The Centerburg Trojans girls basketball team picked up a hard-fought 48-35 win over Northridge on Tuesday, with standout performances from Kayla Larimore, Kenlee Fairall, and Lauren Ellis.
Larimore led the Trojans with a double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 16 rebounds. Fairall added 13 points and 6 steals, while Ellis contributed 12 points, 4 steals, and 5 blocks in the victory.
Despite a strong start, Centerburg found themselves in a battle with the Vikings, who pressed the Trojans with full-court man defense throughout the game. Centerburg head coach Bill Abner knew Northridge would present a tough challenge.
“We knew Northridge was going to come out and play their full-court man pressure. One of the keys we talked about pregame was keeping our composure because teams that press like that tend to be very physical, and they were,” Abner said. “Coach Mitchin has those kids playing really hard, and there was no quit in them even after we jumped out to a 10-1 lead. Northridge battled all night, and we never really could pull away from them. Every time I thought we were about to blow it open, they’d come right back at us.”
While pleased with the win, Abner acknowledged his team’s need for improvement, especially in handling the ball under pressure.
“I thought we got really sloppy with the ball,” he said. “We like to play fast, and we have kids that can really get up and own the floor, but we have to do a better job of playing fast but smart. Right now we have the fast part down. Now we need to work on the smart part.”
Centerburg will look to build on their win as they continue their season, focusing on improving their ball control and composure under pressure.
