The Mater Dei Knights entered their tilt with the Belleville East Lancers with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. Mater Dei put the hurt on the Lancers with a sharp 61-38 win on Monday. Given Mater Dei's advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 21st, while the Lancers are ranked 295th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Alyssa Koerkenmeier continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 22 points along with eight rebounds and two steals. Another player making a difference was Lily Butler, who scored ten points along with seven rebounds and four steals.
Mater Dei pushed their record up to 22-6 with that win, which was their ninth straight on the road dating back to last season. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 51.2 points per game. As for Belleville East, they have not been sharp recently as the team's lost seven of their last nine matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-17 record this season.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Mater Dei will square off against the Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Pinckneyville is coming into the contest on a three-game losing streak. As for Belleville East, they won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against the Redbirds at 7:30 p.m. on February 6th. Alton and the Lancers are at an even 5-5 over their past ten head-to-heads.
