Lady Cougars sneak by Lebo
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
In another busy week for Centre High School basketball teams, the Lady Cougars won one of three games by defeating non-league Lebo Friday at home, 41-40. They lost by two points Jan. 29 in a home game against Solomon and were defeated Jan. 28 in a makeup game at Wakefield, 51-45.
Friday's contest pitted two fairly evenly-matched teams against each other. Lebo appeared to be stronger for much of the game, but in the end, the Lady Cougars pulled off a win.
Kylie Burhoop made three-point and two-point baskets and freshman Allison Shields made a free throw and two field goals to give the Lady Cougars 10 points in the first quarter. Lebo scored 12.
Leann Pankratz, Shelby Deines, and Sammi Seifert added points in the second quarter, but Lebo led 22-18 at halftime.
The Lady Wolves came out strong in the opening of the third quarter, and led 28-21 at one point.
The Lady Cougars came roaring back, scoring eight unanswered points on free throws by Brooke Carlson, a field goal by Shields, and two field goals by Pankratz. Centre led, 29-28, with approximately two minutes remaining in the quarter.
Lebo regained the lead and held it for most of the fourth quarter, but a field goal by Deines tied the game at 39-all. After a Lebo free throw gave back the lead, Carlye Simons was fouled and made two free throws to return the lead to Centre with eight seconds remaining.
Lebo threw up a shot at the other end, and the ball got stuck between the basket and backboard, giving the ball back to Centre with two seconds remaining. The ball was stolen by Lebo on the inbound pass, but a last-second shot failed to fall, resulting in a 41-40 victory for Centre.
Shields led scoring with 11 points, followed by Pankratz with nine, Deines seven, Burhoop five, Simons three, and Seifert and Carlson two each.
The junior varsity was defeated, 33-19. The highest Centre scorer was Josie Peterson with five.
Centre vs. Wakefield
The Lady Cougars defeated Wakefield for third place in the league tournament, but the Jan. 28 match-up turned out differently, mostly due to a big spurt by the Lady Bombers in the fourth quarter.
Centre trailed by one, 26-25 at halftime but outscored Wakefield 13-4 in the third quarter to lead, 38-30.
Wakefield rallied in the fourth to score 21 points compared to Centre's seven, giving the Lady Bombers a six-point win, 51-45.
Eleven three-pointers were scored in the game. Deines and Simons each completed three and Pankratz one. One Lebo player completed four.
Deines led Centre's scoring with 19 points, followed by Simons with 10.
The junior varsity was defeated, 37-26. Josie Peterson scored nine points, Shields and Tori Marler five each, Justine Jennings, Ripley Howard, and Betsy Koons two each, and Seifert one.
Centre vs. Solomon
A game that looked like it was going to be a blow-out for Solomon proved to be close in the end after the Lady Cougars exploded for 23 points in the fourth quarter.
Lackluster shooting led to a 9-23 deficit in the first half, and Centre continued to trail, 31-19, at the end of the third quarter.
The Lady Cougars went on the attack in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 unanswered points in the first three minutes, closing the gap to two, 31-29.
They fell behind again, but a three-point goal by Pankratz put them ahead, 40-39. The Lady Gorillas answered with a three-point goal of their own to regain the lead. With six seconds remaining, Deines made a free throw, making the score, 42-22.
The Lady Cougars got the ball back with eight seconds remaining, but Carlson missed a last-second layup that would have tied the game. Nevertheless, it was an exciting and unexpected finish.
The junior varsity defeated Solomon, 38-34. They led 29-14 at halftime after a 15-point second quarter on field goals by Seifert, Marler, Jennings, and Shields, and free throws by Howard.
They were outscored 17-9 in the final quarter but were able to come away with a four-point victory.
Marler was the only player in double digits with 11 points.
The Lady Cougars play three games on the road this week against White City, Solomon, and Olpe.
