EDWARDSVILLE – Collinsville’s girls basketball season ended Monday night, Feb. 16, 2026, with a regional semifinal loss to a highly talented Alton girls squad, but Kahoks head coach Colin Moore said he sees reasons for optimism as the program turns toward a younger core and a changing conference landscape.
Collinsville fell 50-19 to Alton in the Edwardsville Regional on Monday. Alton entered the game 27-2. The Kahoks finished the season with seven wins.
“We have a tough schedule,” Moore said. “We play a lot of tough games, play a lot of these conference games two times, sometimes three times. It’s just tough, but my four seniors, basketball’s not their number one sport; they’re all soccer players, so I’m just thankful they’re out here, working hard and trying to do the right thing.”
Coach Moore said the season provided significant varsity experience for younger players, including freshmen who approached major scoring milestones.
“We have some young kids that got a lot of varsity experience this year,” Moore said, “and a couple of girls who got close to scoring 100 points as a freshman. Dariana (Morris) is coming back next year to be our senior who started pretty much every game this year, so we’re excited. We’ll have a little bit different schedule, with the conference changing around a little bit. So, we’re excited to get a chance to win some basketball games.”
Next season, the Southwestern Conference will expand to readmit Granite City and add Triad and Mascoutah, and it will split into two divisions. Collinsville will be placed in a division with the Knights, Indians, Warriors, Kahoks and the Redbirds.
“Definitely, it will help,” Moore said of the conference expansion. “It’ll be some more competitive games, learn how to win a little bit, just have some more competition, day in and day out. I’m proud of my kids; they worked hard. Alton’s a great team, and I wish them the best of luck.”
