Alton’s Ayonna Clanton (right) drives past Francis Howell’s Jane Thompson during the Alton Shootout on Jan. 16 at Alton High in Godfrey. Clanton’s 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left in overtime Tuesday gave the Redbirds an upset of top-seeded Hillsboro at the Hillsboro (Mo.) Tournament.
Alton girls basketball had worked through more than two months of practice without winning a game.
The Redbirds’ reward came Tuesday night.
Ayonna Clanton’s 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds remaining in overtime vaulted Alton to a 46-45 upset of the host Hillsboro Hawks at the 36th annual Hillsboro Tournament.
“The shot by Ayonna to get the win was great and I am so happy we could come away with the win,” Alton coach Bob Rickman said. “Playing the No. 1 seed, on their home floor, it was a great win.”
Hillsboro came in as the eight-team tourney’s top seed, but drops into the losers bracket with a 13-4 record. The eighth-seeded Redbirds advance to Friday’s semifinals with a 2-18 record. The victory snapped a 15-game losing streak for Alton, which had not won since beating Crossroads Prep 58-29 on Nov. 22 in the Alton Tourney.
Clanton’s 3-pointer was her fourth of the game and she finished with 18 points. Kenya Burnett scored 10 points and Alexia Rodgers had seven for the Redbirds.
Alton led 22-12 at halftime, but the Hawks battled back to force overtime. Carlie Sanders scored 22 points to lead Hillsboro.
“We had as much as a 15-point lead in the second half and then we just let it slip away,” Rickman said. “Everyone had a hand in that. We have to be able to stop a team making a comeback like better than were able to do.”
The Redbirds will play Freeburg (7-11) at 6 p.m. Friday. The fifth-seeded Midgets advanced by beating No. 4 Cape Girardeau Central. Just one of the top four seeds – No. 2 Ritenour – survived the first round at Hillsboro.
“This is an experience we have to learn from,” Rickman said. “The good news is we stay on the winners side of the bracket and play Freeburg on Friday for a chance to make the championship game.”
