Gray paces late run to break Belleville East girls’ 10-year regional drought
During the 2025-26 girls basketball season, the Belleville East Lancers have shown versatility in the way they can beat opposing teams.
O’Fallon was the latest to try and slow down the quick and talented Lancers. That tactic worked for about 16 minutes, but East settled in offensively in the second half and used a 7-4 run over the final five minutes to beat O’Fallon 37-32 for the Class 4A regional championship Thursday night at Belleville West High School.
Belleville East (26-5), which won a regional championship for the first time in 10 years, advances to face the winner of Friday’s Edwardsville regional championship in a Class 4A sectional semifinal, which will be held next Tuesday at 6 p.m. at either Belleville West or Collinsville.
Getting past O’Fallon for the third time this season and moving on in the postseason brought great joy for East sophomore guard Hailey Gray and her teammates.
“It feels great, I’m glad we can break that (10-year) streak, I just wanna bring my team with me ad we don’t want to lose again,” Gray said.
O’Fallon (22-10) came out looking to slow the game down with a North Carolina four-corners spread offense and try to get some easy buckets.
Shots were tough to come by in the first half as the defenses locked in and the teams battled to a 15-15 draw at the half.
Belleville East coach Shardae King praised her young team’s strong early focus.
“Well, we knew that was going to be their game today and we were prepared for them planning to stall a lot,” King said. “They showed a lot of maturity and didn’t come off their game and I’m very proud of them.”
East got its offense going in the third quarter as Gray and Vanessa Stacy knocked down shots, pushing the Lancers to a 28-24 lead as the third quarter closed.
“We wanted to play at our own tempo and not let the other team affect ours, so we run our plays and it was just us really communicating and with me leading the team, I think we really picked up our pace and got our energy back.”
Gray, who is the heartbeat of the Lancers, led the way with 18 points. Ramiyah Young added 10.
“She’s a dog, she wants to win, so I know in game’s like this she’s gonna give me everything she’s got,” King said.
O’Fallon pulled within 30-27 on Quin Zerjal’s three-ball with 5:02 left.
East responded with a 7-4 surge capped by a DAsia Wilson free throw as the Panthers could not close the gap.
It was a tough end to the season for O’Fallon seniors Josie Christopher and Zerjal and the Panthers.
“We just kind of got tired at the end and they went on a little run and I’m super proud of the girls and the effort they gave tonight,” Panthers coach Nick Knolhoff said.
Christopher, who led the Panthers with 11 points, moved to second all time in scoring in program history in her final game at O’Fallon.