Fast start paces Centennial in girls basketball victory
BY JESSE ZENTZ - jzentz@idahostatesman.com
Copyright: © 2011 Idaho Statesman
Published: 01/14/11
Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/01/14/1488017/fast-start-paces-patriots.html#ixzz1B4kxhvhJ
Centennial girls basketball coach Emery Roy’s 700th victory was worthy of a pregame celebration, but win No. 701 was memorable in its own right.
The unbeaten Patriots outscored Eagle by 20 points in the first quarter Thursday night at Centennial and cruised to a 58-24 victory to strengthen their hold on the top spot in the 5A Southern Idaho Conference.
The Patriots (16-0, 14-0 5A SIC) were so dominant, they could have gone scoreless after a 24-4 first quarter and still would have forced overtime.
And this was against an Eagle (10-7, 9-6) squad that is one of only two teams that have finished within single digits against Centennial this season. The Mustangs hosted Centennial on Dec. 18 and lost 64-55.
“We take a lot of confidence away from that,” said Roy, who was presented with a ball signed by his team and staff to commemorate his 700th victory last week against Capital. “We were expecting a pretty good game, but we got on them right away and got them frustrated. It would be nice to start every game like that.”
Senior Sofia Huerta, the team’s leading scorer with an average of 12.7 points per game this season, was held below her average with nine points, but the guard contributed in other ways. She also had a team high six assists with four rebounds and three steals.
“We have become more patient and we are really playing well as a team,” Huerta said. “We don’t care who has points. If there are two players running down the court against one defender, the person with the ball is going to pass every time. We’re really unselfish.”
That was evident in the first half as the Patriots went into the locker room with a 34-12 lead. They had assists on 11 of 14 first-half field goals. Centennial finished with 15 assists and 24 field goals.
Senior post Jessica Rutter paced the Patriots on the scoreboard with 16 points and added eight rebounds. She shot 6-of-9 from the field and made 4-of-4 free throws to increase her scoring average to 11.8 points per game.
“We really wanted to come out strong and take control of the game,” Rutter said. “We need to continue to do that.”
Sierrna Short added 10 points for Centennial and Emily Stickney chipped in with eight. Sophomore Mary Drzavich led Eagle with seven points, while junior Joanna Stevens scored six points and pulled down 10 rebounds in the losing effort.
With one more win, Centennial can lock up the regular-season conference championship. Four more games remain on their league schedule before the District Three tournament begins in early February.
“We would love to win every game, but we really just have to focus on district and state,” Huerta said. “That’s why we play these conference games, to get ready for the big ones next month.”
Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/01/14/1488017/fast-start-paces-patriots.html#ixzz1B4kM5453
