Centennial vs Champlin Park 1-7-11

Got to this Northwest Suburban Conference tilt a bit late; right around the 4:19 mark with Centennial holding what appeared to be a comfortable 29-17 lead.  But the Cougars would seemingly self-destruct coming down the home stretch that allowed the host Rebels to not only come back but to grab a 4 point 36-32 halftime lead.  Much of the Champlin Park comeback in the first half was the result of freshman phenom Alexis Alexander and her slashing drives plus key "3" point shots from both juniors Sarah Serie and Hannah Marthaler. 

The second half saw Centennial make a charge out of the gate.  Junior Brooke Schutta canned two freebies from the charity stripe and a bit later senior PG Kahla Becken (daughter of Head Coach Jill Becken) did the same.  At the 15:46 mark senior Maggie Haug canned a long two-pointer from the top that cut the Rebel lead down to 38-36.  But Champlin Park would get it going again as they were eventually able to build their lead back up to as many as nine points.  Centennial found itself struggling again; having no luck trying to get inside and relying on 3-pointers; an almost surfire recipe for disaster.  Somehow, though, the Cougars would find a second wind of their own and would claw back into the contest.  At the 9:42 mark, Becken missed a 3-point attempt but fellow senior Kayla Bilderback got the rebound, was fouled and made one free throw attempt.  A bit later Bilderback was able to finish inside and the Rebel lead was cut down to 54-51.  The Cougars were eventually able to take the lead and get it up to as many as five points, thanks to junior Danika Gieske and sophomore Paige Waytashek (yet ANOTHER Waytashek sister coming up!) heroics.  Centennial's lead would gradually get whittled down to the 2-3 point margin in the last two minutes.  With the Cougars clinging to a tenuous two-point lead with just :16.9 left, Champlin Park had to foul someone and chose to foul sophomore Waytashek.  But the youngest of the Waytashek trio playing basketball was unable to hit either charity stripe attempt and the Rebels got the rebound and got the ball into the hands of Alexander who made a daring drive down the middle with seven seconds left and finished to knot the game at 70-all.  But Centennial knew what it had to do and had just enough time left to do it.  After a timeout, Centennial got the ball down the court quickly and eventually into the hands of Gieske who drove hard on the right side of the lane and put the ball up off the glass where it kissed off and into the net as time expired for a gripping 72-70 Centennial win. 

Despite the disappointing showing at the Pat Patterson Memorial Thanksgiving tournament, the Cougars have begun to right the ship and I would have to think that a lot of the credit goes to the leadership of senior PG Kahla Becken.  I suppose being the coaches daughter doesn't hurt either.  Coach Becken told me afterward that this is a team that is slowly coming together after a disastrous start.  They haven't peaked yet but that may be a good thing - she wants them playing their best basketball when February rolls around.