The Collinsville High School girls basketball team started this season like last, with two wins in the Nashville Tournament, but the third game was a different story.
The Lady Kahoks (3-0) held a slim lead Friday night going into the fourth quarter and hung on to beat host Nashville, Ill. 48-45. Last season Collinsville was outscored 14-2 in the final stanza by Nashville, to lose by two points.
Earlier Friday, Collinsville dominated Wesclin for a 55-35 victory. The pair of victories put Collinsville in the championship game at 8 p.m. Saturday in Nashville, Ill. against Althoff.
Sophomore Kaitlyn Fischer lead the Kahoks with 32 points on the day, scoring 16 each against Wesclin and Nashville. Collinsville Head Coach Lori Billy said Fischer began playing with the varsity over the summer and has “caught fire” in tournament.
Collinsville led Wesclin by two points at the end of the first quarter before pulling away for the 20-point victory. Playing at 11:30 a.m. in the first of two games Friday, the big win allowed Billy to empty her bench and keep the team fresh for the showcase matchup against Nashville. A total of 14 Kahoks played against Wesclin, with nine making it into the scoring column.
Friday night, Nashville lead the Lady Kahoks 11-8 after the first quarter and held Collinsville leading scorer Aubreeny Brady scoreless in the first half. Brady scored 18 against Mt. Vernon Tuesday and 19 against Wesclin Friday morning, before managing just three against Nashville.
The victory over Nashville was another team scoring effort. For the second consecutive game, nine Lady Kahoks scored, with Fischer the only player in double figures. Kassidy Smith dropped in two big buckets in the fourth quarter and Samantha Buettner scored all five of her points in the decisive final stanza.
Kahok scorers against Wesclin: Brady – 19, Mahan – 2, Fischer – 16, Smith – 2, Buettner – 8, Morgan – 2, Kellison – 2, Frerker – 2, Ashmann – 2, Schuessler – 2
Kahok scorers against Nashville: Brady – 3, Mahan – 4, Fischer – 16, Smith – 8, Buettner – 5, Kellison – 2, Frerker – 2, Knutson – 2, Mitchell – 6.
