Kankakee’s Ava Johnson hits a layup Monday night during the Kays’ victory over Thornridge at Kankakee High School.
Kankakee’s TaLeah Turner drives around a defender Monday night during the Kays’ victory over Thornridge at Kankakee High School.
Kankakee’s Ki’Asia Wilson drives to the lane Monday night during the Kays’ victory over Thornridge at Kankakee High School.
Kankakee’s Malea Harrison shoots a three-pointer Monday night during the Kays’ victory over Thornridge at Kankakee High School.
Kankakee’s Shania Johnson (11) and TaLeah Turner set a trap Monday night during the Kays’ victory over Thornridge at Kankakee High School.
Kankakee's Ava Johnson shoots a three-pointer Monday night during the Kays' victory over Thornridge at Kankakee High School.
Kankakee's Malea Harrison approaches the basket Monday night during the Kays' victory over Thornridge at Kankakee High School.
Kankakee's TaLeah Turner bring the ball up Monday night during the Kays' victory over Thornridge at Kankakee High School.
Kankakee's Lamaryah Smith drives around a defender Monday night during the Kays' victory over Thornridge at Kankakee High School.
Kankakee head coach Kurt Weigt watches a free throw Monday night during the Kays' victory over Thornridge at Kankakee High School.
Kankakee head coach Kurt Weigt communicates to his players Monday night during the Kays' victory over Thornridge at Kankakee High School.
KANKAKEE — The Kankakee girls basketball team opened up conference play in style on Monday night. The Kays hosted Southland Conference foe Thornridge and continued their trend of blowout wins over the Falcons, winning 72-17.
The Kays improved to 5-0 on the season with the win, with their first four victories resulting in a tournament title at the Beecher Fall Classic. The 55-point margin of victory was the largest for Kankakee since a 77-6 win, also over Thornridge, on March 8, 2021.
It took a few minutes for Kankakee to start humming offensively, but the defense was strong from the opening tip.
They outscored the Falcons 17-1 in the first quarter, holding them scoreless for just over six minutes, and then outscored them 23-4 in both the second and third quarters.
With the clock running and the benches eventually emptied in the fourth, Kankakee still held a 9-8 advantage in the period.
Head coach Kurt Weigt said he was happy with how the team competed throughout, even against an opponent that they still may have beaten without necessarily putting their best foot forward.
“I was pleased with our effort,” he said. “One of the goals in the locker room was to play against the game. The opponent is not always going to be up to what we’re used to, so you want to make sure you’re taking care of the things you can take care of.”
Standing out for the Kays on Monday was sophomore forward Ava Johnson.
A transfer from Bradley-Bourbonnais, Johnson has emerged as a top option for Kankakee and led the team with 25 points in the game, 20 of which came from in the paint. She also knocked one of the team’s two 3-pointers.
At 6-foot-2, Johnson said she was focusing on making the most of her height advantage and working hard to make sure she made most of her opportunities.
“Just running the floor [was important],” she said. “I had a size advantage, and I knew that, so I was just posting up hard, stretching the floor hard and finishing all my layups.”
Senior point guard TaLeah Turner finished second on the team with 19 points. She shot 7-of-9 from the free throw line with all of the attempts coming in the first quarter.
Turner has been a major contributor for the team since her freshman season, and now that she is one of the team’s three seniors, said she wants to grow as a leader for the team and continue to make a big impact on the court as well.
“I feel like I’ve got to be a bit of a leader because it’s my senior year, my last year,” she said. “I just want to show people who I am.”
Four of the team’s five wins this season have come by 21 or more points, with the exception being a 39-33 win over TF North in the championship game in Beecher.
While it has been smooth sailing for the Kays so far, Weigt said that there will be plenty of chances for the Kays to test themselves against tough competition throughout the season. And even in a blowout win like Monday’s, he said there are things that need to be shored up that can come back to bite Kankakee against stronger teams.
“I called the one timeout because we let the ball get driven from the top of the key all the way to the basket, and we’re just never going to allow that,” Weigt said. “So little things like that are what we want to make sure we’re focusing on as we progress. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, so we want to make sure we’re on the same page defensively first, and then offensively executing our plays.”
STAT BOOK
Johnson led the team with 25 points and Taylor had 19 despite both resting for most of the fourth quarter. Malea Harrison scored nine points and Ki’Asia Wilson added nine more off the bench.
UP NEXT
The Kays will host Lincoln-Way West on Wednesday and then hit the road to play Thornton on Thursday. Both games are scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
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