Elma’s Carly Meister, Katie Colard and Brandi Thomas combined for 53 points as the Eagles topped Centralia 66-40 in the Hub City Tuesday night in Evergreen 2A Conference girls basketball action.
Tiger senior Caitlyn Sande showed she could score too, capping her career at home off with a 16-point effort.
“It was senior night,” Tiger coach Mark Westley said. “The focus was on Caitlyn Sande. It was nice to see she had one of her better offensive games of the season.”
Centralia was down 13 at halftime, but a third quarter where it was outscored 15-5 by Elma dampened the potential for a comeback.
“It was one of those games that went by real quick,” Westley said. “It was tough to match and to stop their athleticism.”
That athleticism garnered 45 rebounds, which included 18 by Thomas, committed to Washington State to play basketball next season. Centralia had just 25.
“They outrebounded us a ton,” Westley said. “Thomas had as many rebounds by herself as we did as a team.”
As a parting gift, Westley commended Sande’s efforts for three years of varsity basketball.
“She’s been a great teammate and great player that’s helped us turn around and head in the right direction,” the coach said.
Centralia (5-14, 3-10 league) plays its season finale in Chehalis against W.F. West Friday. The Bearcats topped the state’s No. 1 team in River Ridge Tuesday.
“Everybody would like to walk off the court the last time of the season with a victory,” Westley said. “Coach (Henri) Weeks will definitely have his squad ready. It will be a great rivalry game.”
