Paul Halfacre
BELLEVILLE -- O'Fallon girls basketball coach Nick Knolhoff just wanted a small run. Something, really anything, to kickstart the Panthers' offense Thursday against the host Lancers in the Class 4A Belleville East Regional title game.
Knolhoff was ecstatic with what his team gave him.
"I said that first three minutes of the second half is going to make or break this game," Knolhoff said. "I asked for a 6-0 run and they gave me a 15-0 run."
The Panthers built on that response to rally past and hold off Belleville East down the stretch for a 63-60 win and the program's sixth consecutive regional title.
O'Fallon earned its 18th consecutive win in the series, but East -- which stayed within 54-50 the last time the teams played Feb. 6 -- looked to be in good shape with a 39-25 halftime lead.
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"It's hard to beat a team three times, especially on their home court," Knolhoff said. "Kudos to my girls for bouncing back. It was an exciting game for everyone to see."
Haeli Tart led all scorers with 22 points while Josie Christopher added 19 points for the Panthers.
Hailey Gray, a freshman, and senior Taylor Smith scored 16 points each for the Lancers (20-11).
O'Fallon (24-9), the 2023 state champion, advanced to play either Alton (29-2) or Quincy (20-10) at 6 p.m. Tuesday in a Class 4A Alton Sectional semifinal.
"The girls buy into what I ask of them," Knolhoff said. "We have a culture there that we've created, and I hold them accountable on and off the court. Everyone knows their role. When the girls buy into the role and become great at that position and role, you find out that you have great teams."
The Panthers didn't change anything schematically against an aggressive defense used by Belleville East.
But shots that hit the back iron in the first half hit nothing but the net in the second.
"Second half, (coach) just said we have to pick it up," Tart said. "Work together as a team, gut it out and turn it around and we did that. They weren't going in then, but they definitely went in that second half and we needed that. We were going for a 6-0 run, but we (more than) doubled it."
O'Fallon used a flurry of 3-pointers, making five of their six attempts in the third quarter to take a 48-47 lead going into the final frame.
"It was in the scouting report -- it was in the back of our girls' mind," Belleville East coach Amanda Kemezys said. "They're a very talented team. When you have one shooter, it's hard. But they have two and three really good shooters and a driver to go with it, that's tough to guard."
Panthers sharpshooter Christopher said she was confident her team's shots would start falling in the second half.
"I was definitely frustrated, but I knew if I kept shooting, they'd fall in the second half," Christopher said.
Despite O'Fallon's onslaught of 3-pointers, the Lancers showed a fight beyond their age.
The Lancers, featuring four freshmen in the starting lineup, clawed back and took the lead with two minutes left in regulation.
"Our girls could have gotten down at any point," Kemezys said. "They just kept fighting back. They kept finding a way to put themselves in a position until the very end."
Tart gave the Panthers a 61-60 lead on a driving layup with 39 seconds left in regulation.
O'Fallon went 2-for-4 at the free throw line down the stretch and two 3-point attempts came up empty by the Lancers to secure the win.
"I knew we had an uphill battle," Knolhoff said. "I told the girls at halftime it's not their year. They're good, but don't let them take this one away from you. Let's get to the game we want to get to."
Kemezys was emotional when talking about the senior class that helped the Lancers to their first 20-win season since the 2018-19 season.
"The message to those seniors is that they stuck with it when we weren't winning 20 games," Kemezys said. "I'm so proud of them. That means so much to me as a coach and that's what you want to see. You want them to be successful like that, and to miss out on opportunities like this is tough. The success we have in the future is going to be because of those seniors."
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