By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

Centre girls and boys basketball teams both finished 1-2 in the pre-season tournament last week at Herington.

They both defeated Herington in Friday match-ups.

The girls had an exciting finish, going to overtime after a 40-40 tie and shutting out the Railers to win 50-40.

Herington outscored Centre in the first three quarters, leading 35-28, but the Cougars made up for it in a 12-5 fourth quarter to tie the game. Centre had a chance to win in the final seconds, but missed three shots under the basket to send the game into overtime.

Herington’s shooting turned cold while Samantha Espinoza, Lili Espinoza, and Kelsey Hett both scored. Hett made three free throws, and Centre walked away with a satisfying 10-point victory.

Samantha Espinoza and Hett scored 16 points each, and Alyssa Espinoza scored 10.

“Three players in double figures was a bonus for us,” coach Alan Stahlecker said. “Samantha had a career high to match Kelsey’s 16 points.”

Lili Espinoza scored 7 points, and Carlye Deines made a free throw.

The game against Chase County on Thursday resulted in a 52-27 loss.

The Bulldogs exerted defensive pressure, moved the ball, and shot well. With one of their starters sidelined with an injury, the Cougars struggled to score. Chase County led 34-7 at halftime. The Cougars improved in the second half, outscoring the Bulldogs, 20-18, but were defeated by 25 points.

Scorers included S. Espinoza, 7 points; A. Espinoza and Hett, 6; Deines, 3; Emily Casey and Alex Remmers, 2 each; and L. Espinoza, 1.

The girls played Lebo Saturday in a rematch of last season’s third place game, but this time they lost, 49-38.

Centre’s defense kept Lebo from scoring much around the rim, but the Wolves scored well from the outside. After being outscored for three quarters, Centre matched Lebo’s 13 points in the fourth quarter but lost by 9 points.

The Espinoza twins were Centre’s highest scorers, with 10 points each. Deines and Hett scored 8 points each.

Centre boys pull out a victory

The Cougars scored 14 points Friday before Herington made its first field goal one minute into the second quarter. Centre went on to win, 50-42.

Centre led by as much as 18 points before the Railers’ scoring improved. Herington closed the gap to 5 points in the fourth quarter, scoring 22 points. The Cougars’ nine free throws in the final minutes kept them in the lead and gave them an 8-point victory.

Quarterly scores were 12-0, 10-9, 17-ll, and 11-22.

Dalton Stika led Centre’s scoring, with 16 points including four 3-pointers. Lane Methvin and Jensen Riffel each scored 10 points.

Other scorers were Braxton Smith, 7; Aidan Svoboda, 4; and Jacob Hird, 3.

A quick, aggressive Chase County team made fast work of defeating the Cougars 39-28 Thursday, outscoring Centre in every quarter.

Lane Methvin had 13 of Centre’s 25 points, including three 3-pointers. After one Chase County player scored four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter along with two other field goals, Centre walked away with a 14-point loss.

Centre trailed Wichita Classical, 31-20, after three quarters in the third-place game Saturday. However, Stika got hot from the 3-point line in the fourth quarter, making for an exciting finish. He made four treys, and Smith, Methvin, and Riffel made field goals to close the gap to 2 points.

Centre had a chance for a tie but missed two free throws. After a free throw by Wichita Classical, the Cougars lost by 3 points.