“We needed this,” said Collinsville coach Lori Billy. “We were a lot more under control and patient with the offense. I thought this was really the first time in a while we’ve looked pretty good offensively. It feels good to get a win.”
Collinsville (6-8) finished second last year and plays at 7:30 p.m. Friday against the winner of Mount Vernon and Du Quoin while Marion plays the loser at 4:30 p.m. in the consolation bracket.
The tournament continues tonight with Massac County taking on Mascoutah at 6 p.m. with defending champion Carbondale playing Sparta at 7:30 p.m.
“Marion is a good team,” Billy said. “They play hard and you can tell they are working to get better.”
Collinsville took the lead 3-2 on the first of four 3-pointers by Katie McCarthy and never looked back. McCarthy led the Kahoks with 12 points followed by 10 points each by Aubreeney Brady, Karia Halde and Samantha Buettner.
After Alyson Gwaltney sank two free throws to pull Marion within three. Gwaltney was the game’s leading scorer with 16 points, including a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line and two 3-pointers.
“My kids played hard we were just over-matched tonight,” said Marion coach Chris Roberts. “We have trouble with teams that are big, but it was a good effort from my crew. We have to go home and have a good week of practice, so we can come back Friday to go for the consolation title.”
Leading 8-5 the Lady Kahoks went on a 13-2 run to take a 14-point lead with 1:12 left in the first quarter. Marion cut the lead to 10 by the end of the quarter on a free throw by Katie Comp and a Gwaltney 3-pointer with .2 seconds left.
Marion (4-14) cut the lead to nine on Gwaltney’s second from beyond the arc, but Collinsville went on a 15-7 run to take a 19-point lead at the half.
The Lady Kahoks extended their lead to 26 with 1:50 left in the third quarter and held their biggest lead 1:11 into the fourth quarter at 28.
Marion 11 6 9 10— 36
Collinsville 21 15 14 8— 58
MARION (36): A. Gwaltney 3 8-8 16, M. Edwards 2 1-2 6, S. Fletcher 2 0-0 4, K. Comp 1 2-4 4, D. Williams 1 0-0 2, D. Faust 0 2-2 2, H. Rushing 1-2 1, B. Pickens 0 1-2 1. TOTALS: 9 15-20 36.
COLLINSVILLE (58): K. McCarthy 4 0-0 12, A. Brady 4 2-4 10, K. Halde 5 0-0 10, S. Buettner 5 0-0 10, J. Scheiter 1 2-3 5, K. Smith 2 0-0 4, P. Giacolleto 1 0-0 3, B. Meyer 1 0-0 2, S. Sharos 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 24 4-7 58.
3-Pointers— Marion 3 (Gwaltney 2, Edwards 1). Collinsville 6 (McCarthy 4, Scheilter 1, Giacolleto 1). Team Fouls— Marion 4. Collinsville 14. Records— Marion is 4-14. Collinsville is 6-8.
