The Centralia girls made a good first impression at the Midwest Showcase in Columbia.
In their first Midwest Showcase, the Lady Panthers defeated Topeka Hayden out of Kansas and Millard North …
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The Centralia girls made a good first impression at the Midwest Showcase in Columbia.
In their first Midwest Showcase, the Lady Panthers defeated Topeka Hayden out of Kansas and Millard North out of Nebraska on Thursday and lost to St. James Academy out of Kansas and Lincoln Southwest out of Nebraska on Friday. Three of the games were decided by five points or less in the summer games played at Columbia Sports Fieldhouse.
Head coach Megan Brinkmann said it didn’t work with Centralia’s summer schedule in the past, but this year’s Midwest Showcase being in Columbia made it a “no brainer” for the Lady Panthers. The event that brings teams from Missouri and six other states also attracts college coaches from all over the country to scout talent.
“I knew it was going to be really good competition with teams we never get to see,” Brinkmann said. “It is a showcase for a reason. There are multiple college athletes and Division I players on each team, so being able to see that type of athleticism and skill was really good for us.”
The competition is great, but Brinkmann said Centralia is a great team, too. It faced two reigning state champions Topeka Hayden and St. James Academy, losing to St. James by three points after trailing by double digits. Millard North and Lincoln Southwest finished with 15 and 16 wins, respectively, last season.
“It wasn’t perfect at times, but I thought we were really gritty,” Brinkmann said. “They were close, and we had to work on some late-game situations. They were really great games to be a part of.”
Brinkmann said Centralia had slow starts in its games, but the team managed to correct some issues, and at least, make the games competitive, and at most, win some games. She said defense was the key to those comebacks.
“I tell them it’s all about defense,” Brinkmann said. “You can’t talk about scoring or doing things if we don’t get stops. We have to be better at playing without fouling. We have to keep our best players on the floor and stop putting teams on the line.”
Brinkmann said the Midwest Showcase was their final exhibition games of the summer after playing a schedule that involved tough teams. For example, she said the Lady Panthers played games in Monroe City against Illinois teams Quincy Notre Dame and Brown County, who was a state finalist last season. In state, Centralia faced Class 4 Boonville and Kirksville.
Everybody in the starting lineup is returning with some varsity experience, Brinkmann said, so she said the expectations are still there following a state quarterfinal season for the Lady Panthers. She said summer has not been “extremely structured” with some sets but wanted to see her team create offense.
“We played really well together and shared the ball,” Brinkmann said. “We’re looking for our teammates. Nobody on our team is selfish. We’ve just got to find out how to get the ball to the right people at the right time, and those people need to hit open shots.”
