Alton Marquette vs Breese Mater Dei: 5 key takeaways

Breese Mater Dei has had their share of trips to Alton this year. After winning the championship in the Alton tourney to start the year they made a return trip tonight to face Alton Marquette. The Lady Knights used a strong run to end the first quarter to jump out to a 17-5 lead. After the they never looked back in cruising to a 56-38 win.

• Is there anyone better than Kierra Winkeler in Southern Illinois? There might be, but she is a complete player. She can really play defense and is great at pushing the ball up the floor. Kierra shows athletic ability when she attacks the basket and can finish in a variety of ways. Winkeler scored her 1,000th point in her career tonight and isn’t done. For the season Kierra was averaging 19.7 points per game before tonight. She only got 10 in limited duty tonight, but she looks ready to finish her career on a strong note.
• Mater Dei can really defend so they can make your life tough. If you intend to beat them you better be prepared for a battle and be able to handle the pressure. Shannon Lampe is listed at 5’9 but with her long arms she plays at about 6ft on defense. She and Winkeler will make your life difficult by being in the passing lanes and forcing you into mistakes. If you do not take care of the ball they will beat you shooting layups all night long.
• The Lady Knights are very balanced. They came into the night with Winkeler averaging just short of 20 points and 3 others right at 10. Lampe, Abby Braundmeier and Claire Toennies all contribute around 10 per game. Tonight Braundmeier had 12 and was on fire from the mid range. The team passes well and kept finding her open and she did not miss. Toennies was strong under the basket and finished well. She had 6 points and Lampe had 10.
• Coach Dave Kohnen has another team that can make some noise come tourney time. They really push the ball well in transition and can defend. They have balanced scoring and some girls that can provide depth off the bench. The team plays well in the tight games you normally see in post season action. Their starting 5 are all experienced so they are prepared to make a run at Redbird arena.
• Coach Lee Green has a young team at Alton Marquette. They are off to a 4-2 start in what many would have considered a rebuilding year. It is likely no coincidence that they two losses come to experienced teams with senior leadership. The Explorers looked young tonight. Freshman guard Adrenna Snipes led the team with 12 points and continues to show outstanding potential in her game. This was a learning experience and stepping stone for Coach Green and his team. They can learn from this and continue to get better.

This was a matchup I was interested in seeing. Coach Kohnen has done his scouting and knew how he wanted to attack the Explorers. He tried to throw them off by playing a 1-2-2 zone to start the game. By mid 1st quarter he was back to man to man and took control of the game. Good Luck to both teams moving forward.