Career-high 26 paces Centre to 1st of 2 victories

By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

Centre girls defeated Peabody-Burns, 46-21, and Centre boys won, 57-46, Friday at Peabody.

Girls

The Cougars tied the Warriors at 7 after one quarter but picked up their scoring in the second quarter to lead 20-9 at the half.

Carly Deines scored on a steal, Allie Hird made two free throws, and Alyssa Espinoza made a basket, pushing Centre’s lead to 37-18.

Kelsey Hett capped the 25-point victory in the final quarter with a basket and a 3-point shot.

Hett scored a career-high 26 points, including four treys. She also had 11 rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

Cailey Barney had nine rebounds and five steals.

Coach Alan Stahlecker was pleased with just nine turnovers but wasn’t happy with six blocked shots and 25 percent shooting from the floor.

“I didn’t feel as though we played real well,” he said. “We just weren’t real sharp. I was pleased that we shot free throws better, shooting 67 percent from the line.”

After Friday’s game, the team was 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the league.

Boys

Balanced scoring throughout the game gave an advantage to the Cougars. Four players scored in double digits: Xavier Espinoza, 15 points; Jacob Hird, 13; Jensen Riffel, 12: and Aiden Svoboda, 10. Lane Methvin added seven points.

By the end of the third quarter, Centre led, 44-27.

However, five 3-point shots by Peabody in the fourth quarter narrowed the gap to 10 points with 25 seconds remaining. Espinoza made a final free throw, giving the Cougars an 11-point victory.

Coach Richard Idleman liked the balanced scoring. He said his team did a good job on the boards, outrebounding Peabody-Burns, 47-23.

“We’ve got to play better defense and move the ball better on offense,” he said.

After Friday’s victory, the Cougars were 3-0 in the league and 4-3 overall.

Both teams played Herington at home Tuesday.