Centralia girls dominate on defense to shut down South Shelby 62-28

It was like the Centralia girls were facing themselves on Friday night.

Centralia girls, boys vs South Shelby Photo Gallery

The Lady Panthers hosted South Shelby for its Clarence Cannon Conference opener, hoping to pay the Ladybirds back for the previous two losses and extend their win streak to seven games. Centralia did more than hope as they held South Shelby to under 30 points in a 62-28 victory, becoming the first team since El Dorado Springs in the state championship two seasons ago to hold the Ladybirds to less than 30.

In its personal meetings with South Shelby, Centralia (7-1, 1-0 CCC) has allowed the Ladybirds to score more than 30 points — including 62 and 50 the prior two losses — except a 55-26 victory in 2012. Head coach Megan Brinkmann said the team defense couldn’t have been much better, especially when Centralia started to run away in the second quarter with an 18-0 run that preceded a 35-13 halftime lead.

“We were together tonight,” Brinkmann said. “We have to be able to help the helper, and we knew who had to stop and knew who else we had to take away. When they hit shots, it was still contested. I told them from the get-go that we have to make a statement tonight, and they absolutely did that.”

“Playing here is incredibly tough as it is,” said Morgan Ross, who led Centralia with 20 points and added five rebounds. “We’ve got great fans and a great atmosphere here. Our defense has picked it up every single notch every single game.”

When it comes to preparing for South Shelby (6-2, 0-1 CCC), Brinkmann said that isn’t all that difficult since the Lady Panthers defend the same offensive style in practice all the time. She said there are lots of dribble drives and many good athletes and shooters on the floor, making the Ladybirds resemble the Lady Panthers.

Brinkmann said executing against a capable offensive team like South Shelby is a different matter, however, as South Shelby’s leading scorer Charlie Roush with 10 points had six points in the first quarter. Centralia only led 15-10 after one quarter only to then pick South Shelby apart soon after, including holding Callie McWilliams to one field goal in the first quarter.

“We stopped the drive, covered the post and they threw some away, which makes it really hard to score,” Brinkmann said. “They like that brush cut, they’ve got really good guards that can get down the lane and dump. So if you don’t stop them, they’re going to score. If you stop them and don’t help the backside, they’re going to dump. It’s what we like to do.”

The Lady Panthers’ starting five didn’t appear to have a single weak link. Besides Ross, Braylin Brunkhorst had 13 points and four assists, Ryenn Gordon had 10 points and four steals, Shelby Lewis finished with eight points and six rebounds, and Raegan Anderson added seven points and four steals. 

Ross accounted for most of the Lady Panthers’ scoring in the second quarter as she knocked down her second 3-pointer and then was unstoppable in transition. She said that was definitely when the momentum was on Centralia’s side.

“They do a great job looking down the floor, hitting me when I’m open and just really running the ball to everybody,” Ross said. “We’re just playing so well right now. Pushing in transition is probably one of our top parts of our game, and our defense leads to that.”

The Lady Panthers defended so well in the second quarter that South Shelby was one second away from going without a field goal until Belle Roush muscled in a contested shot that just beat the buzzer.

“It was insane,” Ross said. “They couldn’t hit anything, and we weren’t giving them anything. The atmosphere, the grit and the determination that we have right now for this season and just the theme of the season of playing together is phenomenal.”

Brinkmann said Centralia has a great balance of talent with its starting five. Gordon and Brunkhorst each have an ability to drive and handle the ball, Anderson and Ross hit various outside hits and Lewis’ length helps her snatch rebounds, which included an offensive putback that drew a foul at the buzzer to end the third quarter to put more life into the Lady Panthers’ bench. Of course, she said the play goes without a hitch with whoever checks in.

“Whoever came in did exactly what they’re supposed to do,” Brinkmann said. “If we can continue that, we’re going to be really hard to beat.”

Centralia faces Moberly (6-1) at 6 p.m. Tuesday at home in a rematch of the Centralia Invitational Tournament championship game, which the Lady Panthers won 62-57.

Lady Panthers’ shooting aides in 62-44 win at Blair Oaks

The Centralia girls grabbed the lead in the first quarter on Tuesday and didn’t give it up again.

The Lady Panthers (6-1) hit four 3-pointers in the first quarter to take a 16-11 lead at Blair Oaks (0-6) before eventually winning 62-44. Raegan Anderson led with 15 points and hit five 3-pointers.

Ryenn Gordon finished with 15 points, four assists and four steals, Morgan Ross had 12 points, seven rebounds and added two 3-pointers, and Shelby Lewis had six points, nine rebounds and a block.

Centralia boys dip in second half to lose 56-42 to South Shelby

The second half hasn’t been good recently for the Centralia boys.

The Panthers lost their fourth straight game with a 56-42 loss to South Shelby in their Clarence Cannon Conference opener at home, despite being tied at 25 going into halftime. Centralia played three teams with winning records prior to Friday but owned halftime leads in two losses against Moberly and California and then was outscored 31-17 in the second half by South Shelby.

Head coach Scott Humphrey said it is difficult to pinpoint what the main reason is for the recent struggles but knows there needs to be tweaking done during the plenty of games left in the season. From what he observed against South Shelby, Centralia couldn’t recover after a 10-0 run to close the third quarter to put the Panthers behind 38-30 going into the fourth quarter. Gabe Bowen, who led the Cardinals with 18 points, hit a half-court buzzer beater.

“We’ve got to find a way to attack a zone better,” Humphrey said. “We’re not attacking it. We’re just relying on jump shots. When they’re not falling, we can’t score.”

Centralia’s shots were falling in the first quarter as Travis Brooks and Cullen Bennett each hit 3-points prior to Noah Kropf corralling a loose ball before beating the first-quarter buzzer with a mid-range jumper for an 11-7 Centralia lead. Brooks and Logan Rosenfelder each hit 3-pointers in the second quarter to help the Panthers lead, but South Shelby answered with three 3-pointers.

Bowen had three 3-pointers in the game while Chance Rainey followed with 14 points for South Shelby. That zone defense either resulted in a fastbreak off a miss or a turnover.

After surrendering leads in the first and second quarters, the Panthers appeared to be serious about returning the favor with more than four minutes left in the fourth quarter. Bennett, who led Centralia with 13 points and 13 rebounds, put back a missed free throw for a 3-point play and then Hunter Hull and Rosenfelder, who had nine points and three steals, each scored after coming away with a steal after applying defensive pressure. Centralia trailed 44-39 but then went cold again.

“I knew they were going to speed us up and try to do what they did,” Humphrey said. “We practiced for it, but it just didn’t work out the way we wanted it to.”

Other than that 3-point play, Bennett had plenty of other high-energy moments, such as running down a long rebound to keep possessions, to inject some energy into Centralia. 

“He played hard so we have to find ways to get him the ball in better scoring positions,” Humphrey said.

Humphrey insists Centralia will “turn it around” and has an opportunity to do so in a rematch from one of those tough losses at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at home against Moberly (5-3). The Panthers led the Spartans 30-26 at halftime in their previous meeting at the Centralia Invitational Tournament before losing 62-54.

Panthers lose 57-55 against California at home

The Centralia boys were unable to hang on again/

The Panthers lost 57-55 to California (5-3) at home on Tuesday after leading 26-20 at halftime and 43-38 after the third quarter.

Travis Brooks led Centralia with 11 points and seven rebounds, Noah Kropf finished with 10 points and nine rebounds, Cullen Bennett followed with 10 points and five rebounds, and Logan Rosenfelder had eight points and three steals.