Alton blitzes QHS girls with 22-point run in first half, wins first regional title since 1985

ALTON, Ill. — It didn’t take long for the Alton girls basketball team’s offense to catch fire. 

The top-seeded Redbirds hit five three-pointers in the first half in a 58-31 victory over fourth-seeded Quincy High School in the Class 4A Alton Regional championship game on Thursday. 

“We knew coming in how good they were,” Blue Devils coach Brad Dance said. “It’s one of those things that when we had the opportunities early, that we had to take advantage of it. Tip your hat to Alton. They’re a good team. They got some really good scorers. They’ve got good strength and can control the boards.”

The regional title is the sixth in Alton’s history but the first since 1985.

“This feels excellent,” Alton coach Deserea Howard said. “It’s something we’ve been talking about for weeks, so it was nice to finally get to today and then solidify that deal.”

“It’s amazing,” Alton guard Laila Blakeny added. “We’ve been making history since the beginning of the season. Just to keep doing it every single day is really a blessing.”

The Redbirds (31-1) advance to the Class 4A O’Fallon Sectional, where they’ll play O’Fallon (29-4) at 6 p.m. Tuesday in a semifinal. Alton’s lone loss this season came to O’Fallon on Jan. 26.

The Redbirds didn’t wait to show their No. 3 state ranking on Thursday. 

After a post score by Quincy’s Taylor Fohey on the game’s first possession, Alton went on a 22-0 run that stretched into the second quarter. 

“We knew Quincy was going to play tough ,and we didn’t want to put ourselves in a situation where we would be playing down to the wire,” Howard said.

The run featured 12 first-quarter points by Blakeny. She led Alton with 19 points, which included three 3-pointers. Kiyoko Proctor added 11 points, while Jarius Powers and Alyssa Lewis both scored nine points. Lewis also made three three-pointers. 

Despite being sick and having missed practice on Wednesday, Fohey led the Blue Devils with a game-high 20 points. She scored 14 of Quincy’s first 18 points, which included 10 points in the third quarter.

“She’s one of the best post players around,” Dance said. “She does a great job. She did a heck of a job for us tonight. I’m glad I have another year with her.”

A jump shot by Fohey early in the second quarter gave Quincy its first field goal in almost 10 minutes of game time as Alton led 22-4. 

Alton forced Quincy to miss 13 of 16 shots from the field and commit 12 turnovers in the first half, which ended with the Redbirds holding a commanding 34-8 lead.

For the game, Quincy shot 28 percent (12 of 43) from the field and committed 14 turnovers. Alton shot 54 percent (23 of 43) from the field and committed seven turnovers. 

Fohey brought life into the Blue Devils offense in the third quarter, scoring 10 of Quincy’s 12 points. However, the Blue Devils still trailed 46-20 entering the fourth quarter.