Centre girls dominate opponents, claim Ike league tournament championship
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
It's been a while since a Centre High School girls' basketball team has won any kind of a championship.
That changed this past week when the 2005-06 team defeated Hope in the final round of the Eisenhower League tournament.
Seeded second, the Lady Cougars defeated Solomon, 65-22, Tuesday in the first round, and Wakefield, 59-35, Friday in the semifinals.
They came up against the fourth-seeded Lady Lions after Hope defeated top-seeded White City in the semifinals.
Centre's experience won out over a young Hope team made up primarily of sophomores.
The Lady Cougars capitalized on poor shooting by Hope to take an early lead and keep it throughout the game. The final score was 52-26.
Megan Gutsch had a strong first half, scoring 12 points. The Lady Cougars led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter, and increased their lead to 30-16 at halftime.
Hope players had a difficult time putting the ball through the hoop in the third quarter, adding just four points while Centre added 13.
A 9-6 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter gave Centre the 26-point win.
Neither team scored well from the field, but Centre completed 20-of-71 compared to 7-of-47 by Hope. Centre was 9-of-14 at the free-throw line compared to 10-of-17 by Hope.
Centre's aggressive defense was reflected in the team's 28 steals and 12 blocked shots compared to eight steals and two blocked shots by Hope.
Selena Seifert and Gutsch scored in double digits, with 12 points each. Jackie Klenda grabbed 10 rebounds and six steals.
With three more wins under their belt, the Lady Cougars now have a record of 10-3.
