Sometimes, big time players hit big time shots.

Centralia vs Strafford Sophie Classic Photo Gallery

The Centralia girls had some of that in their favor but were on the receiving end in the second half late Saturday night in their 67-57 loss to Class 4 Strafford in the Sophie Cunningham Classic at Columbia College. Reigning all-state players Ryenn Gordon and Braylin Brunkhorst finished with 27 points and 22 points, respectively, for the Class 3 No. 3 Lady Panthers, but reigning Class 3 player of the year Elsie Larsen had 25 points for Strafford, who received votes in the latest Class 4 state poll. 

Head coach Megan Brinkmann said it was clear Centralia (8-1) had to focus on Larsen and had one of its better defenders Brunkhorst on her a lot of the time to prevent Centralia’s first loss of the season. Larsen had 18 points in the second half.

“She just got to the rim and finished unfortunately,” Brinkmann said. “Some big and-ones and big ones in the fourth quarter.”

Brinkmann said it was a “pick your poison” kind of situation with Larsen and her sister, Kinley Larsen. Kinley Larsen only had five points, and Elsie Larsen started warming up in the second half by hitting 8-for-10 from the free-throw line in the half. Trista VanHorn had 16 points, and Brooklyn Adney had 14 points and 10 rebounds to be among the leaders for Strafford (11-4). 

Brunkhorst also finished with a double-double by snagging 13 rebounds. Defending Elsie Larsen is similar to defending Brunkhorst, Brinkmann said, as they are both skilled players that can handle the ball and take the ball to the rim with authority. In the locker room after the game, Brinkmann said the Lady Panthers didn’t do anything wrong defensively against Larsen; rather, it was a case of Larsen hitting tough shots.

“Sometimes, good offense beats really good defense unfortunately when you get to a really high level,” Brinkmann said. “I told her, ‘You absolutely defended like you were supposed to.’ She hit some tough shots.” 

Centralia had to “settle in” to its offense after falling behind 10-0 to start the game, Brinkmann said. The Lady Panthers didn’t take their first lead until Brunkhorst, Ealynne Bostick and then Gordon hit three straight 3-pointers for a 27-25 lead prior to halftime being knotted at 28.

“We were getting frustrated extremely early because they guarded us extremely well so we were taking shots that weren’t really in rhythm,” Brinkmann said. “It wasn’t our offense and wasn’t our shots. When you get the shots that you want that you’re ready for, you can hit them.”

Some of those shots were set up after Centralia extended the possession with some hustle rebounds. Madi Johnson, Bostick and others kept the play alive to eventually set up a shot in rhythm to the Lady Panthers’ liking.

Unlike the first half’s beginning, the second half started with a 7-0 Centralia run before Larsen and Strafford chipped away at the free throw line. Strafford took a 45-42 lead going into the fourth quarter, but Centralia stayed within striking distance after that thanks to 11 points in the fourth quarter from Gordon and snagging extra possessions.

“We talk about stealing possessions,” Brinkmann said. “We had 17 offensive boards. If they’re not scoring, that’s what they’ve got to be doing: get offensive rebounds, stealing possessions and defending. They work hard, they play hard and they do a lot of good stuff for us.”

Centralia played in the Sophie Classic for the second straight season but had a new experience this year. The three-day event is one of the shootouts or tournaments this season that implemented the 35-second shot clock as high school basketball in Missouri experiments with it this season. There was only one shot clock violation on Strafford, but the Lady Indians and Centralia usually let shots go with plenty of time left.

Brinkmann said it was the first ever her team has played with a shot clock, and it was also the first time the high school coach has coached a game with a clock. Still, she said it didn’t adversely affect and is even looking forward to seeing it some more.

“35 seconds is a long time to take care of the ball and get a shot,” Brinkmann said. “It makes a difference at the end of the game because we had to look at the shot clock a little bit. Can we get a stop before we start fouling? It was cool to play with. It needs to be in high school girls basketball. Hopefully, this is a good step forward to making it permanent.” 

Centralia plays at Clarence Cannon Conference foe and Class 3 No. 10 Palmyra (7-4) in its conference opener at 6 p.m. Friday. 

“I’m super proud of our fight,” Brinkmann said. “We were prepared and ready to go. I think this is hopefully a step in the right direction for us continuing to compete.”