Richard Smith
West Valley Preps
Thursday night's Centennial girls basketball senior night appeared to be set up like a coronation.
But visiting Liberty arrived determined for a battle. For most of the night, that's what the under .500 Lions gave the No. 4 ranked team in 5A.
Liberty (9-11, 2-5 region) flustered the Coyotes with its height and swarming zone defense, even taking a brief 40-39 fourth quarter lead. But Centennial (22-4, 7-0) benefitted from some disputed second half calls.
And most importantly, the Coyotes have Taylor Leonard. The centerpiece of senior night finished with 25 points — more than double the total of any other player — and chipped in five rebounds and a couple of steals in the 54-43 win.
"I was pretty confident in this game and I had a lot of motivation because it was against Liberty, our PUSD rival. We were struggling at first, but we came together," Leonard said. "We were overconfident to start. When they got really close in the second half, we realized we had to step it up. It kicked in then."
Out of context, it looks like just another loss in a series of five straight for the Lions. This game, which was much closer than the final score indicated, was a breakthrough for coach Lindsey Abramson.
After the contest, she said the second half foul calls did not cost her team a victory. However, she said she believes they took the Lions out of a game they deserved to be in based on their defensive effort and offensive execution.
"In the two years I've been here I think that was the best they've clicked defensively an, finally, offensively. We were running sets and getting the ball where it needed to go. I think they were tired of losing — and to teams they maybe shouldn't have lost to," Abramson said. "I just wanted that one for them. The good thing about basketball is that there's always the second half and I told them (the rematch Feb. 6 at Liberty) is their second half."
Her contentions started later in the third quarter with the visitors trailing 32-28. Centennial did not make a basket in the final three minutes, yet grew its lead to 39-32 after three thanks to going seven of 10 from the charity stripe.
Liberty regrouped to take its first lead since scoring the opening basket, only to see the Coyotes respond with a 7-0 run.
With the home team up 46-40 and 3:08 left in the game, there was a scrum under the Centennial basket that left both benches disputing possession and fouls.
The sequence ended with Lions sophomore post Brooke Hoeltge fouling out and Abramson being called for a technical while Centennial coach Matt Visintainer did not.
"You come into an environment like this with great coaching and players, and you just want to compete. You never want a game where you never know what you're going to get. Were there some calls they missed for us? Absolutely. But I also think they missed some for them," Abramson said. "It was unfortunate the way it had to end. I got the technical and Centennial did a great job of backing me up, they were trying to help me out. I was very confused to how many of my players had five fouls."
Leonard hit both free throws and the Coyotes were home free. Fellow senior Chantel Sloan got her highlight late, hitting a layup off a pinpoint feed from junior Jamia Clark.
The Coyotes looked more like the team on a nine-game winning streak in the second half, stealing passes, running the open floor and finishing in transition. Senior Cynthia Phanrasy, usually a reserve but starting tonight, chipped in five rebounds.
"She's usually one of our first subs in and she did a really good job battling on the glass. Liberty is a big team," Visintainer said. "(Jamia) picked up a couple quick fouls early and that kind of took her out of her rhythm. But she came back and had a very strong fourth quarter."
The first half was played more at Liberty's pace in the first half, and the Lions were down only 17-13 after one. Centennial extended the cushion to 29-20 at the half.
But the Lions had made them more one-dimensional, almost a throwback to the last two years when Leonard had to carry the load. She had 17 points in the first half.
"I thought Liberty did a great job tonight and coach Abramson had a great game plan against us. They didn't give an inch and were busting their butt the entire night. We had to step up to the challenge," Visintainer said. "We tried to address our defensive rotations at halftime."
Hoeltge controlled the third quarter with her defense, collecting four of her five blocks. She also had six points and four rebounds in limited action because of the fouls.
Her coach said the sophomore is regaining her skill set after missing the opening weeks of the season with injury. She also liked how the offense operated.
The Lions lack a go-to double-digit scorer. But Thursday, multiple players stepped up including seniors Brianna Krasnowski (12 points) from long range and Sydney Tenant (7 points) finishing in the lane.
"Brooke is so young and she's such a great kid. She's got so much room to grow," Abramson said. "We'll miss Syd and Bree and the (Pilmore) twins but it's good to know we have 8 of our top 11 coming back."
Liberty still has its senior night against the Coyotes and with a No. 17 ranking entering Thursday looks destined to make the lay-in round. Centennial nears the playoffs with the big run in mind.
"We know we're legit this year and we're really motivated to go far. Coach V makes sure we're pushing until the end," Leonard said.
Liberty's Kate Lockhorn (#44) drives to the basket against Centennial Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018 at Centennial High School in Peoria. [Jacob Stanek/West Valley Preps][/caption]