EDWARDSVILLE - Senior forward Alandyn Simmons joined the Edwardsville girls basketball team as a transfer from Lift For Life Academy in the Soulard neighborhood of St. Louis, and has made an immediate impact on the Tigers, scoring 23 points in the Tigers' first three games, all wins, 48-43 over Pleasant Plains, 42-29 over Quincy, and 53-38 over Springfield, as the Tigers have started the new season at an impressive 3-0.
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Simmons scored 11 points in the opener against the Cardinals, then scored six points each in the win over the Blue Devils and the Senators, and has also made an impact defensively, making some big plays in the clutch to help the Tigers go out to their undefeated start.
Simmons is a Spencer Homes Female Athlete of the Month for the Tigers.
As a junior playing for the Hawks last season, Simmons averaged 2.8 points and 3.1 rebounds-per-game, going along with 12 assists, 21 steals, and 13 blocked shots in helping Lift For Life to the Missouri Class 4 championship, defeating Park Hills Central in the final 73-57.
In an interview that followed the Pleasant Plains game on Nov. 22, Simmons felt good about her play and her teammate's play in the opener.
"Oh, I feel great," Simmons said. "Last year, I wasn't here, but we did not win against them. So, this year was a great year to come back. We did it as a team, so I'm very proud of us. The first game of the season, we had to do well."
She was very happy to get the opener out of the way, and was very happy with how her new teammates stuck together, and played hard to preserve the win.
"I think our whole team just persevered," Simmons said, "like, we had a lot of down moments, a lot of up moments. We never talked down on each other, we lifted each other up. I think that's what kept us in the game."
Preseason practice went well for the Tigers, and everyone was raring to go and play the first game.
"It was great," Simmons said. "it was a lot of conditioning, it was a lot of up-and-down, so I kind of got a feel ahead of time."
Simmons likes the Tigers' chances of having a good 2024-25 season, having had an 18-13 campaign the year before that ended with a 63-38 loss to Alton in the Collinsville Class 4A regional final.
"I think we're going to do great," Simmons said. "We're hoping for some signature wins - I won't say who - but we just need some big wins. I think we're going to do great. We're a great team, we've got to communicate, we're starting together,"
Simmons has some ambitious goals for both herself and the Tigers this season.
"My personal goal, I'm looking for double-doubles," Simmons said. "A lot of double-doubles. I'm also looking to learn how to get to know my team. Chemistry is important in basketball."
