The Lady Trojans (15-3, 9-2) knew going into their game against Fredericktown (11-9, 6-6) that they would need to stifle the offensive play of Cally Carpenter, who trails only Centerburg’s Kayla Larimore in scoring this season. This tactic was a success and Centerburg was able to lock up their first Knox Morrow Athletic Conference (KMAC) title in a decade, with a 49-39 win on Feb. 8.
“We set three goals at the start of the season when I was hired in mid June: Have a winning season. win the KMAC, and get to a District Final,” said Centerburg Coach Bill Abner. “We've accomplished two of the three and this win over a tough Fredericktown team was a great way to cap off a league championship.”
In the first quarter the Lady Trojans took a 10-4 lead with Tiara Sheppard and Larimore scoring five points apiece. After a 14-12 second quarter advantage, Centerburg led 24-16 at the half. Larimore led all scorers with 12 points including a pair of threes. Sheppard had nine points and Kennedi Glenn hit a three in the second quarter. Mya Bryant had a big first half with 12 points for the Freddies.
Centerburg had a 10-8 third quarter advantage, with Sheppard putting up five points. Down the stretch each team had 15 points in the fourth quarter, with Larimore scoring seven points including going 5-for-6 from the free throw line. Sheppard also finished out strong with seven points for the Lady Trojans.
Sheppard finished with a game high 21 points, followed closely by Larimore with 19 points to go with six boards. Larimore averages just over 19 ppg on the year. Glenn hit a pair of threes for six points. Kenlee Fairall continued her strong play on defense with four steals. She currently leads the KMAC in this department.
“Kayla and Tiara were both outstanding last night and when they play like that we're tough to beat,” said Abner. “But Kennedi hit two huge threes and everyone else did a great job keeping Fredericktown off balance, especially in the first half.”
The two top scorers on the team in Carpenter and Ella Bouton were held in check, as Carpenter had six points and Bouton scored only one. Carpenter is still second in the KMAC in scoring at just over 18 ppg, as she continues to battle with Larimore for the scoring crown. Bryant was Fredericktown’s top scorer with 19 points and Kennedy Algire put up 13 points.
“Fredericktown did a great job attacking our defense in the second half and they definitely put a scare into us,” Abner said. “Bryant and Algire both hurt us. They played great. Our focus was on Carpenter and Bouton. We couldn't let them get going and to hold Callie to 14 points combined in two games is a testament to how hard all of our kids play on the defensive end. We focused on not letting her get clean looks and split our kids when we trap. Make her give the ball up.”
Abner said that there were midseason scheduling issues that made it so the Lady Trojans had the tough task of facing Cardington-Lincoln and Fredericktown four times in three weeks. He said it was mentally and physically exhausting for the team, but he was proud of their determination against these formidable opponents.
“We spoke in June about how each season is a long staircase,” Abner said. “And every practice and every game is another step on the staircase. You aren't going to reach the top of it by taking one step. It's a culmination of all of the practices, games, scrimmages, team meetings, and film sessions. They bought into the one day at a time mentality and it paid off.”
