Kyle Williams

“It's one of those things, the randomness of the game,” interim coach Anders Sorensen said. “I thought [Saturday] we played better and didn't get the result, and today we kind of did bend a little bit, but we never broke. We didn't play our best game but found a way to win.”

Lyons comes at top in the first Super 25 rankings for girls basketball. The Lions have been one of the most impressive teams in the area to start the season. Lyons (11-0) has two stars in Emma O'Brien and Nora Ezike.

“We talk about it in practice all the time, about those second chances and just giving 100% effort at all times,” said Missouri commit Nikki Kerstein, who finished with 22 points and seven rebounds. “We were able to do those things and give ourselves second-chance opportunities that were big for us and impacted the game in a huge way.”

The top three remain the same while Batavia rises.

After I was hired by the Sun-Times and Report for America last year, I quickly discovered how many incredible stories there are to tell about athletes — including about the many talented high school girls basketball players — who are not covered enough in the area.

“This year is to prove to teams that we're a contending team this year,” said guard Corrine Reed, who scored 20 points and grabbed four rebounds. “We got Bennett on Thursday, so if we can prove something in that game, whether we win or lose, I think it's something for us to prove every game we come out here.”

“We had a chip on our shoulder, so we were ready to win this game,” junior guard Layne Nordstrom said.

Benet tops Super 25 after winning Montini Christmas Tournament. Nora Ezike made her stamp as the best player in the area this week with an

“This is what we came up here for,” Alton coach Desera Howard said. “You don't want a boring game. The crowd was packed. That's a really good team. . . . Neither team wanted to quit or give up, and that's what you want to be a part of.”

Horton-Tucker, who played high school ball at Simeon, has lived many lives in his NBA career.