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Bulldogs focus on fun in semifinal runaway Box score: Centennial 82, Reno 53 By David Schoen Las Vegas Review-Journal RENO — Before every playoff game this season, the members of Centennial's girls basketball team have written a message on the back of their hands. The word of the day for Thursday was "Fun." "We're not in our home area, we're closer to Reno, so it was just good to know have fun," junior forward Samantha Thomas said. "It helps the pressure stay off." Centennial wasn't having much fun after a sluggish first half at UNR's Lawlor Events Center, but the Bulldogs were in a much better mood at the conclusion of their 82-53 victory over Reno in the Division I state semifinals. Thomas poured in 29 points, including four of her team's six 3-pointers, as the defending state champion Bulldogs (30-1) pulled away in the second half. Centennial, ranked No. 4 in USA Today's Super 25 poll, meets Liberty (26-3) in the title game at 6:10 p.m. today at Lawlor. Liberty defeated Bishop Manogue 59-53 in the other semifinal. "I think we're pretty happy," Bulldogs coach Karen Weitz said. "I think we came out a little slow to start, we felt, but you get that with games like this. Kids are a little passive, a little timid. Nobody wants to be the first one to make, like, a big play. "But I thought the second half they looked a little bit more comfortable and played a little bit better." Centennial shot 58 percent from the field in the second half, and 11 of its 15 players scored by the game's end. Eboni Walker and Megan Jefferson each had eight points, and Jayden Eggleston scored all eight of her points in the third quarter as the Bulldogs attacked Reno's foul-plagued center, Mallory McGwire. McGwire, a 6-foot-4-inch Oregon signee, picked up two first-quarter fouls and was neutralized for much of the game as the Bulldogs used an array of defenders to double team the reigning state player of the year. McGwire finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots for Reno (27-4), which committed 30 turnovers against the Bulldogs' pressure defense. "Our goal was to stop the double-double, so I guess we didn't get our goal, but it was close," Weitz said. "Defensively, I thought they did a great job. We really tried to limit her touches and her boards as much as we could. She's still a big girl and plays well, so you know she's going to get what she's going to get, but you try to limit those things." Centennial, which pounded the Huskies 91-56 when the teams met in the final of the Las Vegas Holiday Classic on Dec. 30, led 35-25 at halftime behind 14 points from Thomas and seven from Justice Ethridge. But the Bulldogs opened the third quarter on a 17-5 run to erase any hopes Reno and its boisterous cheering section had of pulling the upset. Eggleston had all of her points during the spurt, scoring over and around McGwire, and West Virginia-bound Bailey Thomas made a 3-pointer to put the Bulldogs on top 52-30 with 2:28 left in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Samantha Thomas got hot from the top of the key, and her second 3-pointer of the quarter from that spot gave Centennial a 74-45 advantage. Samantha Thomas was 5-for-6 from the field and made all three of her 3-point attempts in the second half. "Coach always tells me to shoot it, so I just shoot it to make her happy, and it goes in," Samantha Thomas said. "We definitely had more energy the second half. We played more like ourselves that half. I just think we had to get the jitters out in the first half and then we were good to go."
Date: February 25, 2016
Time: 3:00pm
Venue: State Semi-Final - Lawlor Arena View Statistics Abbreviations |
