Centre Lady Cougars rally past Railers
By DAVID COLBURN AND ROWENA PLETT
Staff writers
Centre High School varsity girls' head basketball coach Kelly Steiner had every reason to be worried as his Lady Cougars headed to the locker room Friday at halftime, trailing host Herington 28-21.
Coming off a loss earlier in the week against Hope, the Lady Cougars got off to a fast 12-4 lead against Herington, but turned cold as the Lady Railers went on a 24-9 run to end the first half.
However, Steiner wasn't overly concerned, knowing two things could turn the game around for his squad in the second half.
"I told them to just keep shooting — our shots were eventually going to fall," said Steiner, "and to hit the offensive boards harder."
Steiner's prescription was exactly what the Lady Cougars needed, as they stormed from behind to topple Herington 52-42.
Following a Herington basket to open the third quarter, Centre went on a 12-0 run, triggered by baskets from Selena Seifert and Kylie Burhoop. Consecutive three-pointers by Teaira Turner ignited the Centre crowd, and gave the Lady Cougars the lead, 33-30, at the 3:24 mark.
Like heavyweight boxers, the teams battered each other with three-point punches at the outset of the fourth quarter, with Centre scoring the most blows.
Burhoop fired the first salvo at the 7:24 mark, and Seifert followed with another for a 41-36 Centre edge. Crysta Brockmeier answered immediately with a trey for the Lady Railers, but Burhoop matched it with her second long bomb of the quarter, staking the Lady Cougars to a 44-39 advantage.
From there, the Centre defense took over, as Herington scored just one basket, a three-pointer, in the final six-and-half minutes.
Lady Cougar Alyssa Luna scored six straight points, and a Turner breakaway layup put the exclamation point on Centre's 52-42 win.
"When you hit shots, it makes you look a whole lot better," Steiner remarked. "We got quite a few turnovers off our press."
Steiner was pleased with how his team bounced back from a disappointing second quarter.
"It's amazing how many times in the second period we were one shot and done," he reflected. "They switched to a zone defense, and our shots just weren't falling."
Seifert led a balanced Lady Cougar scoring attack with 11 points. Megan Gutsch, Burhoop, and Luna each had 10, and Turner added 8.
"That's the funny thing about this team, we're really, really balanced. Seldom do you get that one player who has 20 points," Steiner observed.
The win was Centre's eighth of the season, against two losses, a start that has gained the Lady Cougars notice from pollsters at the Wichita Eagle and Topeka Capital-Journal.
While acknowledging his team's experience and willingness to play hard, Steiner found it difficult to point to one particular thing that has been a key to the team's success thus far.
"One night our man defense will be good, and the next night, our zone is working for us," Steiner noted. "I try to find the right mix for a particular night."
Hope 58, Centre 53
Hope seems to have a jinx on the Lady Cougars. Centre's only two losses of the season so far have occurred in contests with the Lady Lions.
They were defeated Jan. 9 at Hope, 58-53, after losing to Hope in the pre-season tournament.
Things looked really bad for the girls in the first quarter. Hope piled up a 19-6 lead before Luna completed two consecutive lay-ups, Alisha Barney nailed a three-pointer, and Brittany Owens added a field goal to bring the Lady Cougars within eight points, 15-23.
The team continued to battle from behind in the second quarter. They trailed 22-33 when they went on an eight-point run to close the gap to four, 30-34, at halftime.
Gutsch opened the third quarter with a field goal to put Centre within two points, but good shooting by the Lady Lions and many missed opportunities by Centre prevented the Lady Cougars from tying or going over the top. They trailed 40-46 at the end of the third quarter and finished the game with a five-point deficit.
"They're playing ball like some of the old Hope teams," Steiner said. "They pass the ball well, they're very athletic, and they shoot the ball well."
Luna scored a total of 12 points, followed by Gutsch and Turner with 10 points each. Barney added eight and Seifert seven.
Steiner hopes the Lady Cougars will get two more cracks at Hope this season, which will happen if both teams advance to the finals of the Eisenhower League tournament and the regional tourney.
"It's good to have to play a team like that," Steiner said.
In junior varsity play this past week, Centre defeated Hope, 37-15, and Herington, 59-27.
Leann Pankratz led scoring aginst Hope with 11 points, followed by Bridgette Burns with eight. Carlye Simons and Samantha Seifert scored 12 points each against Herington and Pankratz scored 10.
