BELLEVILLE — Amanda Kemezys, a former standout player at St. Louis University, is making her mark as a coach for the Belleville East Lancers girls’ basketball team, which has seen significant improvement this season. The Lancers, now boasting a 17-8 record, secured a narrow 49-47 victory over Edwardsville on Thursday night, Jan. 30, 2025, a win that Kemezys attributes to her overall squad and young players’ hard work and growth.

Kemezys, who played center at St. Louis University and averaged 11.7 points per game during her collegiate career, expressed pride in her team’s performance throughout the season.

“We’ve had a great last couple of weeks,” Kemezys said. “I’m just really proud of our effort. We had a big lead, but (Edwardsville) is a very well-coached, disciplined team. They came back, and put us in some tough situations, but we were able to prevail as a team together.”

The Lancers have made significant strides this season, largely due to a strong freshman class that has injected new energy into the team.

Kemezys acknowledged some challenges that come with a young roster, but it appears the team is jelling together right before playoff time.

“With that though comes some inexperience, so at the beginning of the year, we had to grow a lot,” she said. “We’re still growing a lot, as you can see. But stuff like this, in these situations, when it’s tough, this is where they really get challenged, and they really grow up.”

As the IHSA Class 4A playoffs approach, Kemezys remains optimistic about her team’s prospects. She noted that the road to a potential state berth will run through the Southwestern Conference, which she described as one of the toughest in the state.

“This game is some momentum, and really, some confidence, to be able to play with anybody,” she said.

In the game on Thursday against Edwardsville, freshman Hailey Gray led the Lancers with 19 points, while freshman Ramiyah Young contributed 14 points. Other key performances included freshman Denaya Bartelheim with six points, Taylor Smith with four points, freshman Vanessa Stacy with three points, and Madison Hunter with two points.

As the Lancers prepare for the upcoming playoffs, Kemezys emphasized the importance of their recent success.

“It’s just a battle every single night,” she said. “But we’re always happy when we can come out with a conference win. I think I’ve said the word proud about 80 times, and I’ll just keep saying it, because I really am.”

Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.