Lady Lions fall in sectional semifinals

CARBONDALE -- A stellar season for the Carterville High School girls basketball team came to an end Tuesday night with a 53-34 loss to East St. Louis at the Carbondale 3A Sectional.
East St. Louis jumped out to an 11-1 lead with Rochelle Stanley scoring all of those points and the Flyerettes never looked back.
Stanley scored the last basket of the first quarter after Carterville's Abbey Crain hit a 3-pointer and East St. Louis had a 17-6 lead going into the second period.
That last basket gave Stanley 13 points in the opening eight minutes. She finished with a game-high 19.
Carterville outscored the athletic Flyerettes in the second quarter but still trailed 26-16 at halftime. The Lady Lions got points from Jeniah Thompson, Megan Barton, McKenzie Rogman and Crain in the period.
East St. Louis increased its lead in the third quarter as Mya Glanton pumped in nine of her 17 points in the frame. Thompson had eight for Carterville in that span but East St. Louis took a 41-24 lead into the fourth.
Thompson, a talented sophomore, had 12 points for the Lady Lions. Craig and Barton, also sophomores, had nine and eight, respectively.
Carterville's season finished at 25-6.
East St. Louis (17-11) advanced to face Breese Central in Thursday's championship game. Breese Central beat Salem, 57-15, in Tuesday's other semifinal contest.