O'FALLON - For Edwardsville's senior point guard Que Love, the first shot was a great one, but it was her last shot that counted the most.
Love's first basket of Tuesday night's Southwestern Conference game against O'Fallon was a three-pointer that gave her 1,001 points for her career, becoming the 19th player in the history of the Tigers' girls program to break the 1,000-point barrier, but it was another three, this from the corner with 1:46 left in overtime, that put Edwardsville up for good in a 68-65 overtime win over the Panthers at the Panther Dome.
And it was maybe the biggest win of the season, as the Tigers wrapped up their 11th consecutive conference championship with one game remaining, the regular-season finale at Alton on Thursday night.
Love, is currently 19th on the all-time scoring list, but could move up considerably as the Tigers open up their IHSA Class 4A playoff journey in the regionals next week. She's currently averaging 11 points-per-game, along with 2.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists-per-game. She is shooting 71.7 percent from behind the three-point arc, and 97.1 percent from the free-throw line.
Love, who before the season started signed a letter-of-intent to play at SIU-Carbondale next season, is a two-year starter for the Tigers at point guard, and was also nominated to play in the McDonald's All-American Game later this spring at Toyota Center in Houston. She has won all-state honors, and is expected to be one of the key players as the Tigers begin their state tournament campaign.
Along with forwards Sydney Harris and Maria Smith, to go along with Elle Evans and Katelynne Roberts in the starting lineup, and key bench players such Kylie Burg, Macy Silvey and Ariana Bennett, the Tigers have one of the strongest teams in the St. Louis area, and are currently 24-1 on the season, and are currently ranked second in the Illinois Associated Press Class 4A poll.
Look for Que Love to be one of the Tigers' leaders and key players as the state tournament series begins.
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