Collinsville trailed 32-15 with less than five minutes to play in the third quarter Tuesday when East St. Louis’ Janesha Munson was whistled for a technical foul after a brief arm tugging match with Collinsville’s Julie Scheiter.

Andrea Frerker / Photo by Roger Starkey

From that point, the Lady Kahoks exploded on a 31-11 run to end the game, defeating the Flyers 46-43 in a Southwestern Conference matchup.

It was still a 14-point game (34-20) entering the fourth quarter. After a pair of Aubreeney Brady baskets and a Scheiter basket off a Brady feed, the Lady Kahoks had cut the deficit to single digits (34-26) for the first time since they trailed 10-2 in the first quarter.

The Flyers (5-3 SWC, 8-5) looked like they were going to reassert themselves after Dynesha Powell grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled as she converted the second-chance basket. Powell knocked down the ensuing free throw to stretch the lead to 11 with 5:54 remaining.

But the Lady Kahoks (3-6 SWC, 7-11) were not going to be stopped. A pair of Kassidy Smith buckets sandwiched a 3-point bank shot from Andrea Frerker, and the Kahoks were down four.

Collinsville Head Coach Lori Billy said her team started to believe in itself during the late-game burst.

“Their confidence just kind of picked up. They realized they were chipping away,” Billy said. “When we got within six, I think they thought, ‘OK, we’ve got a chance.'”

Tonisha Mayes missed the front-end of a one-and-one with her Flyers up 40-36 and less than two minutes left on the clock. When Lexie Thompson’s 3-pointer fell short on the next possession, it looked like Collinsville had failed to capitalize on the opportunity, but the Flyers were charged with a foul and Thompson awarded three free throws.

Thompson calmly drained all three free throws to draw her team to within a point with 1:52 remaining. It was the third consecutive game Thompson has provided late game heroics to help propel her team to victory. Her coach took note.

“She’s kind of been our superstar the last three games and I love it for her,” Billy said.

East St. Louis immediately turned the ball over. Brady then drove the baseline and willed a reverse layup into the bucket through the hands of a defender to give Collinsville a 41-40 lead with 1:43 remaining, its first lead of the game. Brady was fouled on the shot and completed the three-point play.

Two more Brady free throws made it 44-40 with under a minute to play and capped her nine-point quarter, which included several steals. The Flyers defense was geared to stop Brady, Billy said, but the junior guard responded when her team needed her.

“In the second half, she realized, ‘I’ve got to put the team on my shoulders and kind of carry them,'” Billy said. “When it’s game time she steps up.”

When the Flyers third consecutive field goal attempt to not draw iron bounced off the backboard with the Lady Kahoks clinging to a four-point lead with 40 seconds remaining, seldom used sophomore guard Hanna Liljegren dove into a crowd to tie up a Flyer and force a jump ball. It was the second loose ball she had corralled in the fourth quarter, to go along with an offensive rebound.

Listed at 5-foot-3, Liljegren may have needed a step ladder to reach that height, but Billy gave her and diminutive freshman Frerker – generously listed at 5-foot-2 –  fourth-quarter playing time because of their speed and defensive ability. “They’re tiny, but their quick,” Billy said.

Frerker made 2-4 free throws in the closing seconds to seal the 46-43 victory.  The loss dropped East St. Louis into third place in the conference. Collinsville is tied with O’Fallon, its opponent Thursday, for sixth.

East St. Louis flew out to a 10-0 lead to start the game, not allowing a Lady Kahoks’ point until Smith’s short field goal 4 minutes 40 seconds into the contest. The Flyers pushed their lead to 16-4 at the end of the first quarter.

Although Collinsville managed a more respectable 10 points in the second quarter, they did so with the benefit on only three field goals. The first half ended with the Lady Kahoks trailing 29-14.

The teams combined for 11 points and 11 fouls in a third quarter that was difficult to watch and gave no indication of the furious finish to follow. All five of Collinsville’s points in the quarter came at the free throw line.

The Collinsville scorers were: Brady-9, Smith-7, Frerker-7, Scheiter-5, Thompson-4, Buettner-4, Morgan-4, Mahan-4, Brombolich-2.

Collinsville returns to Vergil Fletcher Gym at 7:30 p.m. Thursday to play O’Fallon.

Prior to the varsity game, the junior varsity Lady Kahoks beat East St. Louis 56-31.

Collinsville JV scorers were: Liljegren-11, Fischer-10, Morgan-8, Kress-8, Frerker-6, Mahan-4, Giacoletto-4, Rukavina-3, Phinney-2