The Red Knights, known for their defensive intensity, dropped two games in a five-day span after having a national record 141-game winning streak snapped Jan. 20.

“Our motto is, ‘Play defense,’ “ senior guard Nevaeh Caffey said. “And we weren’t doing that. We were slacking.”

Added senior guard Peyton Hill, “The focus wasn’t what it should have been.”

Thanks in part to Caffey and Hill, the defensive domination is back in high gear.

IWA used a smothering, trapping defense to squeeze the life out of Alton 60-48 in a battle of the area’s best girls basketball teams Saturday afternoon at University City High.

The Red Knights (14-2) got back on track in their search for another state title. The Bel-Nor school has won seven successive championships and 10 of the last 11 in which the event has been played. They reached the state semifinals in 2020 before the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

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