Central girls beaten in wild finish, 49-48

Talk about it

St. Croix Central’s girls jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the first three minutes of Monday’s game with Elmwood.

That lead didn’t last, as this game evolved into an extremely close battle with the lead changing hands many times. Unfortunately for Central’s girls, the final lead went to Elmwood. Elmwood took a 49-48 lead on a pair of free throws with 1:51 left in the game. Neither team could score during the rest of the game, leaving Central on the short end of the 49-48 final score.

Despite the loss, Central coach Shannon Donnelly was pleased with the effort given by the Panthers.

“We put together four solid quarters, we maintained our intensity,” Donnelly said.

Donnelly said the Panthers didn’t panic when Elmwood made its comeback in the second quarter. Elmwood was hitting outside shots all night and it forced the Panthers to spread out their defense.

The Panthers were hurt by turnovers in the second quarter as they tried to force passes through the Elmwood defense. The Panthers’ biggest problem in the second half was the physical nature of the game. Central’s girls did get several shots in the final minutes, including two in the final 22 seconds, but none of the shots would fall and no fouls were called.

Offensively the Panthers had good balance. Point guard Becca McInnis led the team with 11 points. Ann Olson scored nine points before fouling out. Sarah Hawkins and Nikki Brooks each scored eight points. Brooks led the team with 11 rebounds.

A chance gets away

Last Friday’s game was doubly important for the Panthers.

Not only was it a chance to move up in the D-SC standings, it was also a game against a team in the same regional bracket in which the Panthers will be seeded.

So when the Panthers lost by a 50-42 score, it carried a sting. Central coach Shannon Donnelly was most bothered by the fact that neither team was extremely sharp during the game.

“They were basically begging us to win,” Donnelly said. “I didn’t feel like we played up to our potential.”

The main problem for the Panthers was they couldn’t stop Spring Valley’s Kimmy Keehr and Aarynn Deutsch, who combined for 41 points in the game. Keehr is the leading scorer in the conference.

The Panthers were led in scoring by Sarah Hawkins with 13 points. Hawkins and Megan Revoir shared the team rebound lead, with nine each. Nikki Brooks played a solid floor game, leading the team with five assists and four steals.

Starting Monday, the Panthers hit the final push of their season. They will either have practices or games for 13 straight days. On Thursday the Panthers play at Glenwood City, followed by a home game with Mondovi on Saturday. The Panthers will also be in action next Tuesday, competing at Elk Mound.

Spring Valley 50,

St. Croix Central 42

ST. CROIX CENTRAL (42)

(FG-FT-FTA-PTS)

Hawkins 6 1-4 13, McInnis 2 0-0 5, Revoir 1 0-2 2, Brooks 3 0-0 8, Olson 4 2-3 10, Liddle 0 0-0 0, Adkins 1 0-0 2, Pace 1 0-0 2, Hanestad 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 3-9 42.

SPRING VALLEY (50)

Cook 1 0-0 2, Lansing 2 1-2 5, Keehr 9 4-6 22, Deutsch 9 1-5 19, Ingli 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 6-15 50.

St. Croix Central 14 6 8 14 42

Spring Valley 14 9 12 15 50

Three-point goals -- McInnis, Brooks 2. Fouled out -- Olson, Liddle. Total fouls -- St. Croix Central 17, Spring Valley 15.

Elmwood 49,

St. Croix Central 48

ELMWOOD (49)

(FG-FT-FTA-PTS)

Riess 2 0-0 6, Wheeler 1 2-2 4, Hannack 6 0-0 13, Hartung 1 1-2 3, Bechel 1 0-0 3, A.Wolf 1 0-0 2, E.Wolf 4 5-7 13, Geraets 2 0-0 5. Totals 17 8-11 49.

ST. CROIX CENTRAL (48)

Chinander 0 0-0 0, Hawkins 4 0-0 8, McInnis 3 3-4 11, Revoir 1 0-0 2, Brooks 4 0-0 8, Olson 4 1-1 9, Dunn 1 0-0 2, Liddle 1 0-0 2, Adkins 0 2-3 2, Pace 1 2-2 4. Totals 19 8-12 48.

Elmwood 9 14 12 14 49

St. Croix Central 15 9 13 11 48

Three-point goals -- Riess 2, Hannack, Bechel, Geraets, McInnis 2. Fouled out -- Olson. Total fouls -- Elmwood 12, St. Croix Central 16.

Tags: sports, stcroixcentral, girls, basketball