By William / www.mcpherson-county-ks.com

ELYRIA – In maybe the top performance of the season, the Elyria Christian girls took advantage of a younger Centre team and rolled to a 43-point, 60-17 victory at home on Friday evening.

“Centre is in a rebuilding year and play younger players who will benefit from the experience they are getting now,” explained Lady Eagle head coach Greg Fields. “Our current seniors were in that same spot when they were freshman, and it’s encouraging to see how they have progressed through their high school years.”

The Lady Eagles charged out to a commanding 18-4 lead by the end of the first quarter before shutting out Centre on the scoreboard in the second quarter and taking a dominating 35-point, 39-4 advantage into the halftime intermission.

After putting another 19 points in the scorebook in the third quarter, Elyria cooled down the offense as they cruised in for the final 43-point win.

As the score tells the tale, the Lady Eagles dominated the stat sheets as they shot a hot 48% from the field thanks to getting much of their baskets from inside the lines of the paint while out rebounding Centre 29-17.

Despite giving up 16 turnovers themselves, Elyria recorded four blocked shots and made 20 steals on defense.

Leading the offensive attack was Kylee Penner with 22 points as she was perfect on the night shooting, going seven-for-seven from the field and six-for-six from the free throw line while Ryland Hawkinson also reached double digits with 13 as eight Lady Eagles put points in the scorebook.

Penner also topped the team on the boards by pulling down seven rebounds with Hawkinson leading the Lady Eagles in steals with six and KiLynn Satrburg directing the offense with four assists.

Coach Fields concluded his post-game reflections by adding, “I was really pleased with the team effort our girls gave, especially in the second half when the game had already been decided. They are learning to play hard every moment they are on the court. Ryland (Hawkinson) continued her consistent play by again shooting 50% and reaching her scoring average for the season even while playing limited minutes. Kylee (Penner) had her best game of her career despite playing just over two quarters. It was as close to a perfect game as I have ever seen.”

WHAT’S NEXT FOR the ELYRIA CHRISTIAN LADY EAGLES?

With the victory, the Lady Eagles are now 6-3 for the season as they face a busy week next week beginning on Monday with a makeup game against Sedgwick before playing Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday in the Centre Mid-Season Tournament.

Centre at ELYRIA CHRISTIAN LADY EAGLES

SCORING:        1          2          3          4          FINAL

Centre             4          0          7          6          17       

LADY EAGLES  18        21        19        2          60       

TEAM STATS:             

Centre = FG 5/27 (18%); 3-PTR 0/5 (0%); FT 7/16 (44%); AST n/a; REBS 17; TO 23; STLS 3; BLK 2; PF 11.

LADY EAGLES = FG 22/46 (48%); 3-PTR 4/12 (33%); FT 12/14 (86%); AST 15; REBS 29; TO 16; STLS 20; BLK 4; PF 16.

LADY EAGLES INDIVIDUAL SCORING & STAT LEADERS:

Scoring (60 Total Points): Kylee Penner – 22; Ryland Hawkinson – 13; KiLynn Starburg – 7; Allie Stone – 6; Macy Reiff – 4; Alexus Swenson – 3; Olivia Clark – 3; Raegan Hawkinson – 2.

Three-Pointers Made (4): Kylee Penner – 2; KiLynn Starburg, Olivia Clark – 1.

Rebound Leaders: Kylee Penner – 7; Ryland Hawkinson – 5; Olivia Clark – 4; KiLynn Starburg – 3.

Assist Leader: KiLynn Starburg – 4; Kylee Penner – 3; Julia Allen, Allie Stone – 2.

Leader in Steals: Ryland Hawkinson – 6; Olivia Clark – 4; Alexus Swenson, Julia Allen – 3.

Leader in Blocked Shots: Macy Reiff, KiLynn Starburg, Olivia Clark, Raegan Hawkinson – 1.