O’FALLON — O’Fallon’s acting girls’ basketball coach Greg Knolhoff expressed pride in his team’s performance despite a narrow 50-46 defeat to Edwardsville on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. The game, held at Edwardsville, marked a challenging outing for the Panthers, who are currently navigating a tough week following an emotional victory in the Highland Tournament and the recent illness of their head coach, Nick Knolhoff.
Greg Knolhoff is normally an O’Fallon assistant coach under Nick Knolhoff.
“I am not feeling down,” Greg Knolhoff said. “The kids battled hard, they’ve been dealt a tough hand this week. We put the girls in a tough situation with me trying to stand in and guide them. I let them kind of run their plays and stuff. I thought they played great without him being here.”
The game was characterized as a hard-fought Southwestern Conference matchup, with Knolhoff acknowledging Edwardsville’s physical play and size advantage.
“Kudos to Edwardsville, they had a little bit more size, and played a little bit more physical than us, so they deserved to win,” Greg Knolhoff said. He emphasized the importance of the game within the context of the regular season, noting, “At the end of the day, it’s just another regular season game, and we’ll have to prepare; I have a feeling we’re going to meet them come regional time.”
Looking ahead, Knolhoff remains optimistic about the Panthers’ prospects as they enter the final stretch of the season.
“We’re trying to stay healthy,” he said. “It’s been a long season, we’re in the dog days of January and February, so we’re just going to keep grinding, keep coming up, just trying to show up, and be ready to go come regional time.”
Haeil Tart led O’Fallon in scoring with 14 points, while Nakia McCottrell contributed eight points. Quinn Zerjal and Josie Christopher each added seven points, followed by Kennah Barringer with six points and Kayla Kalmer with four points.
With the loss, the Panthers’ record stands at 17-7. They will begin a six-game home stand on Thursday against Alton, followed by a matchup against East St. Louis next Tuesday, and a game against Belleville East on Feb. 6, with all games set to start at 7:30 p.m.
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
