Trifecta! O’Fallon girls cap historic day for metro-east with third state title
The O’Fallon Panthers came through in the clutch Saturday.
O’Fallon outlasted Benet Academy 62-57 in two overtimes at CEFCU Arena, capturing the Class 4A girls state basketball championship.
The victory gave the metro-east three state basketball champions for the first time. Earlier Saturday, Okawville won the Class 1A title and Mater Dei won the Class 2A crown.
“I saw Okawville and Mater Dei do it earlier in the day, so I felt a little pressure,” Panthers coach Nick Knolhoff said. “I’m not sure how to put it in words, what it means to the south and the 618. It proves that we can play with the rest of the state. I’m so proud of the fight that we put up tonight. We had to really fight it out there at the end.”
The victory, which came on Knolhoff’s 39th birthday, marked the third time metro-east teams have won three state titles in one sport. In 2021, Althoff in Class 1A, Triad in Class 2A and O’Fallon in Class 3A finished first in girls soccer. In 2011, Alton Marquette in Class 1A, Triad in Glass 2A and Granite City in Class 3A all won girls soccer state championships.
Senior Shannon Dowell led the Panthers (34-4) with 25 points. Dowell hit a clutch 3-pointer out of the right corner to tie the game at 54 in the first overtime. She then clinched the triumph by swishing two free throws with 3.2 seconds left in the second OT.
“You obviously are going to feel some type of pressure,” Dowell said of closing the deal for the 618. “But it’s more fun than anything, especially when it’s a close game. Nobody wants to have a state championship blowout. It was really fun.
“It means everything, especially since the other two teams won. To be a part of it means everything. O’Fallon is a really good sports school.”
Senior Jailah Pelly added 16 points and seven rebounds for the Panthers, while junior D’Myjah Bolds and freshman Josie Christopher had nine points apiece.
“It’s a great feeling,” Pelly said. “There was never any doubt. I didn’t feel like there was any pressure. We all felt we could do it. We had to do it for (the 618).”
Knolhoff said he was more relaxed heading into the championship game than he had been at any other time during the postseason run.
“We wanted to get here, and we knew once we got here, we would play relaxed and just kind of have fun with it because we’ve never been here,” Knolhoff said. “I challenged them: ‘Don’t just be happy that you made it here. Now go ahead and make a statement. I think we made it.”
Benet Academy (25-8) had a chance to clinch the outcome in regulation, but the Redwings missed a layup that would have put them ahead 52-48 with 15 seconds to play.
Knolhoff remembered it vividly.
“It opened the door for us,” he said.
This story was originally published March 4, 2023 at 11:45 PM.