The Centerburg Trojans beat Worthington Christian on Feb. 23 to take the Sectional title, and the playoff journey continued for the girls’ basketball team three days later with a district semifinal win over Cardington-Lincoln.
No. 5 Centerburg 43, No. 9 Cardington-Lincoln 35
It was a district semifinal matchup between two familiar opponents, as they were two of the KMAC’s best teams this season. Centerburg Coach Bill Abner’s squad had beaten them twice already this season, but the playoffs are a whole different story, and he knew the Trojans had their work cut out for them.
“Everyone knows it's very hard to beat a team three times in one season, especially a tough team like Cardington,” Abner said. “Kevin’s (Fitzgerald) a great coach and his kids play really hard. I thought we played with a lot of energy and the game was sort of frantic and we held our composure and hung on.”
KMAC Player of the Year Kayla Larimore started off hot against the Pirates and continued that intensity straight through to the end. Despite Larimore hitting three shots from downtown in the first quarter, it was the Pirates who had a 14-12 lead after one quarter. Abigail Hardwick was also hot from deep for the Pirates with a pair of three in the first.
However, the Trojan defense went to work in the second quarter. Only Jill Bertke got on the board with a bucket in the quarter, and Centerburg was able to outscore the Pirates 14-2. Senior Clara Johnson hit a pair of threes for Trojans, including one as time expired, and Tiara Sheppard had six points on three buckets. Larimore added a basket to round out the scoring for Centerburg. It was a 26-16 lead after one half of play, with Larimore leading all scorers with 11 points.
“Kayla, Tiara and Clara really got us rolling in the first half with their scoring ,and Clara's buzzer beater to end the first half was huge,” said “Tiara made a fantastic skip pass which was right on the money and Clara didn't hesitate. Huge, huge play.”
Cardington-Lincoln came out ready to rock in the third quarter, and outscored Centerburg 11-8 to make it a 34-27 game at the end of three. After being held scoreless in the second quarter, Hardwick picked things back up with seven points including a three. Bertke had four points in the quarter for the Pirates, as well. Larimore drained a three for Centerburg to lead the Trojans.
With a seven point lead heading into the fourth, Centerburg put their pedal to the metal to put the game out of reach, outscoring Cardington-Lincoln 14-8. Free throws were huge in the quarter, with Centerburg going 8-for-10 from the line. Larimore was 6-for-6 on free throws in the quarter, and had 10 points down the stretch to lead Centerburg to the win to send them to the district finals.
“We really wanted to be the aggressor and we got to the line 14 times to their three, which I think ended up being a big factor,” Abner said.
Larimore led all scorers with 24 points, including four threes and making all six free throws. Sheppard had nine points, Johnson had six points, Chesnee Fairall tallied three points, Evie Stowe had four points and Kennedi Glenn made a pair of free throws in the fourth quarter.
“Evie had to handle point guard duties all game and deal with their pressure and she was fantastic,” Abner said. “Just fantastic. And of course Kayla scoring 24...when she does that we have a very good chance to be successful.”
Hardwick led the Pirates with 19 points, and Bertke added 12 points.
Kenlee Fairall has been hurt since senior night on Feb. 15 where she sustained a high ankle sprain. Abner said she’s been playing through the pain, and putting in her all.
“She's such a tough competitor and I feel so bad for her because he wants to go out and do what she does,” Abner said. “But everyone else stepped up on defense and we got it done.”
Abner made clear that a major aspect of the win was being able to control Cardington-Lincoln defensively. He commended Hardwick for hitting clutch shots throughout the game, and said the Trojans did have some defensive breakdowns, but holding a team like the Pirates to 35 points was no small task. He said this is what set up the team to win.
“Evie, Tiara and Chesnee Fairall were outstanding defensively,” Abner said. “They were flying around all night. We had to be physical with them -- Cardington really comes after you and we had to try and match that and for the most part I thought we did.”
He added, “To win the league and get to a district final is an amazing accomplishment for this group. I am so proud of them.”
Centerburg 42, Worthington Christian 36
Larimore was the high scorer for the Trojans, but Worthington Christian made it hard for her all night, and it took a complete team effort for Centerburg to walk away with this Sectional title.
“Kayla has been so incredibly consistent for us, it's nice to see us win without her having her best shooting game,” said Abner. “It was a very physical game and I thought maybe she didn't get a few calls. But that happens. Granted, she still had 17 points and 5 rebounds, so it wasn't like she wasn't a big part of this win, but we needed other kids to step up and they did.”
The Lady Trojans got on the board in the blink of an eye, as Centerburg won the tip and had some great ball movement to get the ball to Clara Johnson for a layup in the first 10 seconds of the game. Brooke Winfree gave the Warriors their first lead of the night on and-one play. Tiara Sheppard put Centerburg up 4-3 on a one handed floater from close Centerburg took a 6-3 on a pair of free throws for Larimore, but but the Warriors went on to score the next four points to go up 7-6. Larimore was fouled mid shot and sank both free throws to regain the lead, and after one quarter it was 8-7.
The back-and-forth play continued in the second quarter. The Trojans had a three point lead, up 12-9, but Mandy Custer of Worthington Christian hit a three to tie it up 12-12. With less than a minute left in the half, the Warriors took a two point lead on a Winfree layup. Then with less than 20 seconds on the clock, Larimore slashed her way to the basket and hit a layup in traffic to tie up the game.
Centerburg was able to take the lead and widen the gap as the third quarter went on, leading 29-21 at the end of the frame. In the fourth quarter it tightened back up again, with the Warriors holding a 15-13 scoring advantage, but Centerburg was able to maintain a lead and hold on for the win.
Larimore stepped up with 17 points, five boards and four steals to lead the Trojan offense, despite only going 3-for-12 shooting. She was 10-for-11 from the free throw line, and 5-for-6 in the fourth.
Sheppard finished the night with 13 points, and went 5-for-7 shooting with 3-for-5 from three.
“When Tiara and Kayla are both scoring, we're tough to beat,” Abner said.
Johnson also hit double figures with 10 points. Kenlee Fairall had two points in the win, as well. Evie Stowe had five steals and three assists, and Abner commended her for handling the pressure all night.
The Trojans went 15-for-19 from the free throw line.
Abner praised Coach Aaron Davis for being able to attack the defense all night, saying they are well coached and played hard.
“If they make a few more threes maybe it's a different game,” Abner said. “Thankfully we also forced 20 turnovers, which made things easier.”
