Furious Fourth Quarter Rally Gives Centralia Third Place Finish

The Centralia Lady Panthers rallied from a 21-10 halftime deficit to defeat St. Pius The Tenth of Festus 36-34 Saturday afternoon in the Class 3 Third Place game. The Lady Panthers were 0-13 from three-point range through the first three quarters and trailed 29-20 heading into the final period. Three-point shooting got the Lady Panthers back into the game.

Colin Schowe with the calls on KTCM 97.3 and centralmoinfo.com. With the game tied with just over a minute remaining Raegan Anderson provided the go-ahead basket.

Centralia’s defense locked down the Lady Lancers the rest of the way to close out the game. The Lady Panthers had to contend with 6’1 post player Brooke Blankenship who led all scorers with 16 points. Coach Megan Brinkmann said the defense adjusted while Blankenship was in foul trouble.

Blankenship fouled out with under a minute to play. Braylon Brunkhorst led the Lady Panthers with 12 points while Anderson closed her high school career with her eight fourth quarter points. Brinkmann said she challenged her players at halftime.

Centralia graduates Anderson, Morgan Ross, Shelby Lewis, Kaelyn Walters, and Katie Carrico from this year’s team. Brinkmann discussed the importance of this senior class.

Centralia closes the season at 26-5, marking the second most wins in program history. You can hear the full postgame interview with Coach Brinkmann online at centralmoinfo.com.

Centralia coach Megan Brinkmann