The Centennial girls’ basketball team couldn’t keep pace with its opponents at the Malcolm holiday tournament Dec. 29 and 30. The Broncos lost the opener to Malcolm 59-37 and fell to Auburn 40-28.
“Against Malcolm, it was the same old script,” Coach Eric Kloke said. “We were up 8-0 and 14-5 and then we couldn’t score.
He said Malcolm’s 1-1-3 zone defense bothered the Bronco offense and didn’t let CHS get the inside touches it wanted. Kloke was impressed with Malcolm’s Halle Dolliver, who finished the game with 27 points.
“She either scored or assisted on 23 of their 25 points” in the first half, he said.
The Broncos were able to score in transition in the first quarter, but Malcolm slowed them down to a half-court set. The biggest difference was in rebounding, where CHS didn’t have many defensive rebounds, Kloke said.
“Without rebounds, there’s no transition offense,” he said.
Centennial also battled foul trouble throughout the game, with Cora Payne fouling out early in the fourth quarter. Catelynn Bargen also committed early fouls but was able to finish the game.
Bargen finished the game with 15 points, scoring 10 in the first quarter.
The next, day, Centennial started out slowly, reversing the script and allowing Auburn an 8-0 lead. CHS chipped away through the third quarter, but then Auburn extended its lead.
“We couldn’t quite get it done,” Kloke said. “We felt we never had control of the game.”
He said Auburn’s aggressive zone defense led to panic on the Centennial side, and the Broncos don’t currently have “that girl” to take charge.
“Auburn did a good job slowing down our momentum,” Kloke said.
Averie Stuhr had a good game, however, leading the team with eight points. Bargen finished with seven points and seven rebounds.
The Broncos (3-5) have a tough week ahead, with a game at Sutton Friday, Jan. 5, starting at 6 p.m., and a game at the Kearney Showcase Saturday, Jan. 6, against Southern Valley with tip-off set for 10:45 a.m.
