Centre girls triumph over White City
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
The Lady Cougars took home an early Christmas present Thursday with a 49-24 victory over White City. Their overall record now stands at 6-1.
All of Centre's points came from field goals. Selena Seifert made a three-point shot to open the game and went on to score another 14 points including two more threes. Teaira Turner also scored in double digits with 12 points including two threes.
The game was close at first. After Seifert shot a second three-pointer and Megan Gutsch added two points in the opening three minutes, the Lady Cougars' shooting went cold. They led by a single point, 8-7, at the end of the first quarter.
They fell behind two times in the beginning of the second quarter before taking the lead and building it for the remainder of the game. Seifert and Turner scored all of Centre's 13 second-quarter points to give Centre a 21-14 lead at halftime.
The Lady Cougars outscored White City 13-5 in the third quarter with field goals by Kylie Burhoop, Gutsch, and Alyssa Luna, and a three-point shot by Turner.
Samantha Alvarez joined Seifert, Gutsch, Turner, and Luna in compiling a 15-5 scoring advantage in the fourth for an easy 25-point win.
The junior varsity defeated White City, 45-16. After one quarter, the girls led 12-2. They piled up advantages of 16-4 and 17-10 in the final two quarters for a big win.
No player was in double digits but everyone on the team contributed points. They were: Carlye Simons eight, Bridgette Burns and Shelby Deines seven each, Josie Peterson five, Amy Hajek and Nellie Hill four each, Samantha Seifert and Leann Pankratz three each, and Gloria Belton and Brooke Carlson two each.
Centre Boys
The 0-6 Centre Cougars came as close to winning as they have all season Thursday when they were defeated 47-48 by White City on their home court.
With less than two minutes to go in the game, they were down by one. Despite numerous opportunities, they failed to come up with just one field goal that could have won the game.
In the first of three final possessions, three attempted layups failed. But the scrappy Cougars stole the ball back, only to see it get away on a travel call.
After White City went to the free-throw line with 26 seconds remaining and failed to score, the Cougars again got possession of the ball.
They drove to the other end, looking for an opportunity to score, but the Huskies' strong defense prevented them from getting a clear shot at the goal, and coach Cody Schafer called a timeout with four seconds remaining.
The Cougars got the ball in to James Weber just as the buzzer sounded. It was too late, and the Centre coaches, players, and fans again walked away disappointed.
The team had a six-point lead in the first quarter on a three-point shot by Bryant Brunner, but by the end of the quarter they were down by four, 13-17.
A field goal and free throw by Klenda, a three-point shot by Lance Diepenbrock, and a layup by Weber reversed the situation, and Centre had a four-point lead, 21-17. But at halftime, Centre again trailed by four.
The two teams continued to battle it out in the third, with White City ahead most of the time. Centre trailed 32-37 when Thieen Antosyzk scored two consecutive field goals and Weber followed with one of his own to give Centre a one-point lead at the end of the quarter, 40-39.
After tying several times in the fourth quarter, a free throw by Zach Slayden again gave Centre the lead, 45-44, but the Cougars weren't able to hold it.
Alfonse Klenda had another good game, scoring 22 points after compiling 21 in the previous game.
The next game is Jan. 5 at Elyria Christian.
