Freshman Ducey Provides Big Spark For Alton Girls, Is An Auto Butler Female Athlete Of Month

COLLINSVILLE - Alton High girls basketball freshman Madeleine Ducey has provided a big spark for the Redbirds this season, often coming off the bench to score key points or help her teammates out in any way that she can.

In the IHSA Class 4A regional at Collinsville this past week, Ducey scored a total of 15 points - nine against Granite City in Alton's 83-15 win over the Warriors on Feb. 12, then came back in the final on Feb. 16 to score six points in the Redbirds' 63-38 win over Edwardsville to advance to the Normal Community West sectional this coming week.

Ducey had contributed well to the team, averaging three points and 1.1 rebounds-per-game, adding on six assists and 10 steals, as Alton is currently 30-2 going into the sectional. She is an Auto Butler Female Athlete of the Month for the Redbirds.

In a postgame interview that followed the win over the Tigers in the regional final, Ducey was very pleased with how things went in the game.

"I'm feeling pretty good, honestly," Ducey said. "I feel like we did really good in all this. like practice and stuff. It's really worth it."

The Redbirds have a goal of going all the way to win the IHSA state championship, and the current mantra is one game at a time. Still the regional title is a good first step towards the goal.

"We've been working so hard," Ducey said, "and I think we really deserve it, like all of it."

Ducey sees her role on the team as one of being there when her teammates need her.

"Honestly, I feel like my role is, like, to be there," Ducey said, "and if anyone needs help, just like, to back it up and stuff."

The Redbirds have now won at least 30 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history. It's a great testament to how far the program has come in such a short time.

"Yeah, I know," Ducey said with a smile. "That's crazy. All these wins, we deserve it, and we've worked so hard."

To reach their goal of the Class 4A championship, the Redbirds are going to have to get by the defending champions, O'Fallon, in the sectional semifinal game on Feb. 20 at Belleville West. It's a blockbuster game, and one that Ducey is looking forward to playing in. She also has some good feelings about facing the Panthers.

"Yeah, we're going to take it home," Ducey said very confidently. "We're going to do really good, I have a good feeling about this."

The Panthers are the defending champions until they lose, and will be difficult to dethrone. Ducey knows the kind of effort that the Redbirds will need to take the win and move on to the Sweet Sixteen.

"It's going to take a lot of effort," Ducey said. "We're going to have to be locked in, and it's going to be a good game. I'm very excited."

Again, congrats to Ducey on her recognition as an Auto Butler Female Athlete of the Month for Alton High.

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