Southern Illinois Top Duos and Trios Round 1

In this article we take a look at some of the top 2-3 person combinations that led their team to prosperous seasons. Some of the players may be scorers and some may be defenders, point guards or and rebounders. <ol> <li>Edwardsvillle-- [player_tooltip player_id="78769" first="Sydney" last="Harris"] , [player_tooltip player_id="124869" first="Elle" last="Evans"] and [player_tooltip player_id="124890" first="Macy" last="Silvey"]. This outstanding trio of 2022 players led the Lady Tigers to the SWC tourney title. Harris was the leading scorer and go to option but she could not have done this without her long time partners in crime. The 3 ladies had a highly successful run through IESA Middle school events for Liberty Middle school, bringing home championship trophies as 7th and 8th graders. Now, they are all high level prospects with sights on this game paying for their college education. Harris led the team with 19.8 points per game, Silvey was at 11.4 and Evans at 11.1. Harris led the team in rebounds, Silvey in assists and Evans in steals. Whenever the team needed a key play it was most likely going to come from one of these 3 players. Silvey and Evans took on the task of being primary ball handlers and Harris made big steps in being the rock that the team relied upon. All three showed a level of leadership and consistent play that a team looking to go far will need. This group will be back next year with hopes of an opportunity to make a run to state.</li> <li>O’Fallon-- [player_tooltip player_id="123579" first="Amelia" last="Bell"] , [player_tooltip player_id="148153" first="Shannon" last="Dowell"] and Aubrey Mister. This trio had an excellent year with only two losses to Edwardsville on the negative side of the ledger. Bell stepped up her game as a senior and really showed what Mississippi College is getting when they signed her. She averaged 15.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game while hitting 55% of her field goals and 83% of her free throws. Dowell made a huge jump from her freshman to sophomore campaign and at times looked like she just could not be stopped. Her long and athletic build lends itself well to being able to run the floor and finish in the paint. Dowell averaged 14.7 points per game along with 6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. Mister had a big senior season as she prepares to move on to a college soccer career. She has always been a defensive stopper but her scoring jumped up from 5 per game to almost 9 and her shooting percentage jumped up 7% points from last year. In addition with graduation taking away a 3 year starter at point guard, Aubrey became one of the primary ball handlers.</li> <li>Civic Memorial-- [player_tooltip player_id="123609" first="Tori" last="Standefer"] and [player_tooltip player_id="160144" first="Claire" last="Christeson"] As the Lady Eagles made the transition to new Coach Mike Arbuthnot these two were the most consistent players that led the team to a one loss season which came at the hands of Edwardsville. Standefer made a huge jump in production to cap off her high school career. She was a consistent scorer that averaged 15.2 points per game including an outstanding 85% from the free throw line while also dishing out 4.5 assists per game. Standefer has always been considered an excellent defensive player and she showed that with 4.2 steals per game. Christeson continues to show a high level of potential as she improves her game year over year. She is long and athletic which allows her to be an impact player on the defensive end. She averaged 3.5 steals per game along with 6.4 rebounds. The biggest area of improvement is in her offensive game where she average 10.1 points per game. Christeson showed the ability to hit the three if left open and improved her scoring in the paint. She will be back for a senior season to show her continued growth.</li> <li>Decatur MacArthur-- [player_tooltip player_id="193909" first="Taya" last="Davis"] and [player_tooltip player_id="158287" first="Quincenia" last="Jackson"]. Thus senior duo led MacArthur to the CS8 conference tourney title by avenging their only loss, to SHG. Both have been a huge part of the success of this team over the past 3 years. Davis is a very fast point guard that averaged 14.8 points per game and 6 assists.  She is a very unselfish player that can use her handles and an explosive first step to get into the lane and collapse a defense. Jackson is a 4/5 that does a very good job of finding space in the lane to create passing angles for her point guard. She does a very good of finishing around the rim as is shown by her 69% field goal percentage. Jackson is also an excellent rebounder on both ends of the floor. She averaged 9.9 boards per game, including 3.7 on the offensive end.</li> <li>Sacred Heart Griffin-- [player_tooltip player_id="194093" first="Sofie" last="Lowis"] and [player_tooltip player_id="194091" first="Addison" last="Scarlette"]. This senior duo led SHG to a regular season championship in the CS8 as they went undefeated. They suffered their only loss of the season in the conference tourney title game to Decatur MacArthur to finish  16-1. Lowis, a SIUE signee was the leader of the team and had a big senior season. She averaged 17.8 points per game while shooting 37% from behind the arc and 57% from 2-point range. Lowis was also outstanding on defense where she can use her anticipation to get her hands on many passes. She led the team in steals at 3 per game. Scarlette uses her long and athletic frame to affect the game on both ends of the floor. She was the only other player averaging in double figures at 11 per game. Scarlette made 49.7% of her shots including almost 58% from the two point range. She averaged 2 steals and 4.5 rebounds per game.</li> <li>Tri-County--- [player_tooltip player_id="123588" first="Tayler" last="Barry"] and [player_tooltip player_id="124861" first="Bella" last="Dudley"] This duo continued to be the driving forces that led 1A power, Tri-County, to another good season. They have become a regular at the state tourney this last two seasons after finishing 4th and then 3rd. Barry had a very good finish to her career in this shortened season by averaging 22 points per game and 6 steals per game. This quick and shifty guard can defend and get in and out of tight spots with the ball in her hands. She is best at break neck speed and is fun to watch. Dudley had another nice season for her junior campaign. Over the past two years she has shown herself to be a powerful wing player that can score in the paint and the mid-range with some of the best. She averaged 14.4 per game this year while shooting 43% from behind the arc. The shooting from behind the arc has been the most improved part of Dudley's game and makes the rest of her moves harder to stop when the defense knows she is a threat from deep.</li> </ol> &nbsp; This is the first article in this series. If anyone has input on other duos/trios that should be mentioned in Southern/Central Illinois, please pass the info on to me so I can include them in the next version. &nbsp;