CHS girls take second place in Ike League tournament
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
After winning in the first two rounds of the Eisenhower League tournament, third-seeded Centre High School girls' basketball team was defeated by first-seed White City in the championship game, to take second place.
Centre vs. Flint Hills
The opening round was played Jan. 17 at Hope against sixth-seeded Flint Hills Christian, Manhattan. Centre won, 55-38.
After trailing 4-7 at the end of the first quarter, the girls tied the game in the second with a layup by Jill Fenske and free throw by Jackie Klenda.
A field goal by Megan Gutsch put Centre up by two. They kept the lead the remainder of the game and led, 23-16, at halftime.
After a slow third quarter, they led by nine, 31-22, but went on to score 24 points in the final quarter compared to 16 by Flint Hills to win by a comfortable 17-point margin.
The team was more aggressive than Flint Hills in scoring. They attempted 54 field goals compared to 30 by Flint Hills, and completed 22 compared to 13.
Centre turned the ball over 21 times and stole it 15 times. Flint Hills turned it over 33 times and stole it seven times.
Megan Gutsch was leading scorer with 17 points. Alyssa Luna also scored in double digits with 10.
Centre vs. Hope
In a game played Friday at Herington High School, Centre defeated second-seeded Hope, 41-34.
The contest was close during the first half, with a 11-11 tie at the end of the first quarter and Hope leading 20-18 at halftime.
A field goal by Krista Heiser followed by another by Fenske put Centre up by two.
After a tying field goal by Hope, 22-22, Centre scored eight unanswered points to lead 30-22 at the end of the third quarter.
Hope opened the fourth quarter with five points to pull within three, 30-27. Alyssa Luna, Fenske, and Gutsch answered with two points each to increase Centre's lead to nine.
Good free throw shooting and a two-point goal by Teaira Turner, kept Centre on top. Despite a field goal and last-second three-point shot by Hope, the Cougars won by nine points.
Centre shot 34 percent from the field, completing 13 of 38 attempts. Hope shot 22 percent, completing 12 of 53. Centre was 13-of-17 at the free-throw line compared to five-of-seven by Hope.
The Cougars also excelled at the boards with 44 rebounds compared to 22 by Hope. Gutsch had 15.
Fenske was the only Cougar in double digits with 12 points. Gutsch provided three assists and stole the ball three times.
Centre vs. White City
The girls struggled Saturday in the championship game with top-seeded White City.
They were competitive in the first quarter but never had the lead. Luna completed three consecutive field goals. Fenske answered a White City three-pointer with one of her own to end the quarter down by two, 12-14.
The girls' scoring turned cold in the second quarter. They turned the ball over numerous times and failed to capitalize on White City's turnovers. They made just one field goal compared to 12 points by White City to trail 14-26 at halftime.
Four girls compiled a total of nine points in the third quarter, outscoring White City by two to narrow the gap to 10 points, 33-23.
White City scored nine of 15 points from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter and Centre added 10 points to close out a disappointing 15-point loss.
Centre shot 30 percent from the field and made three of six free throw attempts compared to 34 percent and 12 of 20 free throw attempts by White City. The Cougars turned the ball over 21 times compared to 15 by the Huskies.
No Centre player scored in double digits. Heiser and Luna led at the boards with five rebounds each. Heiser provided three assists.
