Centerville Lady Tigers place second in Iola tourney

Sarah Mutschler (20) passes to a teammate. Paul’s Photo The Centerville girls placed 2nd in the Iola tournament by defeating Anderson Shiro 60-25, Big Sandy 60-39, and Iola 82-27 to get to the finals against Mart but lost 60-52. On December 28th the Tigers defeated a district foe, Anderson-Shiro 60-25. Brittany Thomas scored 22 points, 2 rebounds, and 5 steals to pace the Tigers. Two other Tigers had solid games as Kayla Brewer chipped in with 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals and Fallon Parnell scored 6 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals.

The Tigers played Big Sandy next and gathered a 60-39 victory as Brittany Thomas scored 12 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Kayla Brewer had a good game as she contributed 13 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 3 steals. Senior Kelsey Lagrone gathered 11 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and had 2 steals.

The Tigers faced the Iola Bulldogs and smothered the Bulldogs 82-27 as Brittany Thomas led the way with 14 points, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Kayla Brewer followed with a solid game with 13 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals as did Magyn Harris with 10 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.

Lady Tiger Hannah Word (25) is ready to set up the play. Paul’s Photo The Tigers met Mart on December 29th and lost a hard fought game 60-52. Freshman Candace West paced the Tigers with 11 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Senior Sarah Mutschler had a solid game with 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks and Brittany Thomas had 8 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals.

Several ladies had good tournaments with results that don’t stand out but as a team their contributions are recognized. Playing solid defense and good ball handling don’t show up in the stats but contribute greatly to the team victory. Assists and steals are so important to the winning effort. Hannah Word directs the offense and controls the pace of the Tiger’s offense and dishes out many assists each game. Several JV players played in the tournament and showed they have the ability to help the varsity if the need arises.

The girls needed the games to get their legs under them after a long holiday break. With district games beginning next week against Buffalo and Anderson-Shiro the tournament was a show place for Coach Crafton to try different combinations on the court and see which worked and what the team needed to work on. The girls competed well and continued to show improvement. Coach Crafton said “The girls are working hard each day to become better players and they have improved tremendously since the start of the season”.

Anytime you come out to watch a game it is a guarantee these girls will give you something to be excited about, whether it is diving for a loose ball, making a steal and pitching the ball ahead for a fast break or even just good old team basketball.

The Tigers host Buffalo on January 5th and travel away to play Anderson-Shiro on January 8th. Start times for the JV game is 4:00pm followed by the varsity.