The possessions were in Centralia’s favor on Tuesday at home.

Centralia vs Boonville Photo Gallery

The Class 3 No. 3 Lady Panthers needed those possessions to counter an improved performance by Boonville in a rematch from an earlier 54-33 Centralia win this season. Class 3 No. 3 Centralia won 57-46 after outrebounding Boonville 47-28 for its fifth straight win.

Head coach Megan Brinkmann said Centralia (13-1) hasn’t trailed at halftime much this season but was down 26-25 at the intermission. She expected a tougher test from Boonville (8-8) in the team’s third time facing the Lady Pirates, including the preseason jamboree. 

“We’ve had some really good starts and really haven’t found ourselves in a position down or really battling,” Brinkmann said. “I thought that was good for us, and we needed to learn some things. You’re never as good as you think you are, and you’re never as bad as you think you are.”

Brinkmann said Centralia shot 30 percent from the field but did well “stealing possessions,” particularly on the offensive glass. The Lady Panthers tallied 25 offensive rebounds and had active nights on the offensive glass from Braylin Brunkhorst, Ealynne Bostick and Madi Johnson. 

Brunkhorst led all players with 13 rebounds to go with her floor-high of 24 points, Bostick had 10 rebounds to go with eight points and five of Johnson’s six rebounds were of the offensive variety. Ryenn Gordon followed Brunkhorst in scoring with 17 points and had four assists and three 3-pointers.

“We needed extra possessions to put the ball through the bucket,” Brinkmann said. “Our defense got better in the fourth quarter. We have to be extremely more detailed if we want to keep battling and continuing to get better.”

Centralia couldn’t gain much distance from Boonville as it clung to a one- or two-possession lead against the Lady Pirates in the third quarter. Brooklyn Hardin nailed a 3-pointer to beat the buzzer for a little more breathing room at 42-35. 

The Lady Panthers couldn’t put back many of their second-chance opportunities gained from offensive rebounds. Brinkmann said she liked how Centralia worked hard for more possessions, but Boonville worked hard defensively to make it tough on the Lady Panthers.

“They’re athletic, tall and lanky,” Brinkmann said. “You get an offensive board, there are usually three around you that you are battling with. Are we going up strong? Are we shot faking? If three are on you, am I finding the next best opportunity?”

Brinkmann said Centralia did better “going up strong” and earning free throw attempts in the second half after only shooting six free throws in the first half. The Lady Panthers went 16-for-22 at the line in the game.

Brunkhorst took most of the second half attempts by going 7-for-8 at the line for 16 points in the latter two quarters. Brinkmann said being more aggressive toward the rim helps during offensive struggles, and it also had the benefit of Boonville leading scorer Bella Imhoff fouling out with 11 points. Katie Drummond led the Lady Pirates with 12 points, and Beth Giroux had 10 points and 12 rebounds. 

“It has to be a conscious decision to go up strong,” Brinkmann said. “If you get it and just throw it up, that’s a prayer. You’re going to have to put your shoulder down and get physical.”

Brinkmann complimented the contributions of Centralia’s other players after Boonville focused on the all-state players Brunkhorst and Gordon. She said Boonville ran a good extended 2-3 zone that convinced the Lady Panthers to take 24 3-point attempts, which is too much if you ask Brinkmann.

“At one point, I was saying we’re shooting too many threes and we’ve got to get inside and to the line and get easy points that way,” Brinkmann said. “We got stops down the stretch. If you’re not playing well on offense, that has to happen.”

Johnson and Bostick have been playing well recently, Brinkmann said, as Centralia was coming off one of its best weeks of the season. The Lady Panthers won all four of its games last week, including three against state-ranked opponents. Centralia defeated Fatima at home and Clarence Cannon Conference foe Palmyra on the road and then took down Illinois Class 3 No. 1 Quincy Notre Dame on Saturday at the Mid-Missouri Invitational in Harrisburg. 

Brunkhorst scored 30 points, including her 1,000th career point, at Palmyra while Brinkmann said Centralia saw a triangle-and-two defense to counter Brunkhorst and Gordon like against Boonville. Gordon was the shootout game MVP with 23 points against Quincy Notre Dame in a game that “could have gone either way.”

“We found some confidence and are finding out who we are,” Brinkmann said. “Through those games, our coaching staff has been talking about that there are definitely some things to work on and fix. We talk about being one percent better every single day.”

Centralia hosts Class 1 No. 1 Cairo (11-3) at 6 p.m. Friday.