Staff writer
The Centre High School girls basketball team faced Goessel Monday on its home court in the first round of the 1A Division I sub-state tournament and was defeated, 57-42.
It was a turnaround from the regular season game Feb. 4 against the Lady Bluebirds, when the Lady Cougars won in overtime by 5 points.
The first half of Monday’s game was a draw as both sides battled for supremacy. Centre led, 8-3, at the end of the first quarter, but turnover problems in the second quarter allowed the Lady Bluebirds to catch up and tie the game, 12-12, with 4 minutes, 15 seconds remaining on the clock.
The game was tied, 19-19, with seconds remaining in the half, but a long 3-pointer by Goessel gave the Lady Bluebirds a 22-19 halftime lead.
Goessel was unstoppable in the second half. The team’s shooting was dead-on while the Lady Cougars had trouble getting the ball through the basket. Centre went to the free-throw line 34 times but completed only 14. Goessel went to the free-throw line 28 times and completed 18. Goessel scored 35 points in the half compared with 24 points by Centre.
Senior Allison Shields finished her high school basketball career with a game-high 20 points. Freshman Cacey Simons scored 10 points. Sophomore Anna Weber scored 8 points and sophomore Ellie Miller scored 3. Junior Theo Kassebaum added 1 point.
The team ended the season with an overall record of 10-11.
“I enjoyed coaching the girls,” coach Alan Stahlecker said. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a 10-win season. As young as we were, we won a lot of close games.
“We’ll miss Allison next year. She was a good rebounder and defensive player. We started two freshmen and two sophomores, and that should pay benefits in the next few years.”