By Phil Knapper – Metro Independent Contributor
Collinsville looked primed to throw a monkey wrench into the Class 4A girls regional at Belleville East Tuesday night when it had top-seed Belleville West on the ropes. But Shallaya Fluker heated up in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 of her game-high 14 points, to allow the Lady Maroons to escape with a 35-34 win.
The game was nip-and-tuck over the final two minutes, with Collinsville having the last shot at the basket for a possible win.
Julie Scheiter / Photo by Roger Starkey
Aubreeny Brady gave the Kahoks a 24-21 lead on a steal and coast-to-coast layup as the fourth period began, but Fluker went on a personal 8-0 run to give West a 29-24 lead midway through the quarter.
“She’s a tough player,” said Collinsville coach Lori Billy of Fluker. “We were trying to stand in front of her and get her to jump into us for the charge, but it wasn’t called.”
Gabby Morgan answered the run with 1 of 2 at the stripe, and Brady scored to make it a 31-27 game. But West took a 33-29 lead on a put back from Jesheon Cooper with 1:08 to play. Cooper had a double-double on the night, scoring 12 points and pulling down 14 rebounds.
Brady answered with a drive at the 35 second mark, cutting the lead to 33-31, but two free throws from Fluker made it 35-31.
Morgan got loose in the lane, after a West turnover, and completed a three-point play to cut the Maroons lead to just 35-34.
A walk was called against West with 14.6 ticks left, to give Collinsville a shot at the win.
“We wanted to run off some screens and get a good shot,” Billy said. “We wanted Brady to go to the basket, but we lost our brains a little and didn’t get a shot off.”
Brady did get the ball, but was hemmed in and could not get a clean look as the game clock expired.
“It was a tough loss,” Billy said. “It broke my heart and it broke the team’s hearts.”
Belleville West took a 4-0 lead early, but Collinsville rallied to trail just 10-9 after one period and led 15-14 at the half on two Morgan free throws with less than a minute left.
The Kahoks took their largest lead of the game, 23-17, on a 3-pointer from Lexie Thompson and a Morgan hoop. Collinsville led 22-19 after three quarters.
Collinsville ends the season 11-16, while Belleville West will play for the regional title Thursday night.
Collinsville scorers were: Brady-13, Buettner-8, Morgan-8, Thompson-3, Smith-2
