After leading Reed-Custer in scoring as a sophomore last season, guard Alyssa Wollenzien had taken her game to another level her junior season.

She went into Monday’s road Illinois Central Eight Conference clash with Coal City averaging 18.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.1 steals per game, leading the team in all three categories.

She bumped those averages up a bit Monday with 23 points, eight rebounds and seven steals to lead the Comets (9-8, 2-5 ICE) to a 50-43 win over the Coalers (6-13, 3-4).

On pace to surpass 1,000 career points by the end of the regular season, Wollenzien said she feels her game has grown a lot over her two and a half seasons of varsity basketball.

“I’m feeling pretty good, and I’m feeling confident,” she said. “I’ve been driving in more, shooting more, my form has gotten better. So just improving is what makes me happy.”

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Girls Basketball: Coal City vs. Reed-Custer Reed-Custer's Alyssa Wollenzien makes a drive into the lane during the Comets' 50-43 victory over Coal City on Monday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Tiffany Blanchette)

While her stats have risen across the board, steals is perhaps where Wollenzien has made the biggest jump.

Her seven steals Monday gave her 88 on the season, tying her total from last season in 14 fewer games. She averaged 2.8 steals per game last season, ranking second on the team.

“It’s just having quick hands,” she said. “You just have to be ready, read the pass, watch the ball at all times and be ready with your hands.”

Wollenzien’s active hands at the top of the Comet defense allowed her to grab plenty of steals of her own against the Coalers, while a handful of additional deflections helped her teammates pick up a steal or generally disrupted a Coaler offense that turned the ball over 15 times.

The Coalers started the game on a 7-0 run Monday, but the Comets came back to take an 11-9 lead, the first of five lead changes in the late first and early second quarter.

The last lead change put Reed-Custer up 18-17, and although Coal City would fight back to tie things at 22-22 later in the second quarter and then 28-28 early in the third, the Comets would not surrender their lead.

The win was a welcome one for a Reed-Custer team looking to bounce back from a heartbreaking 47-45 loss in the final seconds against Lisle last week.

Junior Harlie Liebermann, who had 10 points and 14 rebounds, said everyone one the roster played a role in getting back into the win column.

“It felt great,” she said. “It’s our whole team, our bench, and the energy from our bench carries over to the team. Everyone chips in. Even if our whole team doesn’t play, it’s everyone (contributing), even at practice getting ready for this.”

With a 34-24 win over the Coalers under their belts from the Reed-Custer Comet Classic back in the opening week of the season, head coach Shelby Zwolinski said she was happy with how she saw the team prepare for what they knew would be another competitive game.

“It really started off last Thursday with our loss to Lisle,” she said. “It was a heartbreaker, tied with three seconds left and it just didn’t end like we wanted it to. ...

“We contended really hard with Coal City back in November, and we knew it was going to be a contest again. The girls played hard and did the job that needed to be done.”

Kamryn Wilkey added eight points and four steals for the Comets, while Morgan Toler had five points and six rebounds.

Laura Christopher led Coal City with 10 points. Riley Walker and Kyla Stark added eight points apiece, while Sydney Larson had six points and two assists.

While the turnover differential made things tough on the Coalers, struggles from the free-throw line also came back to bite them.

Reed-Custer shot just 12 of 21 from the line, but the Coalers were unable to take advantage. They shot just 4 of 17 from the line, making eight fewer free throws than the Comets in a seven-point loss.

“We were settling for outside shots a lot, and we weren’t getting to the free-throw line earlier in the season, and now we’re getting there,” head coach Brad Schmitt said. “We’re going to convert, and we’re going to get better. That’s just sometimes how games go. ...

“But when you look at numbers, those are the ones that stick out from tonight’s game.”