Girls Basketball: Kays take down Thornton in return home; improve to 6-1 in conference play

KANKAKEE — After 10 straight games away from home over the last five weeks, the Kankakee girls basketball team finally set foot on their home court again on Monday.

The Kays hosted Thornton in a Southland Athletic Conference clash, and managed to continue their strong season against conference opponents. They grew an 11-10 lead after the first quarter into a 45-19 lead heading into the fourth, cruising from there to a 54-32 win.

Kankakee improved to 12-8 overall and 6-1 in conference play with the win. The Kays have now won two of their last three games after losing four of the previous five.

Defense had been something the Kays have been priding themselves on, and Monday’s game was the 12th time in 20 games they have held their opponent under 40 points. They have won 11 of those games.

Head coach Kurt Weigt said that the team has focused on that defensive edge to help put them in position to win games.

“We can hang our hat on being a good defensive team, and that’ll always give you a chance to win and be successful,” he said. “Any time you can get a conference win is always a feather in our cap, and especially you’ve got to protect your home court. We accomplished all of those things tonight.”

The defense settled in eventually on Monday, but the team did not come out as sharp as perhaps they would have liked. They allowed 10 points in the first quarter, which is hardly a backbreaking number, before responding by only allowing nine total points across the second and third quarters.

Weight said he was pleased with the Kays’ defense overall, particularly after they found their footing in the second quarter.

“I think our defensive energy was pretty good, I think we were flying around,” he said. “Early on we had a couple silly fouls in the first quarter, then we started to settle in with the tempo of the game. Then we separated ourselves there in the second quarter by being patient on offense and playing good, solid man-to-man defense.”

Senior guard TaLeah Turner and sophomore forward Ava Johnson carried the team offensively in the first half, combining to score 20 of the team’s 27 first-half points. Turner had 11 and Johnson had nine.

Things were a bit more balanced in the third quarter, which at 18 points was the team’s highest-scoring quarter in the game despite Turner and Johnson combining for six points. Malea Harrison led the team with five points in the third, KiAsia Wilson had three points and Kendyl Christon and Benkwasha Stroud had two points each.

Overall, Turner led the team with 15 points, thanks in part to shooting 8-of-11 from the free-throw line. Johnson was close behind with 13 points. Harrison scored eight points while Stroud and Wilson had seven points apiece.

That 10-game stretch away from home is now in the rearview mirror for Kankakee, and it was certainly a challenging stretch. Six of those games were against teams that currently have winning records, two were held in the state of Kentucky and three were at the State Farm Classic in Normal.

There are now 10 games left on the regular season schedule, four of which will be at home. Weigt said he believes the teams’ experience on the road against quality competition, in particular a one-point loss to Montini last Tuesday, can prime them for a strong finish.

“We were road warriors for sure, and we played some good competition along the way,” he said. “That prepares us for a game like tonight. We played a really good Montini team to a point at their place, and that showed me we’re as good as anybody when we come to play and do things the right way.

“I’m optimistic about how this thing is going to finish for us, but we’ve just got to continue to get better every single night. We can’t take any games off, or any plays off.”

STAT BOOK

Turner did a bulk of her scoring from the free-throw line, going 8-of-11 from the stripe to help her finish with a team-high 15 points. Johnson finished with 13 points. Harrison scored eight points, all in the second half, while Stroud and Wilson scored seven points apiece.

UP NEXT

The Kays will be on the road Jan. 16 to play Bloom in a Southland Conference clash between two of the conference’s top three teams. Both are 6-1 in conference play this season, as is Rich Township. The game will tip off at 7 p.m.

https://daily-journal.com/sports/girls-basketball-kays-take-down-thornton-in-return-home-improve-to-6-1-in-conference/article_ccf06534-d235-11ef-bcdb-a3f030d038a1.html