GRANITE CITY – For the Warriors, the loss to Alton in Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, girls regional at Granite City marks the end of a vastly improved season, in which the Warriors won 12 games, marking the first time they’ve gotten to double figures in wins since a 10-17 mark in 2021-22. For first-year coach Ron Twitchell, who graduated from Alton in 1982, and was an honorable All-State basketball mention in his senior season, the Warriors played as hard as they could.
“The girls played hard,” Twitchell said. “Sometimes, you go against teams that have better talent than you do, but I thought the effort was good, Our effort was good all year, so I’m proud of the girls.”
The 12 wins were a big stepping stone for Granite, who have a young team with only one senior on its roster, and many freshmen and sophomores.
“Oh, yeah, we got 12 wins this year,” an enthusiastic Twitchell said, “which was a very, very nice improvement. That’s 10 more wins than they got last year; we’re still a young team. I was proud of them.”
The varsity Granite City team members are Tailyah Sykes, Emiyah Giles, Kailee Bastean, Kealia Walker, Tyhlee Simms, Makayla Tanksley, Sophia McCullough, Megan Syyes, Jailynn Rae Woods, Lhalilonie Douglas, Avery Wallace and Sophia Davison. The girls are coached by Twitchell, Craig Sykes and Claire Sykes. The girls have good height and athleticism and are poised for success next season under Coach Twitchell.
The Granite City girls basketball team are Stillwater Senior Living Athletes of the Month for their efforts all season.
With so many freshmen and sophomores on the team, the Warriors are looking to them to improve next season, and point the program in the right direction.
“That’s what we’re hoping,” Twitchell said. “Just, hopefully, we’ll keep getting better. That’s the whole game plan.”
The whole body of work the Warriors put together in a 12-18 season shows much progress, which is an indication of things to come from Granite.
“We’re a thousand percent better than what we were when we started in November,” Twitchell said. “So, with that, I’m feeling pretty good about that.”
As for the future, Twitchell has one goal in mind for his team.
“Just striving to get better,” Twitchell said, “and keep pushing each other. Anytime you’ve got young players, you’re always looking forward them getting better. Growth and maturity. I’m just proud of the girls, and I wish Alton all the best, since I graduated from there.”
