Hannah Rogers
HAGERSTOWN, Ind. – The Hagerstown girls basketball team used its defense on Friday night to beat Centerville 39-17.
“You hold a team to 17 points, you’re doing something pretty good,” Hagerstown Head Coach Chris Oliger said.
“We came out and took them out of what they wanted to do offensively,” Oliger added. “That was important. It was a good win for us and it keeps our hopes alive to win a conference title.”
Hagerstown is 7-4 overall and 2-1 in the Tri-Eastern Conference, while Centerville is 3-9 and 1-3 in the league.
“They were mentally and physically stronger than us tonight,” Centerville Head Coach Jason Searcy said. “They pushed us around and were more physical. They deserved to win this game.”
The Tigers were on top early in the contest as they built a 7-0 advantage with a 3:43 remaining in the opening period, but it took them longer than Oliger had hoped.
“Offensively, we struggled in the first half,” he said. “When we executed offensively, we looked good. When we didn’t … we’ve got a lot to work on.”
“You have to give it your best shot every night,” Oliger continued. “Even if your best is not as good as you want it to be, you still have to give it your best.”
The Tigers led 11-2 after the first period and then 15-7 by halftime. In the third quarter, Hagerstown worked to a 28-12 advantage as Centerville’s offensive woes continued.
Merissa Ross
“You’ve got to get ball movement and get them out of position,” Searcy said. “We just didn’t execute that very well.”
Hannah Rogers led the Tigers with 12 points, while Gabby Willis finished with nine points. Taylor Kelley ended with eight points and eight rebounds. Brytni Dale also grabbed eight rebounds.
Merissa Ross topped Centerville with eight points. Lauren Honkomp had five rebounds.
Hagerstown returns to action at home against Tri in another TEC affair on Saturday, Dec. 19.
Centerville is at home with Blue River on Tuesday, Dec. 22.
Box Score
CENTERVILLE (3-9, 1-3) – Lauren Honkomp 1 0-1 2, Merissa Ross 2 2-2 8, Kaylin Smith 0 0-0 0, Madilyn Coomes 0 0-0 0, Savanna Kates 1 0-0 2, Cassidy Weiss 0 0-0 0, Emily Willis 0 0-2 0, Alex McFarland 0 1-4 1, Maggie Curts 1 0-0 2, Mackenzie Tipton 1 0-0 2. Team – 6 3-9 17.
HAGERSTOWN (7-4, 2-1) – Gabby Willis 4 0-0 9, Hannah Rogers 2 8-8 12, Taylor Kelley 4 0-2 8, Brytni Dale 0 3-5 3, Savannah Houck 1 5-6 7, Victoria Pierson 0 0-0 0, Hailee Garrison 0 0-0 0, Beth Jenkins 0 0-0 0, Madison Brown 0 0-0 0, Lexi Eblen 0 0-0 0, Lacee Dale 0 0-0 0. Team – 11 16-21 39.
Centerville 2 7 12 17
Hagerstown 11 15 28 39
3-pointers – Centerville 2 (Ross 2), Hagerstown 1 (Willis 1). Rebounds – Centerville 26 (Honkomp 5), Hagerstown (Kelley 8, Dale 8). Turnovers – Centerville 24, Hagerstown 19. Fouls – Centerville 15, Hagerstown 12.