Streaks Over Alleman

Streaks beat Alleman at Alleman.

From the Argus....

ROCK ISLAND — With one shot — and it was one her coach really didn't want her to take — Casey Williams corralled the tag of the unlikely hero for Galesburg in the Silver Streaks' 53-49 Western Big 6 Conference girls' basketball win over the Alleman Pioneers on Thursday night at Don Morris Gym.

Up until she drained a 3-point shot with 1:30 left in the game that gave the Streaks a critical four-point lead at 51-47, Williams, a 5-foot-8 junior, had totaled zero points and had taken three shots, two of those behind the arc.

"At that point of the game (clinging to a one-point lead), that's not the shot we wanted; we are more of an inside-oriented team, and we wanted the ball inside," said Galesburg coach Evan Massey. "That was not the design, but we'll take it.

"But, I think the way she plays, Casey deserves a little bit of latitude."

Williams, who averages 5.3 points per game, was wide open for the shot.

"I know coach doesn't like me to take many 3s," said Williams, who was 3-of-24 beyond the arc in conference games before that icing the Streaks needed. "I knew that if I made it, I'd stay in the game, so there was no question I was going to make it."

For good measure, Williams came up with a steal on Alleman's next possession. She was fouled and missed the bonus, but it kept Alleman from getting its next basket until there were six seconds left.

Galesburg freshman Raina Gully hit two free throws with 4.5 seconds left for the clinching points.

Alleman coach Jay Hatch sided with Williams on her choice to take that late 3.

"She was wide open. Why wouldn't you take that shot?" he said.

Hatch looked at the bigger picture of play throughout as more of a reason as to how Galesburg moved to 13-8, 2-4 in the WB6 and his Pioneers, who had won six of their last seven, fell to 10-11, 3-3.

"They outplayed us; they outcoached us," said Hatch. "It's disappointing because I thought we would be better tonight. But we didn't do what we needed to do offensively and defensively. That's not the players' fault, that's the coach's fault. Coach Massey much better prepared his team."

While Williams, who is the great niece of Doug Collins, the former Chicago Bulls coach and current ESPN analyst (thus the reason she wears uniform No. 20 as he did) had that crucial 3-pointer, the Streaks had players with much bigger numbers get them to that point.

From the outside, Haley Kelso had 20 points on the strength of 6-of-7 3s in the second and third quarters. On the inside, Sabrina Clay had a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Shayli Florine had seven of her nine points in the fourth quarter.

Alleman finished with three in double figures — guards Izzy Anderson and Anna Wetherell with 16 and 13 points, respectively, and center Erin Morrisey with 10.