Centerburg (13-3, 8-2) made it four wins in a row with a 47-34 road win over KMAC rival Fredericktown (9-8, 6-5), with Kayla Larimore putting up 20 points and the Lady Trojans doing a great job containing second ranked scorer Cally Carpenter.
“It was a strange game,” Coach Bill Abner said. “If you told me before the game that we would hold Cally Carpenter and Mya Bryant to eight points and Ella Bouton to six, I would assume it would be a blowout. But credit to the other kids for them who stepped up. And it was great to see Jill Bouton back on the floor. I'm glad she's recovered from her injury.”
Centerburg started off with a 13-4 lead after one quarter, led by Larimore’s six points. Tiara Sheppard added four points and Kennedi Glenn hit a three. Fredericktown battled for a 10-9 second quarter advantage with Mya Bryant putting up four points, and it was a 22-14 game at halftime.
Ella Bouton hit a pair of threes in the third quarter to lead Fredericktown, and the team outscored the Lady Trojans 12-10 to keep the game within reach at 32-26. Centerburg finished strong with a 15-8 fourth quarter, led by Clara Johnson’s seven points that included a three.
“At times I thought both teams were a little sloppy,” Coach Abner said. “It was a very intensely played game and I think both teams had some nerves early on. I know we did. Our girls have never played in a game that could earn them a share of a league title. This was all new to them despite playing in some big games this year. I thought we flew around on defense and did a good job knowing where Carpenter and Bouton were.”
Glenn’s three pointer was her only shot attempt in the game, and Abner said this simply can’t happen. He felt like the team never got into a rhythm on offense and this let Fredericktown get back into the game.
“It was 30-17 and next thing I know it's 32-26,” Coach Abner said. “We are learning how to win close ones but it sure would be good for my health if we could just put a team away once in a while.”
Abner said that on offense the team may have been so amped up that the players tried to do too much, which led to a number of uncharacteristic turnovers. They had 13 turnovers in the first half, which Abner said is just not like them. Fredericktown also struggled in the turnover department so the damage was limited. Abner was happy with the way the team polished things up in the second half.
Larimore’s 20 points were a game high, and she added five boards in the win. Sheppard went for 12 points, going 6-for-7 from the foul line, and was excellent on defense with four steals.
Kenlee Fairall leads the conference in steals and once again dominated with five steals, while putting up two points. Johnson had eight points, which included seven in the second half.
“Kayla and Tiara again had great scoring nights and both really did a great job defensively,” Coach Abner said. “But Clara Johnson's seven fourth quarter points were huge. I am so, so happy for her. She has not had a storybook senior season missing over a month with a concussion but she was huge for us tonight. She provided a needed spark when it got close.”
Evie Stowe had four assists, three steals and four boards and brought the ball up against Carpenter all night while only committing a pair of turnovers.
“Evie Stowe again played a brilliant game at point guard,” said Coach Abner. “She only took one shot but stuffed the stat sheet otherwise. And she had Carpenter in her face all game and only turned it over twice. Her growth this year has been amazing.”
Carpenter and Bryant led the Freddies with eight points, and Ella Bouton scored six points. Jill Bouton and Kit Bellman each had four points, while Gracie Lester and Kennedy Algire rounded out the scoring with two points apiece.
Centerburg is a tough matchup," said Fredericktown Coach Jared Pryor. "They have a talented team and are well coached. Their offense was able to spread us out and their defense created a lot of turnovers. I felt like we had some success throughout the game but were just too inconsistent. We will have to take care of the ball and have more patience in our next game against them. It was great to get Jill Bouton back on the floor. She had been out with injury for the past 10 games and we're hoping to get her back into form going into the tournament."
Coach Abner knows these conference wins are vital, and that beating Fredericktown put them in good status with the regular season winding down.
“This was a big win, obviously,” Coach Abner said. “This puts us two games ahead in the KMAC race. We have business left to handle but this puts us in a good spot.”
