Central returns from break with dominant win over Cedar Valley Christian
Blair Scherf edges past a Cedar Valley Christian defender in Central’s dominant 65-20 win last week. (Photos by Willis Patenaude)
Layla Embretson hooks a shot over a pair of Huskies defenders. She led the Warriors with 17 points.
Natalya Singleton aims for the basket against the Huskies. She scored five points in the win.
Payton Stannard looks for a Warrior teammate in the paint.
Ella Frieden lays in the ball in last week's match-up versus the Huskies.
By Willis Patenaude | Times-Register
The Central girls basketball team returned from winter break Jan. 3 with winning on their mind, and standing in the way were the Cedar Valley Christian Huskies and three-point shooting star Jorja Lillis.
The Warriors established a fast paced offensive attack early, led by Layla Embretson, who scored four of her team high 17 points in the first minute of the game. Blair Scherf also put home a three-point shot and a layup off a steal, scoring five of her 12 points early. This allowed the Warriors to cruise to 19 points in the period, while an aggressive defense, highlighted by Katie Royer’s ability to shut down Lillis, held the Huskies to just three points.
“We raced out to an early lead and never let up as a team. We did a good job of distributing the basketball and got the basketball in the paint to score a large majority of our points,” said coach Mark Wiley.
The second period was more of the same, with the Warriors forcing a turnover followed by an Embretson layup. Embretson and Scherf also went to the free throw line early in the period, with Scherf hitting all four and Embretson sending one of four through the net. Central, who has been known to struggle from the free throw line, went nine for 14 overall.
The team was “clicking” Wiley said. “It was good to come out of break with some positive outcomes in this category after working on this as a team.”
A steal by Scherf, who led the Warriors with six, contributed to a Brylee Erickson layup that extended the advantage to 34-6 with three minutes left in the second period. Although Lillis hit two threes in the period, the Huskies were out-matched in every phase of the game, and the Warriors went into halftime up 36-11.
Central got a little careless with the ball at moments in the second half, with Wiley acknowledging, “We still need to eliminate some of the unforced turnovers. We had opportunities to score even more points in transition if we took care of the basketball a little better.”
The defense made up for many unforced turnovers, as the Warriors amassed 21 steals and three blocks. Seven players had at least one steal, including Royer with four, Oakley Armstrong and Embretson with three and Erickson and Payton Stannard with two each. Scherf, Embretson and Natalya Singleton each recorded a block.
The defense held the Huskies to just three points in the third period and the Warriors led 50-14.
Armstrong came alive in the fourth quarter, scoring all five of her points in the period with a three-pointer and a layup. Royer came away with a steal and fast break layup with an “and one” to add to her 16-point total. Erickson added to her team high seven assists and, as a team, the Warriors reached a season high 20 assists, with Royer earning five, Armstrong four and Scherf three. When the final buzzer sounded, the Warriors came away with a 65-20 win.
Central shot 48.1 percent from the field, led by Embretson and Royer, who went a combined 15 for 20 from the field and 36.4 percent on three-point shots.
The team finished with 32 rebounds, and 10 players grabbed at least one, including Embretson with five, Erickson, Scherf and Raelynn Coanner with four each and Armstrong, Ella Frieden and Singleton with three apiece.
“It was a feel good win for the team, as every varsity player saw minutes in the game and had the chance to show our improvements made over winter break,” Wiley said.
The Warriors have three games on the schedule this week, including a Jan. 7 contest versus South Winneshiek. On Jan. 9, they’ll head to 13th ranked Maquoketa Valley, followed by another road game Jan. 10 against Clayton Ridge.
