History has been made by a very young and talented girls basketball team at Belleville East High this week.
The Lancers (29-5) will be making their first ever appearance in the Final Four when they take the court to take on Nazareth Academy in the semifinals of the IHSA Class 4A state tournament in Normal, Illinois. Tip off is at 2:30 p.m. at Redbird Arena on the campus of Illinois State University.
Head coach Shardae King has guided her young team through a tough postseason slate to get her team in contention for a state championship. The journey started when Belleville East defeated Southwestern Conference foe O’Fallon to win the regional championship at Belleville West.
In the sectional semifinals, the Lancers crossed a huge hurdle when they upended Alton 45-40. The Redbirds had won the two regular season meetings, but the Lancers turned the tables in the sectionals. Belleville East went on to defeat Richwoods 58-48 in the sectional championship game on Richwoods’ home court.
On Monday, the Lancers punched their ticket to the Final Four with a 54-47 victory over Homewood-Flosmoor in the Class 4A Supersectionals at Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington.
The leader of the Lancers talented young squad is 5’8” sophomore guard Hailey Gray, who is one of the top prospects in the state of Illinois. She is also the daughter of Shardae King, the head coach. Gray is averaging 15 points a game along with three assists and three steals while shooting 45 percent from 3-point range. Gray scored 17 points in the victory over Homewood-Flosmoor in the Supersectionals.
Another sophomore who has come up big this season is 5’9” forward Ramiyah Young, who had 11 points and eight rebounds in the Supersectionals. She is averaging 12.6 points and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 55 percent from the field.
Sophomore guard Vanessa Stacy is a solid 3-point shooter as she hits 35 percent from long distance. She averages seven points a game. She hit two big 3-pointers on Monday night to get the Lancers going early.
Sophomore Denaya Bertelheim is a 5’10” forward who has good athleticism. She is averaging 8.9 points and six rebounds while blocking a team-high 42 shots. The Lancers also get good contributions from 5’10” junior forward Saudia Brock, 5’5” freshman guard DeAsia Willis and 5’6” junior guard Sophie Cooper.