Lady Cougars' hopes dashed by Hope Lions
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
Hope is a good thing if you're Hope, but usually ends badly if you're Centre.
The Lady Cougars, many of them seniors, had high hopes for moving on to the substate tournament. But first they had to get past the Hope Lions Thursday in the semi-finals of the 1A regional tournament at Centre High School.
The Lady Lions defeated Centre, 52-38. However, it took an overtime to do it.
Centre's shooting was cold in the first half, with almost all of their first-quarter points coming from free throws by Selena Seifert, Megan Gutsch, and Teaira Turner.
They trailed 13-7 at the end of the quarter and played even worse in the second, scoring just four points on a field goal by Gutsch and free throws by Seifert and Alyssa Luna.
The Lady Cougars played good defense, not allowing Hope into the post and limiting them to eight points. However, the team failed to take advantage of numerous opportunities to score at the offensive end. They trailed by 10 points at halftime, 11-21.
After the Lady Lions built a 14-point lead in the third quarter, prospects for a win were looking dim. Then the Lady Cougars went on a seven-point run, including field goals by Gutsch, Luna, and Brittany Owens, closing the gap to seven points, 21-28.
Centre trailed 21-30 in the fourth quarter when Owens got hot, scoring two three-pointers and a field goal on a steal. Along with a free throw by Luna, she brought the Lady Cougars within two, 30-32, with 5:30 remaining.
The girls struggled to break even, missing free throws and layups but remaining within two to four points.
The game finally was tied with 47 seconds remaining, when Owens made a field goal and two free throws to make the score 38-38.
Hope failed to score again in regulation, sending the game into overtime.
That's when the bottom fell out for the Lady Cougars. Those last four minutes belonged to Hope as Centre devastatingly turned the ball over again and again and Hope capitalized, scoring again and again.
Centre failed to score a single point. Adding insult to injury, the Lady Lions scored a last-second three point shot to hand the Lady Cougars a 14-point loss.
For the eight seniors on the team, the loss was especially disappointing after a 16-4 regular season.
For senior Owens, it was her best performance of the year. She scored 15 points including two three-pointers, three two-pointers, and 3-of-5 from the free-throw line. She was the only Centre player in double digits.
Gutsch scored nine points, Seifert, Turner, and Luna four each, and Kylie Burhoop two.
The Lady Cougars scored a total of 10 two-point goals, two three-point goals, and 12-of-22 free-throw attempts. Hope scored four three-pointers, 15 two-pointers, and 10-of-15 attempts from the line.
Hope defeated Wakefield, 59-50, Saturday for the championship. Both teams will advance to substate.
Centre closed out the year with a record of 17-5.
