Centennial Goes Small, Trips Cda

Centennial girls basketball coach Emery Roy came into Viking Gym to face Coeur d’Alene with a bit of a dilemma on his hands. Roy’s team would face the Vikings without 5-foot-11 starters Staci Kirk and Barrie Jensen, both out with the flu.

The Patriots concentrated on speed instead of size and came away with a 49-37 victory.

“We knew they were going to be bigger so we figured we would have to rely on our speed,” Roy said.

Centennial forced 29 Coeur d’Alene turnovers with almost constant pressure at both ends of the court.

“Centennial did a really good job with pressure and they just took it to us,” Coeur d’Alene assistant coach Leah McGowan said. “We stalled too much bringing it in and bringing it up.”

The Patriots were up 27-19 at halftime and then Angie Pellant took over.

The 5-foot-9 senior scored nine of the Patriots’ 13 fourth-quarter points as her team took a 40-28 lead.

“(Pellant) stepped up because Kirk and Jensen couldn’t play,” Roy said. “She’s a senior and she played like one.”

After committing 39 turnovers Friday night in a loss to Lake City, Centennial had better luck holding onto the ball against Coeur d’Alene, committing 24.

Katie Scown was the main force in the middle early on for the Patriots, scoring all nine of her points in the first half.

The Vikings were led by Kim Pearson and Jill Pederson with 10 points each.

McGowan felt that the intensity level wasn’t where it should be. “They just wanted it more than we did.”

Coeur d’Alene is on the road this week for non-league games at Borah and Boise.

Centennial 49, Coeur d’Alene 37

Centennial 14 13 13 9 - 49

Coeur d’Alene 13 6 9 9 - 37

Centennial- Martin 5, Birch 4, Weber 7, Jensen 5, Pellant 19, Scown 9, Snyder 0, Wilde 0

Coeur d’Alene- Orr 5, Pederson 10, Cultra 0, Stolp 2, Wilkey 2, Stern 6, Pearson 10, Hansen 2.