Staff writer
The opening game of the season at Central Christian in Hutchinson proved to be an overwhelming challenge for the Centre Lady Cougars. They were defeated 31-24.
“With our limited varsity experience, I knew this type of performance was possible,” coach Alan Stahlecker said. “I do believe that we will get better.”
The team struggled to score in the first half, getting all 5 of its points from the free-throw line. They trailed by 10 points.
However, in the second half, Shelby Pankratz got hot from beyond the arc and scored four 3-pointers to lead the team in outscoring Central 19-16. Ally Basore, Katie Marler, and Kate Basore each made a basket.
“We found a little offensive rhythm in the second half and made a couple of good runs at them,” coach Alan Stahlecker said. “We were able to close the gap from 12-point deficits to 3 and then 5. We just got ourselves into such a deficit that we couldn’t dig ourselves out.”
He said the rebounding was “pretty good,” and giving up only 31 points defensively was “satisfactory.”
Pankratz was the star of the team, scoring 16 points. Other scorers were Ally Basore, 3; Marler and Kate Basore, 2 each; and Summer Espinoza, 1.
The team is playing this week in a Herington tournament.