Before Braylin Brunkhorst was in high school, she hoped to be playing the Centralia tournament championship game one day.
As a senior, Brunkhorst and her fellow seniors Madi Johnson and Madilynn …
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Before Braylin Brunkhorst was in high school, she hoped to be playing the Centralia tournament championship game one day.
As a senior, Brunkhorst and her fellow seniors Madi Johnson and Madilynn Hunter have been in four championship games and have won all four of them, beating Boonville 55-36 on Friday. Centralia (6-0) remained undefeated after outscoring Boonville 17-7 in the third quarter and converting on 14-of-18 free throws.
“It’s definitely surreal,” Brunkhorst said. “Coming and watching the Centralia girls when I was younger (in middle school), I was like, ‘I want to be in that championship game someday.’ I’m so grateful for all my teammates who have helped me get here along the way.”
Brunkhorst led Centralia with 20 points and nine rebounds and averaged 15.7 points in three games during the week to be named to the all-tournament team. Blakely Sowers added nine points and averaged nine points this week, and Ryenn Gordon had six points and six rebounds and averaged 12 points this week to each be all-tournament.
Megan Brinkmann became the Centralia head coach four years ago and has led the Lady Panthers to four Centralia tournament championships. Brinkmann said is at “a loss of words” when it comes to describing her feelings for that feat but knows the girls deserved it.
“It’s really hard to get here and to win,” Brinkmann said. “It shows with the coaching staff that I have and the players that I have, you can’t beat us at home and we’re going to play the best basketball we can.”
Centralia defeated Boonville (4-1) for the championship last season 54-33 but was only ahead by one possession 25-22 at halftime. Effie Morris found Karagyn Cooper for two 3-pointers to give Boonville an 8-2 lead.
After that, Brinkmann said Centralia was unselfish and the defense was “unreal” in the third quarter. She said the Lady Panthers have won many games over the past four years and can find ways to victory.
“It was still really good defense, but I said, ‘Hey, we’ve got to stop fouling,’” Brinkmann said. “We can always do a little bit better. It was a quick start for them, but I was like, ‘Hey, it’s a long game.’”
Brinkmann said she was confident Centralia would hit shots in the second half. After scoring 20 points in the semifinal win against Macon, Gordon had no points in the first half but stayed busy guarding Boonville’s No. 1 threat Morris, who finished with 12 points.
Sowers and Brooklyn Hardin, who had eight points and six rebounds, kept Centralia’s offense churning. Like the communication Brinkmann saw on defense, she said she saw similar play on offense.
“We passed it extremely well,” Brinkmann said. “We sliced and cut when we were supposed to. We finished at the rim. It was pretty basketball.”
Sowers said Centralia did what they needed to do to win and believes the team will improve as the season progresses. She transferred in from Saint Joseph Christian and likes her new environment.
“It’s wonderful,” Sowers said. “It’s very welcoming and not just in sports. The whole community welcomes you, and it’s amazing.”
Sowers said it is also wonderful to score, but she said she tries to do what she can while on the floor. Oftentimes, that means she is in the trenches fighting for rebounds.
“Whoever is boxing out, I’ve got to want it more,” Sowers said. “I’ve got to want to get those extra possessions.”
Brunkhorst said she always expects a good challenge from Boonville. She said whenever she got into foul trouble in the first half, she knew her teammates would back her up.
Hunter hit some free throws and made some nice passes when she came off the bench, Brunkhorst said. At the line, Brunkhorst was effective by going 7-for-8 on free throws.
“Free throws win games,” Brunkhorst said. “We have a lot of girls who put time outside of practice to shoot free throws. Sometimes, it does come down to free throws.”
Centralia has a tough schedule to look forward to, Brinkmann said, starting with Quincy Notre Dame at today’s Rumble on the River at John Wood Community College in Quincy. The Lady Panthers play at 4:30 p.m. But first, Brinkmann said the girls can enjoy earning another home tournament title together.
“Everybody who played contributed,” Brinkmann said. “Everybody comes off the bench and is ready to go. It was a lot of fun.”
