Southwestern entered their contest against East Alton-Wood River on Monday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. The Southwestern Piasa Birds fell just short of the East Alton-Wood River Oilers by a score of 44-42. The result was an unpleasant reminder to the Piasa Birds of the 41-27 loss they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in February.
Several Piasa Birds players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Gracie Darr, who went 8 for 9 en route to 21 points. The dominant performance also gave Darr a new career-high in field goal percentage (89%). Vivian Zurheide was another key player, going 6 for 15 en route to 14 points plus five rebounds and five blocks.
Even though they lost, Southwestern smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in three consecutive games.
East Alton-Wood River's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kaylynn Buttry, who went 6 for 15 en route to 17 points plus six rebounds and three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Jordan Ealey, who went 5 for 8 en route to 16 points plus five rebounds and two steals.
Southwestern's defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 3-2. As for East Alton-Wood River, the victory got them back to even at 3-3.
Southwestern has already played their next match, a 42-28 loss against Vandalia on the 5th. As for East Alton-Wood River, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next matchup, a 70-21 defeat against Columbia on the 5th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps