DODGE CITY -- Resilient.
That’s the word Centralia coach Dusty Thompson used to describe his team after a hard-fought 50-43 win against Little River to claim the state title Saturday at United Wireless Arena, the Panthers' first title since 2016 and sixth overall.
Senior floor leader Oen Deters scored 29 points – 15 in the third quarter alone – to help her team complete a perfect 26-0 season.
Centralia started on fire taking an 8-2 lead before Little River hit its first field goal with 2:24 to go in the first. Then, at the buzzer, the Panthers’ Deters swished a shot from halfcourt to give her team a 13-8 lead at the first break.
Little River turned things around in the second period, scoring on a 3-pointer, a pair of free throws and another three from Evie Look to take their first lead of the game, 22-21 at the 3:20 mark.
Another Redskin three from Saelyn Raleigh gave Little River a slim 25-24 lead at halftime, despite Little River shooting just 27 percent from the floor (7 of 26) and 4 of 10 from the line.
After that, it was the Deters Show.
With her team trailing 27-24, the senior scored the next 12 points for the Panthers, including back-to-back threes and a pair of free throws in a 56-second span – and then she drained a three at the buzzer and Centralia led 41-30.
Little River mounted a comeback in the fourth quarter, getting to within five at 43-38 with 3:24 to play, but that was as close as they would get as they saw their season end at 23-1.
For Coach Thompson, it was a great way to culminate a great season.
“Everything has been hyped up all season,” he said. “They took our best shot; we took their best shot. I’ve said it all season: Get us to halftime and we’ll make adjustments, and we’ll do what we need in the second half.”
Trailing by one point at halftime meant making small adjustments, Thompson said, such as getting a little more ball pressure and understanding who’s guarding who on the court.
“Things like that made a big difference in the second half,” he said. Ball pressure helped limit the Redskins to just five points in the third with just two field goals in 14 possessions.
From the start, the Panthers were scrapping, going after loose balls and trying to get in the faces of Little River, both trademarks of his team, Thompson said.
“We talk about every loose ball we have to get a hand on it. That’s the mentality you have to play with,” he said. “If you’re not willing to put your body out there, if you’re not willing to do things like that, we’ve got somebody on the bench who is.”
Deters played on the team that lost a state championship by a point her freshman year. Three years later, winning that title felt exhilarating.
Her buzzer three from half court at the end of the first quarter was a good antidote to a lackluster first period.
“Second quarter we came out and played harder. That’s what I was excited for,” she said. “In the second half, we played hard and played our game.”
Centralia shot 33 percent from the floor and 14 of 21 from the free throw line.
Little River (23-1) was led by Arika Feldman’s 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Redskins shot 27 percent from the floor and just 10 of 21 from the free throw line.
Little River coach Cy Rolfs was emotional after the loss but complimentary towards his opponents.
“This was two really good basketball teams and you knew they were going to fight to make plays and play disciplined,” he said. “(Centralia) hit some great shots, some incredible shots that gave them momentum at the right times.”
Centralia's Oen Deters drives past Little River's Adelynne Strecker.
The Centralia girls show off their title plaque after winning their sixth state tournament with a 50-43 win over Little River.
Centralia and Little River players battle for a loose ball.
THIRD PLACE
TROY 50, QUINTER 38
In only its second state appearance, Troy took home third place hardware with a 50-38 win over Quinter.
Harper Whetstine led the Trojans with 25 points and five assists as Troy finished 23-2 for the season.
Troy took a quick 4-0 lead but trailed 7-6 after one period. Quinter took a 13-7 lead early in the second, but Troy regained the lead with an Alyson Grable field goal at 1:02 to put her team ahead 18-16 and never trailed the rest of the game.
Troy took advantage of a number of Quinter turnovers in the third period to take a 33-22 lead into the final period.
Troy shot just 14 of 43 from the floor but they finished 19 of 25 from the free throw line. Quinter was 12 of 43 from the floor but only 7 of 13 from the line for the major difference.
Quinter (21-5) got 18 points from Bryn Gillespie. No other player scored more than four points.
Troy took third place in 1A Division I.
CLASS 1A DIVISION I CHAMPIONSHIP BOX SCORE
Centralia … 13 … 11 … 17 … 9 … -- … 50
Little River … 8 … 17 … 5 … 13 … -- … 43
Centralia (26-0) – H. Kramer 1-7 2-4 5, T. Kramer 1-1 2-2 4, Deters 7-16,10-14 29, Rempe 0-1 0-0 0, Gibbs 5-15 0-1 10, Haverkamp 1-6 0-0 2. Totals 15-46 14-21 58.
Little River (23-1) – Strecker 2-5 1-2 6, Raleigh 1-1 2-4 5, Lafferty 2-8 2-6 7, Look 2-8 3-5 9, Olander 0-3 1-2 1, Feldman 5-19 1-2 15. Totals 12-44 10-21 43.
3-point goals – Centralia 6-13 (H. Kramer 1-2, Deters 5-9, Rempe 0-1, Haverkamp 0-1); Little River 9-24 (Strecker 1-2, Raleigh 1-1, Lafferty 1-3, Look 2-6, Feldman 4-12). Rebounds – Centralia 37 (H. Kramer 10, Deters 7); Little River 36 (Feldman 11). Assists – Centralia 8 (Deters 4), Little River 9 (Raleigh 2, Olander 2, Wright 2). Turnovers – Centralia 12, Little River 14. Total fouls – Centralia 18, Little River 18. Fouled out – H. Kramer.
TROY 50, QUINTER 38
Troy … 6 … 12 … 17 … 15 … -- … 50
Quinter … 7 … 16 … 8 … 12 … -- … 38
Troy (23-2) – Whetstine 6-13 11-14 25, G. Grable 1-9 3-4 6, Judd 0-1 0-0 0, Franken 2-7 4-5 8, A. Grable 5-10 1-2 11, Weber 0-3 0-1 0. Totals 14-43 19-25 50.
Quinter (21-5) – Smith 0-4 0-0 0, Johnson 1-2 0-0 3, M. Briggs 1-3 0-0 3, Gillespie 6-13 3-4 18, A. Briggs 0-1 0-0 0, Blackwill 1-10 2-6 4, Baalman 0-1 0-0 0, Villalaz 2-3 0-0 4, Getz 1-3 1-3 5. Totals 12-43 7-13 38.
3-point goals – Troy 3-13 (Whetstine 2-6, G. Grable 1-6, Weber 0-1); Quinter 5-19 (Smith 0-4, Johnson 1-2, M. Briggs 1-1, Gillespie 3-7, Blackwill 0-4, A. Briggs 0-1). Rebounds – Troy 37 (Franken 11, A. Grable 7); Quinter 29 (Blackwill 7). Assists – Troy 10 (Whetstine 5), Quinter 10 (Blackwill 5). Turnovers – Troy 12, Quinter 14. Total fouls – Troy 13, Quinter 23. Fouled out – Smith.