After toughest week of the season, Warriors look to regroup after break
Katie Royer lays in two points in Central’s 45-33 loss to Ed-Co on Dec. 16. (Photos by Willis Patenaude)
Layla Embretson tries to stymie a Viking shot attempt.
Blair Scherf defends a Viking shot.
Brylee Erickson passes the ball to teammate Blair Scherf in Central's loss to Ed-Co.
By Willis Patenaude | Times-Register
Last week was one of the toughest of the season for the Central girls basketball team—one coach Mark Wiley said was circled early on because of the opponents, which included last year’s UIC runners-up Kee High and conference champs MFL MarMac. Throw in another conference runner-up in Edgewood-Colesburg, and the Warriors were running the gauntlet.
The week started against Ed-Co on Dec. 16, in a game that remained scoreless well into the first period as both teams traded turnovers and struggled to find good looks at the basket. The Warriors struck first on a shot by Blair Scherf, who scored a team-high eight points.
Ed-Co tied the game at 2-2 with just under five minutes remaining and the score stayed tied until Katie Royer hit a layup to retake the lead. Brylee Erickson also put in two of her six points, and the low-scoring period ended with the Warriors leading 6-4.
The Vikings quickly tied the game to open the second period, but Royer and Erickson put in timely layups and knocked down three-pointers to give Central a 16-15 lead. A big three by Oakley Armstrong with 35 seconds left gave the Warriors a 19-17 lead at halftime.
Central then got out to a 21-17 lead in third period on a Layla Embretson layup, for two of her seven total points. The Warriors were aggressive on defense, limiting Ed-Co’s shot selection, and were up 25-21 with three minutes left in the period. From that point on, it was all Ed-Co, as the Vikings went on a 14-2 run to close the period up 33-27.
The fourth quarter did not improve for the Warriors, who were held to five points total. Ed-Co started hitting three-point shots and turnovers mounted, leading to the Vikings scoring 28 of their 45 points off turnovers. The Warriors lost 45-33.
“We stayed competitive and had the lead at halftime on second chance points. We had more second chance points in the game compared to Ed-Co. We broke the press, but then didn’t get into an offensive flow, leading to turnovers on our passing. Our amount of turnovers hurt our ability to have opportunities to win the game,” Wiley said.
The Warriors out-rebounded Ed-Co 35 to 27 and had a slightly better shooting percentage at 33.3 percent, but committed 25 turnovers compared to just 12 for Ed-Co.
Along with the eight points, Scherf had a team-high nine rebounds, while Armstrong finished with five points, six assists and four rebounds. Royer had six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The story of the Dec. 17 game versus MFL MarMac was the 45.7 percent shooting percentage of the Bulldogs and the 18 turnovers by Central.
“Our amount of turnovers hurt our ability to have opportunities to win the game. Turnovers were an issue in the MFL MarMac game with their pressure defense. It was our first game this season where we were not competitive in the first quarter. They brought more intensity to the game,” Wiley said.
The Warriors turned the ball over eight times in the first period, which saw the Bulldogs open the scoring floodgates. The lone score for the Warriors in the period came from Scherf, who hit a shot with an “and one” from a foul, for three of her five points. The Warriors were unable to contain the Bulldogs and trailed 21-3 after one period.
The second period went a little better for Central in terms of scoring and on defense, as they held the Bulldogs to 11 points. Embretson, who totaled five points, hit the opening shot of the period, and Scherf put in an off-balance shot as well. Erickson, who scored a team-high 11 points, hit one of her three long-range shots with under four minutes left in the period with the score sitting at 22-10. MFL MarMac went on a 10-2 run to close the period leading 32-12.
The third period was a difficult first three minutes for the Warriors, who committed a turnover and three fouls. MFL MarMac extended the lead to 40-12 before Royer hit a three-pointer, but scoring was limited for the Warriors, who found little openings on the court. Erickson added another three with a little over 90 seconds left and made two free throws before time expired, but by then Central was down 46-20.
The Warriors scored just six points in the fourth quarter, on a three from Erickson and foul shots by Embretson and Mya Gregerson. However, MFL MarMac added nine more to the scoreboard and handed the Warriors a 55-26 loss.
The final game of the week came against the Kee Hawks, who are currently ranked eighth in the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s latest poll. The Warriors held strong in the first period, overcoming early turnovers to reach a 7-7 tie midway through the period on good shooting by Armstrong, who finished with eight points. A pair of free throws by Scherf and a three from the top of the key by Royer, who also finished with eight points, followed.
The next four minutes were a combination of Central turnovers and the Hawks’ Rylee Mudderman, who scored a game-high 32 points, pushing Kee to an 18-11 lead.
While the Warriors were able to keep the score within distance, the Hawks took over in the second period, out-scoring Central 21-4. Kee took advantage of 11 Central turnovers in the period to extend the lead to 39-15.
The third period started well for the Warriors, with Armstrong hitting a three-pointer, but a succession of turnovers and fouls put the score at 44-21 midway through. Erickson scored on a pass from Embretson, while Scherf and Payton Stannard added two points from the free throw line, but the Hawks went on a 7-0 run to end the quarter leading 51-22.
The Warriors played the Hawks even in the fourth period, on the strength of threes by Erickson and Armstrong and a jump shot by Scherf, but could not chip away at the lead, resulting in a 62-33 loss.
“In the Kee High game, we did turn the basketball over too much as well, but did a better job in the second half of taking care of the basketball. We not only took better care of it, but also found open teammates within our offense for points. We had some of our best ball movement of the season in the second half of the game,” Wiley said.
The Warriors finished with 10 assists, with Scherf passing for five and Armstrong two. Central also collected nine steals, with five from Royer and two by Scherf. Natalya Singleton came off the bench to add four rebounds, while Stannard got a steal and Lyla Burns grabbed a rebound.
The Warriors will return after winter break on Friday, Jan. 3, versus the Cedar Valley Christian Huskies.
