Poll results: Granite City star guard Player of the Week in southwestern Illinois

Kaylyn Wiley of Granite City High School is the winner of this week’s Belleville News-Democrat Boys Player of the Week high school basketball poll, as selected by readers of bnd.com.

In recent action, Wiley, a senior guard, notched 19 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block in a loss to Alton; 25 points, 8 steals, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block in a loss to Gateway Legacy; and 15 points, 4 steals, 4 rebounds and 1 assist in a loss to Edwardsville. Wiley also is closing in on 1,000 for her career.

Overall, Wiley, who secured 53% of the votes, entered weekend action averaging 13.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.42 steals per game.

Here were the other candidates from the week of Jan. 30-Feb. 3:

• Laila Blakeny, Alton High School, senior, G. Blakeny posted 14 points in a 76-24 win over Belleville West.
• Shannon Dowell, O’Fallon High School, senior, G. Dowell posted 30 points in a 73-48 victory over East St. Louis, 28 points in a 66-26 win against Belleville East and 17 points in a 41-40 win against Cardinal Ritter at the Bank of O’Fallon Shootout.
• Norah Gum, Waterloo High School, senior, F. Gum posted 16 points and 13 rebounds in a 47-28 victory over Civic Memorial.
• Alayna Kraus, Okawville High School, junior, G. Kraus scored 37 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in a 60-50 win against Mater Dei.
• Sophia Loden, Mascoutah High School, senior, F. Loden posted 21 points and 16 rebounds in a 55-50 win against Althoff and 23 points and 15 rebounds in a 68-46 victory over Jerseyville.
• Taylor Trame, Breese Central High School, freshman, F. Trame scored 11 points in a 42-32 win against Columbia.
• Grace Wilke, Highland High School, senior, F. Wilke posted 24 points in a 63-38 win over Jerseyville and 8 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals in a 54-33 win against Triad.

The poll ended at 8 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.

Previous poll winners: Taylor Smith of Belleville East High School; Cole Stuart of Freeburg High School; Dylan Murphy of Columbia High School; Clareece Davis of Althoff Catholic High School; the Freeburg-Columbia Holiday Tournament; Jordan Lewis of Althoff Catholic High School; Karsen Jany of Columbia High School; David Marshall Jr. of Belleville West High School; Marshall Jr.; Addi Dilley of Red Bud High School; Chase Lewis of Breese Central High School; Sophia Loden of Mascoutah High School; Loden; and Lane Otten of Freeburg High School.

This story was originally published February 13, 2023 at 7:00 AM.