What is the best way to celebrate an East Peoria girls basketball win over Morton?

Shopping, of course.

With a promise by Raider head coach Pete McGinnes of a shopping trip to Union Station in St. Louis if East Peoria beat the Potters Tuesday, the girls delivered a spectacular performance.

A 61-52 Raider victory on the road ended a 15-game slide against Morton. It also was the first time since McGinnes came to East Peoria for the 2003-04 season that his team beat the Potters.

Before this breakthrough, the last Raider win over Morton, 59-45 in the Class AA Woodruff Regional semifinals, was Feb. 17, 2003, when the squad was coached by Kristen D'Alfonso and all-time leading scorer Betsy Glover was the East Peoria floor leader in an 18-win season. It completed a three-game season sweep of the Potters.

Emilee Brown was outstanding for the Raiders on this night with a team-high 19 points. She consistently beat the Morton defense to the basket and hit a couple clutch three-pointers. Her steal in the final 35 seconds clinched the win.

Kelsey Shoemake of East Peoria added a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

The Raiders shot an incredible 13-of-16 (.813) from the field in the second half to outscore the defending Mid-Illini Conference champion Potters 38-28.

See the next edition of the East Peoria Times-Courier and return to the Web site for more details of the game.