Lady Tigers nail down district championship

Lady Tiger Kayla Brewer lets loose with a 3-pointer. Sherry’s Shots The Centerville Lady Tigers posted wins over Crockett and Anderson-Shiro last week to go 10-0 and clinch the district championship, with two games still remaining in the regular season schedule.

In a showdown for first place, the Lady Tigers faced the Crockett Bulldogs on January 24th. The Bulldogs were taller and very athletic but the Tigers were quicker, had a tenacious defense and forced many turnovers with their full court press. Both teams started slowly and the Tigers built a 12-6 lead after one period. The second quarter was evenly played and the Tigershelda5pointadvantage at half time. They had a good third quarter and doubled their lead to 10 (41-31) moving into the final period. The Tigers defense and offense proved the difference in the final quarter as the Tigers scored 15 points and the Bulldogs were held to 6 and the Tigers won the crucial game, 56-37. Kayla Brewer led the scorers with 15 points and had 4 rebounds while Candace West tossed in 11 points and pulled down 5 boards. Fallon Parnell and Dez Mathews had 5 rebounds each.

Centerville Lady Tigers are all smiles after clinching the district champions. Against Anderson the Lady Tigers dominated from the opening buzzer. They led 23-6 after the first period and cruised on to win 59-26. Callie Padgett had the hot hand in this game with a career-high performance of 22 points. Brewer and Maygn Harris followed with 9 points each and again, Coach Crafton got plenty of help from his second unit.

After the Crockett game the four seniors were asked to comment on this very successful season. Kandace Hardee shared, “The team is just like a happy family and we enjoy playing together.” Dez Mathews stated, “We finished the game strong especially in the second half with good blocking and outstanding rebounding. Everyone knows where they fit into the team and what their responsibilities are.” Callie Padgett pointed out, “We have fun on the court and the players are unselfish and it doesn’t matter who scores or rebounds as long as we win the game.” Fallon Parnell summed up, “We intend to go far into the playoffs but we are playing the games one at a time and not looking too far ahead.” With this attitude and leadership from the seniors this team has a good chance of going deep into the playoffs.

Coach James Crafton shared that this is the first district championship for the Lady Tiger program since 1989, adding “This was a preseason goal and we achieved it, but now we must get our minds and bodies ready for a playoff run! Once playoffs get here...it will not matter who we have beaten. It is a new season and everyone starts 0-0. We must be ready for everyone’s best game.” The Tigers are ranked 7th in the latest Texas Girls Coaches Association poll.

The Tigers have an open date on January 31st and host Trinity on February 3rd when the seniors on the team will be honored.