The Collinsville Lady Kahoks jumped out to an 11-2 lead Thursday night against Granite City and were never seriously threatened on their way to a 61-33 Southwestern Conference road victory.

Andrea Frerker drives for a layup / Photo by Roger Starkey

Collinsville (5-6 SWC, 10-11) racked up its sixth consecutive victory and swept its season series against the Lady Warriors by a combined 112-61 score. Granite City (1-9 SWC, 5-17) had a two-game win streak snapped. The two victories followed 15 consecutive defeats.

Collinsville had a nine-point lead (14-5) at the close of the first quarter, led by Kassidy Smith, who scored all six of her points on the night in the first frame. Catherine Jakich went on a personal 5-0 run to pull the Lady Warriors to within six with 3 minutes 14 seconds to go in the second quarter, before Collinsville finished the half on a 7-0 run.

Caitlyn Brombolich keyed the run with two 3-pointers. Andrea Frerker capped the rally with a steal and layup with two seconds left on the clock to give the Lady Kahoks a 28-14 halftime lead.

Brombolich scored nine of her season-high 11 points in the first half, all on 3-point baskets. After launching an air ball on her first attempt from beyond the arc, Brombolich made the next three. Collinsville Head Coach Lori Billy said the crowds’ heckling of Brombolich’s ill-fated initial attempt may have inspired her to catch fire.

“Caity is the kind of kid that, when she comes in and catches a spark, look out,” Billy said.

Granite City closed the gap to 32-22 with 1:29 to go in the third quarter before the Lady Kahoks scored the final seven points of the quarter. After Aubreeney Brady recorded her second steal for an easy layup of the game, Lexie Thompson drained a 3-pointer with less than a second left in the quarter to extend the CHS lead to 17. Julie Scheiter scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to cap the Lady Kahoks 12-0 run.

Brady’s 12 points led Collinsville, who had 11 players score. Jakich and Malorie Meador scored 13 each to lead Granite City.

Billy said the Lady Kahoks team that has won six in a row is a different group than the one that lost six in a row early in the year and stumbled to a 3-8 start. “As a team, we’re really starting to click right now,” Billy said.

The Collinsville scorers were: Brady-12, Brombolich-11, Thompson-7, Smith-6, Scheiter-5, Buettner-5, Giacoletto-5, Mahan-4, Morgan-2, Frerker-2, Burgess-2

The Lady Kahoks return home for a 2:30 contest Saturday against Highland.

The junior varsity Lady Kahoks piled on Granite City 52-14 prior to the varsity game. The JV team is now 10-5.

Junior varsity scorers were: Rukavina-14, Kress-8, Fischer-7, Burgess-6, Giacoletto-5, Mahan-3, Morgan-2, Akin-2, Phinney-2, Frerker-2, Liljegren-1