played hard, and they wanted it.”
Kaylee Hauschild had six points in the game, while Cook contributed five points to the Tigers’ effort. Shapiro had four points, while Kennedy Gieseking and McFarlin had two points apiece.
The Panthers were coming off an emotional 53-52 win at the buzzer on Saturday night over Nashville to win the Highland Tournament, and were playing without head coach Nick Knolhoff, who was out ill. O’Fallon played very well the entire game, and Young thought the Panthers played well in the confrontation.
“I give them a lot of credit,” Coach Young said. “Nick’s their coach, he’s their leader, and with him out, that makes a little difference. They’ve still got championship-pedigree girls who won a state title two years ago and just won the championship over at Highland. So they know how to win, and we knew that. We knew they were going to come in and compete, make big shots, and I told our girls it’s going to be a challenge for us, and we had to be ready to step up.”
The Tigers face another challenge on Thursday against a vastly improved Belleville East team 16-8 under head coach Amanda Kemezys, and will look to gain a big win over the Tigers.
“They’re playing pretty well,” Young said of Belleville East. “They’ve got some young girls, she’s (Kemezys) got them headed in the right direction, that’s for sure. So, I told the girls it doesn’t make any difference. Enjoy tonight, but we’ve got to get ready to go tomorrow, and take care of business on Thursday.”
The Lancers have been one of the better teams in the conference this season, and deserve much credit for their turnaround.
O’Fallon acting coach Greg Knolhoff credited his girls with “a great effort” against the Tigers.
“You can’t ask for anything more,” he said. “We took all our time outs, we used them down the stretch, they made great plays down the stretch, and we just came up short.”
Heeli Tart hit a pair of free throws to open the game, with Cook laying in to tie the game 2-2. After that, the Tigers got to a 7-7 tie, and took the lead 9-7 on a Simmons basket, but the Panthers got a three from Tart to take a 10-9 lead after the first quarter. In the second, Kennedy Gieseking put Edwardsville ahead 14-11 with a basket, but baskets from Nakia McCottrell put O’Fallon back on top 15-14. After a free throw from Josie Christopher tied the game at 16-16, Semith hit back-to-back baskets to give Edwardsville a 20-18 lead at halftime.
At the start of the third quarter, Simmons scored the Tigers’ first seven points to give Edwardsville a 27-20 lead, but Quinn Zerjal and Tart quickly cut the lead to 27-24. After Tart’s basket, she was called for a technical foul, her fourth of the game, and Cook hit the subsequent free throws, then hit another free throw to give Edwardsville a 30-24 lead. Zerjal and Christopher hit big threes to cut the lead back to 32-30, a basket by McCottrell tied the game, and another basket by Tart gave the Panthers a 34-32 lead going into the final quarter.
Baskets by Semith and Simmons gave Edwardsville a 40-34 lead at the start of the final quarter, and after a three from Christopher cut the lead to 40-37, Shapiro hit her big three to give the Tigers a 43-37 lead with 3:46 left in regulation. Undaunted, O’Fallon got baskets from Tart and Claire Weinhoeft to cut the lead to 43-41, and after free throws from Simmons, got a three-point play from Tart to pull to within 45-44, Simmons got a key basket, and then hit big free throws down the stretch, along with Semith, to give Edwardsville the 50-46 win.
The Tigers go to 13-8, and host the Lancers Thursday night, then play Collinsville at home next Tuesday, then play at Granite City Feb. 7, all games starting at 7:30 p.m.
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
