Team made third consecutive trip to state tournament
Staff writer
The Centre girls’ basketball team was defeated by Osborne 50-41 Thursday in the first round of the 1A Division 1 state tournament at Emporia. It was a disappointing loss for the four seniors on the team — Makenzie Deines, Any Makovec, Cacey Simons, and Bryanna Svoboda — who were playing at state for the third consecutive year.
The team trailed by three or four points numerous times throughout the game but the girls were never able to tie the score or go ahead. They forced many turnovers and had numerous steals but were not able to capitalize on them at the offensive end.
Much of their scoring was from the perimeter. Svoboda scored first for the Lady Cougars with a 3-point shot after Osborne got a 5-point start. After Osborne scored a return trey, Shelby Makovec scored the next six points to put Centre within one point, 10-9. That was as close as they got.
The first quarter ended with Centre trailing by three, 12-9.
Despite several turnovers and missed shots in the second quarter, the Lady Cougars held their own and trailed by three at halftime, 21-18. Deines made six points in the quarter.
Osborne opened the third quarter with a three-pointer and free throw. Svoboda sunk a trey, and Simons, Brenna Shields, and Amy Makovec each failed a three-point attempt. Shields and Amy Makovec each added two points before the end of the quarter, but Osborne made four field goals to take a 35-27 lead.
The girls battled back to within three points, 39-36, in the final period on baskets by Deines, Simons, and Shelby Makovec. Centre added five more points in the last minute of the game on a basket by Shelby Makovec and a three-pointer by Amy Makovec, but Osborne outscored Centre 15-14 in the quarter to finish with a nine-point victory.
Coach Alan Stahlecker said Centre took 20 more shots than Osborne did, but it was “just one of those nights” when the shots didn’t fall. Both teams made 37 points from the floor but Osborne outscored Centre by nine points at the free-throw line. Centre had nine turnovers compared with 19 by Osborne.
“Osborne’s inside physical strength was probably the biggest difference in the game as they beat us badly on rebounds and points in the paint,” Stahlecker said.
Shelby Makovec led Centre’s scoring with 13 points. Other scorers were Deines, 9; Simons and Svoboda, 6 each; Amy Makovec, 5; and Shields, 2.