Poll results: Belleville East star guard Girls Player of the Week in southwest Illinois
Taylor Smith of Belleville East High School is the winner of this week’s Belleville News-Democrat Girls Player of the Week high school basketball poll, as selected by readers of bnd.com.
In recent action, Smith, a sophomore guard, scored 9 points against Collinsville and 10 points against Edwardville. Smith, who tallied 56% of the votes, is averaging 7.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.25 assists per game for the 3-6 Lancers.
Here were the other candidates for the week of Dec. 5-10:
Norah Gum, Waterloo High School, senior, F. Gum posted 25 points in a loss to Mascoutah and 17 points in a setback to Dunlap.
Karsen Jany, Columbia High School, senior, G. Jany posted 10 points against Wesclin, 18 points against Salem and 20 points against Valmeyer, all victories for the Eagles.
Alayna Kraus, Okawville High School, junior, shooting guard/PG. Kraus scored 10 points against Chester and 20 points against Edwardsville, both wins for the Rockets.
Sophia Loden, Mascoutah High School, senior, G/F. Loden scored 24 points in win against Jerseyville and 31 points in a win vs Waterloo.
Natalie Peterson, Freeburg High School, senior, G/F. Peterson averaged 21 points and 11.25 rebounds in a 4-game stretch against Triad, Roxana, Mascoutah and Mater Dei, helping the Midgets to a 3-1 mark.
Jarius Powers, Alton High School, sophomore, F. Powers notched 14 points in a victory against East St. Louis and 17 points in a victory against O’Fallon.
- Grace Wilke, Highland High School, senior, G. Wilke scored 21 points in a victory against Belleville West and 18 more points in a triumph against Jerseyville. Over the past week, Wilke averaged 17 points, 5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while hitting 43% of her 3-point shots.
The poll ended at 10 a.m. Friday.
To be clear, this poll is not scientific. In fact, we invite you to vote as many times as you want. It’s all for fun, BND readers.
The next poll will appear on the BND’s website — www.bnd.com — at 5 a.m. Wednesday. Please email nominations to gvartanian@bnd.com.
