Edwardsville's Lori Blade leads team to Saturday's state championship

NORMAL – For Edwardsville High School girls’ basketball head coach Lori Blade, she has quite a lot to be grateful for.

With two Illinois State Championship titles under her belt with the Carrollton Hawks (2001 and 2002) and a second-place finish in the competition with the Tigers (2012), the remarkable coach and her team has the potential to bring home the Edwardsville girls’ basketball program’s first state championship title.

The concept of gaining Edwardsville its first state crown is humbling, even for someone who has visited the tournament eight times. 

“It’s all about them,” Blade said. “I try to put the girls in positions to be successful.

“We made adjustments throughout the night on offense to get those kids down to hit some shots from the baseline and it worked.”

The Tigers did hit the shots, and ultimately walked away with the victory over Montini with a score of 37-35 at the final buzzer. 

“They make me look good,” she said humorously. “That’s the good part —it’s my job to put them in the position to be successful and they did their job tonight.” 

Blade’s girls will face off against Geneva at 7:15 on Saturday night for a chance at the team’s first state championship title.

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