From the opening tip, it was clear Centralia’s defense was ready to go.
The Tigers were relentless in the full court press against R.A. Long, forcing several turnovers early while holding the Lumberjills without a point until the five-minute mark.
“We want to play with high energy on both ends of the floor,” Centralia coach Austin Danielson said. “We want to be a team that’s in passing lanes and pushing offenses into uncomfortable situations, and they were able to do that.”
With the strong defensive start, the Tigers built a lead and never looked back, rolling to a dominant 65-31 victory in their season opener on Monday.
Centralia scored the first 12 points of the game before R.A. Long got on the board, and the Tigers didn’t allow a field goal until there was less than two minutes left in the first quarter.
By that point, the Tigers led 16-4, and they continued to build on that lead in the second half.
Brooklyn Sprague hit a pair of threes in the third, Ayana Saucedo added another, and Maddie Ahern added two threes of her own in the fourth to headline a 38-point second half.
Sprague scored 11 points in the third alone, while Ahern and Estella Bussanich combined for 14 in the fourth,
By the end of the game, four different Tigers finished in double figures.
Saucedo and Ahern both finished with 15 points, while Sprague added 13 and Makenzie Erickson tallied 12.
“We love to see a lot of players getting involved, sharing the ball, and playing together as a team,” Danielson said. “That was a great start.”
Saucedo also added four assists, Bussanich added eight points, and Aniela Gunn scored five points and brought down 14 rebounds.
“That always helps,” Danielson said while applauding Gunn for her performance.
R.A. Long leaned on Bri Garwood and Becca Montgomery, who combined for 25 points, but the Tigers shut down nearly every other Lumberjill on the floor.
Only two others scored, including one who only scored one point.
With the win, the Tigers start 1-0 for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
Later this week, they will host Elma on Wednesday and Hockinson on Thursday, and Eatonville will also make the trip on Monday.
“We’re very much excited for the season,” Danielson said. “These girls are great teammates, and they’re having a lot of fun together. You can see it on the court … We have some growing to do, but we have great senior leaders in Brooklyn (Sprague), Ayana (Saucedo), and Makenzie (Erickson), and they’re just gonna lead our team in a positive direction.”
