Centre girls win final home game of season
Jill Fenske scores on
numerous runbacks
The Centre Lady Cougars literally got off to a running start Thursday in a makeup game with Wakefield. The last home game of the season brought out a large crowd which saw the team roll to a 58-39 win.
Jill Fenske scored Centre's first four points on runbacks, a performance she repeated several times during the contest.
The Lady Bombers kept up with the Lady Cougars during the first half of the first quarter. But treys by Jackie Klenda and Ashley Griffith, along with a free-throw by Krista Heiser and two-point baskets by Raschelle Jirak and Fenske, put Centre ahead 18-11 at the end of the quarter.
A trey by Jirak along with several steals and runbacks propelled the Lady Cougars to a 24-point lead, 39-15, at half-time.
Laura Klenda completed three consecutive baskets in the third quarter, to score six of the team's nine points while Wakefield scored 10 points. The Lady Cougars continued to lead by a wide margin, 48-25, going into the fourth.
The girls kept up their momentum in the final quarter as Jackie Klenda sunk two consecutive treys. Although Wakefield outscored Centre, 14-10, in the quarter, the girls' early lead resulted in an easy 19-point win, 58-39.
Although both teams were almost equal in field goal percentage, the Lady Cougars shot the ball 86 times, including four treys, compared to 52 by Wakefield, with no treys, to make the difference.
L. Klenda led the Lady Cougars statistically, scoring 16 points, rebounding the ball 21 times, and stealing it six times.
J. Klenda with 12 points and Fenske with 11 also scored in double digits.
STATISTICS
Centre 18 21 9 10 - 58
Wakefield 11 4 10 14 - 39
Total points: Ashley Griffith, 2; Jill Fenske, 11; Jackie Klenda, 12; Krista Heiser, 5; Raschelle Jirak, 6; Laura Klenda, 16; Jenna Beneke, 4; Teaira Turner, 2.
Assists: Griffith, 1; Seifert, 1; Fenske, 3; J. Klenda, 2; Heiser, 1; Jirak, 2; Brianne Stahlecker, 2; L. Klenda, 3; Beneke, 1; Turner, 1.
Rebounds: Griffith, 2; Seifert, 1; Fenske, 6; J. Klenda, 3; Heiser, 7; Megan Gutsch, 2; Jirak, 5; Stahlecker, 5; L. Klenda, 21; Beneke, 5; Alyssa Luna, 1.
Blocked shots: J. Klenda, 2; Jirak, 1; Stahlecker, 1; Beneke, 2; Luna, 1.
Steals: Griffith, 1; Seifert, 1; Fenske, 3; J. Klenda, 1; Heiser, 3; Gutsch, 2; L. Klenda, 6; Turner, 1.
Centre vs. Bennington
A game played Feb. 17 at Bennington resulted in a 57-30 loss for the Lady Cougars. They were outplayed 47-29 percent from the field and 54-28 percent from the free-throw line.
Laura Klenda scored 16 of the Lady Cougars' 30 points. Other scorers were Selena Seifert, one; Jackie Klenda, two; Megan Gutsch, five; and Rschelle Jirak, four.
L. Klenda had 10 rebounds and three blocked shots.
The junior varsity was defeated by four points, 34-30.
The girls led during the first half, 9-4 at the end of the first quarter, and 16-15 at half-time.
A 4-8 point deficit in the third quarter put them behind 23-20. Almost even scoring, 10-11, in the final quarter did not allow the girls to regain the lead.
No player scored in double digits, but seven players contributed points. They were: Alyssa Luna, six; Dani Hatfield and Chelsey Tajchman, five each; Brittany Owens and Shaina Makovec, four each; and Teaira Turner and Jessica Deines, three each.
Centre vs. White City
The girls experienced a disappointing 45-40 loss Friday in an exciting game against the White City Lady Huskies in the final game of the regular season. The game was played at White City.
The girls led all the way until less than a minute to go, when they let it slip away.
They got off to a surprisingly fast start against the number one team in the league. Raschelle Jirak sunk a trey to score the first points of the game. When the first quarter ended, Centre was ahead 12-6.
Centre fans cheered the girls on as good rebounding and continued good scoring kept the Lady Cougars in the lead with a six-point advantage at half-time, 26-19.
During the third quarter, the Lady Huskies began creeping closer. The game was tied for the first time with two minutes to go in the quarter when Jirak sunk another trey to return the lead to Centre.
The Lady Cougars managed to hang on with a three-point lead at the end of the quarter.
The teams tied again at 37-37 at 3:10 in the fourth quarter. White City went ahead briefly until Jirak sunk her third trey and allowed Centre to regain the lead.
With less than one minute to play, the Lady Huskies went ahead by one. Two free-throws completed on an intentional foul by Centre put them ahead by three.
The Lady Cougars got the ball back with nine seconds remaining but threw it away. The Lady Huskies added two more free-throws before the game ended, to win by five points.
Laura Klenda racked up 15 points, 17 rebounds, and five steals. Raschelle Jirak added 11 points.
Megan Gutsch was strong at the boards with 12 rebounds. Jill Fenske and Jackie Klenda had three assists each.
STATISTICS
Centre 12 14 9 7 - 40
W.C. 6 13 13 13 - 45
Total points: Jill Fenske, 2; Jackie Klenda, 2; Megan Gutsch, 8; Raschelle Jirak, 11; Laura Klenda, 15; Jenna Beneke, 2.
Assists: Fenske, 3; J. Klenda, 3; Gutsch, 2; Jirak, 1; L. Klenda, 1.
Rebounds: Ashley Griffith, 1; Fenske, 4; J. Klenda, 9; Krista Heiser, 3; Gutsch, 12; Jirak, 3; Brianne Stahlecker, 2; L. Klenda, 17; Beneke, 1.
Blocked shots: J. Klenda, 1; Jirak, 1; Stahlecker, 1; L. Klenda, 1; Beneke, 1.
Steals: Selena Seifert, 1; Fenske, 1; J. Klenda, 3; Heiser, 1; Gutsch, 1; Jirak, 2; Stahlecker, 1; L. Klenda, 5.
The junior varsity defeated White City, 37-27. They outscored their opponent in quarter scores of 8-6, 5-1, 8-7, and 16-13.
Alyssa Luna led scoring with 12 points. Dani Hatfield and Shaina Makovec contributed six points each. Other scorers were Brittany Owens and Chelsey Tajchman, four points each; Teaira Turner and Jessica Deines, two points each; and Katie Carlson, one.
