HOOPS PREVIEW: Centralia girls to show a new look

By Jeremy Jacob, Sports Editor
Posted 11/30/22

Prior to last season, first-year Centralia girls basketball head coach Megan Brinkmann had led four straight teams to district titles.

First it was Bowling Green in 2018 and then Eugene for …

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HOOPS PREVIEW: Centralia girls to show a new look

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Prior to last season, first-year Centralia girls basketball head coach Megan Brinkmann had led four straight teams to district titles.

First it was Bowling Green in 2018 and then Eugene for three consecutive years. There is plenty of reason for Brinkmann to have high goals and also thinks her new group of girls have high goals for themselves.

“I think the sky is the limit for them,” Brinkmann said. “Our seniors always pick a word and this word was finish. We talked about how they want to finish every drill, or the season, or finish this tournament. I think they have high goals.

They’ve been extremely talented. I think they are able to compete every game, I think we can compete in the conference and a tournament.”

Just because each party has a desire to win doesn’t mean it just happens, Brinkmann said, as the Lady Panthers will need some time to “put the pieces together” to make that possible district run at the end of the year. Part of that process is the girls adjusting to the new coach.

Brinkmann said the Centralia job was one she pursued based on the word of a friend that had worked in the school district and how passionate the students and community is about their sports.

“I thought it was a place I wanted to be, and I was lucky enough to get hired and it’s been great so far,” Brinkmann said. “I hope they continue to grow and they buy in and continue to trust me to put them in positions to be successful.”

Centralia brings back a talented roster this year that includes three members of the Clarence Cannon Conference team – junior Morgan Ross (10.7 points per game) and seniors Jozelynn Bostick (9.6 points and 2.2 steals per game) and Harper Sontheimer – and a 16-11 record, which was its second consecutive 16-win season.

Brinkmann said she has noticed that the point guard Bostick is a really good ball handler, Sontheimer is a good defender and could score at the rim, senior Annie Robinson could be a legitimate threat in the post, and junior Raegan Anderson could see more playing time. Brinkmann views the leading scorer Ross as an even greater threat in the post while being that versatile player.

“She can shoot, but I’m trying to get her to be more physical so she has a complete game,” Brinkmann said. “Getting to the rim and attacking and also you have to guard her the three.”

Brinkmann views freshman Braylin Brunkhorst as capable of playing every position and could be a “spark coming off the bench early” due to her athleticism, intelligence and shooting ability.

Some details are understandably not fine-tuned yet, Brinkmann said, including Centralia’s commitment to a man-to-man defense and a new offensive system she is teaching her players. “A lot of implementation” will be needed before Christmas but believes the Lady Panthers should improve later while competing in the meantime.

“We’re asking a lot for the girls – installing a new offense and playing man-to-man defense,” Brinkmann said. “When we’re playing, it’s when we reject, how to read screens and how to do certain things, which is hard because they’re harder reads. I think it fits our girls really well, it allows our shooters to get open shots, or if you’re big and athletic, it also gives us drive to go to the rim. It lets our post players touch the basketball, which I think you could pass, square up, make a post move and take people off the dribble. It puts a lot of pressure on the defense. They have to guard all five spots because I think we’re able to score from all five spots.

“It will be rough at first, and there will be things we need to work on. I keep telling them to just keep buying in, just keep working hard and keep growing. That’s all I can ask for them right now.”


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