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The Harrisburg girls ran afoul of their toughest opponent all season in their bid to win their first tournament trophy in 11 years since claiming the crown in Glasgow in 2014. After escaping with a …
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The Harrisburg girls ran afoul of their toughest opponent all season in their bid to win their first tournament trophy in 11 years since claiming the crown in Glasgow in 2014. After escaping with a two-point win over Linn in the semifinals, the Lady Bulldogs fell to two-time reigning tournament champs Centralia 61-47 in Saturday’s championship.
The loss ended an eight-game winning streak.
“I'm proud of the girls,” said Harrisburg coach Jaryt Hunziker. “I told them to take pride in what they’ve done. They’ve done well this year, and we still have quite a bit of season left.”
Centralia quickly showed the home team why they are ranked third in all of Class 3. After trading baskets to open the game, the Lady Panthers scored eight straight points in a 16-2 run over four-and-a-half minutes to take a commanding 18-4 lead.
“They played physical,” Hunziker said. “They’ve got some high-level players. They’ve got size inside and surround them with shooters. And they can go inside and outside on you. They play an aggressive man-to-man where they’re bumping you and making you work for shots.”
Centralia turned an 18-7 lead into a 35-18 advantage at halftime on the shoulders of a 15-point first-half performance by sophomore Brynn Gordon, who sank four 3-point baskets in the first 16 minutes.
“You could see our nerves in that first half. Offensively we struggled. Defensively, we gave up rebounds,” Hunziker said.
The state championship coach is leading the Harrisburg girls for the first year. He told his players at halftime they can’t play passively. “We have to continue to fight, rebound the ball better, keep their guards out of the paint, and locate shooters. Those were the things that hurt us in the first half.”
Despite a 17-point disparity at halftime, the Lady Bulldogs failed to retreat. Instead, they battled back and outscored Centralia by three points in the second half. While it wasn’t enough to make a run for the title, Hunziker said he was proud the way his team continued to battle.
“The effort was there. We got down by 20 and we could have just folded. But we fought back and got it within 14 points and did a good job,” he said. “That’s the culture we set. We don’t want to have self-doubt and fear. We want to play where we continue to work and not worry about the score or the clock. Just keep improving.”
Harrisburg finished with three players in double-figures, led by junior Lorelai Hunziker with 17 points. Senior Avelina McKinzie added 12 points with a pair of threes, and Brette Ackman posted 11 with three triples and a pair of free throws. Junior Poppy Spry scored four points and senior Macie Ellis added three, sinking the Bulldogs’ first 3-point shot of the game at the end of the first quarter.
For their efforts, McKinzie, Hunziker, and Ellis were named to the All-Tournament team.
Centralia’s Braylin Brunkhorst led all scorers with 22 points, 15 of which came during an aggressive second-half performance. Gorden added 17 points.
Regardless of the final score, Hunziker said the grit his team displayed, particularly in the second half, will help the Bulldogs as they face a daunting stretch against some of the state’s best teams. On Tuesday, Harrisburg (15-3) was scheduled to travel to Tipton to return to Central State 8 Conference play. The Lady Cardinals are favored to win the conference and are currently tied for first in the Class 2 polls at 17-2 overall. Three days later the Bulldogs return home to host Linn, which they had beaten in a two-point thriller in the tournament semifinals on January 29. Then on February 10, Harrisburg once again faces Centralia on Coach Combs Court.
“If we can compete, and pull off some wins, that’s definitely going to help us down the road,” Coach Hunziker said. “We want Harrisburg basketball to be known at that level.”
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