The second-seeded Harrisburg girls pulled off an exciting upset over tournament favorite Centralia, the top seed, in the championship game of the Harrisburg Tournament on Saturday night, 63-55.

Centralia was not only the No. 1 seed in the tournament, but is also ranked second among all Class 3 teams in the state. Harrisburg entered the game ranked eighth in Class 2, and moved up to No. 7 in a poll released by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association on Monday.

“I’m just so happy for the girls, so proud of them,” said Harrisburg coach Jaryt Hunziker moments after his team hoisted the first-place trophy. “[Centralia coach] Megan [Brinkmann] does an unbelievable job. For years, Centralia has always been that blue-collar team. Their defense is so good that they keep you out of the paint. Their help side is really good. So it makes it hard for you to score at times. And especially if they’re quicker and more athletic, it’s kind of hard to get around them. But we did a really good job.”

Harrisburg defeated seventh-seeded Hallsville 61-24 in the tournament opener on Tuesday, Jan. 27. The Lady Bulldogs then escaped the semifinals with a 39-33 win over third-seeded Blair Oaks on Wednesday.

Centralia cruised to the championship game with lopsided victories over eighth-seeded Fulton (50-18) in the tournament opener on Tuesday, Jan. 27, and fourth-seeded Linn (67-24) in the semifinals.

Class 2 Harrisburg was certainly the underdog heading into Saturday’s championship. Centralia had just one loss against 17 wins heading into the tournament final. One of those 17 wins was a 30-point decision over Harrisburg just 25 days prior on the Panthers’ home court.

Early in Saturday’s championship, the seedings appeared to have been an accurate prediction as Centralia senior Madi Johnson sank an early triple 36 seconds into the first quarter to spark a nine-point run. Harrisburg finally broke the ice with 3:32 left in the opening period on a transition layup by junior Brette Ackman. But the Panthers answered with four more points to take a double-digit lead.

Harrisburg would have the final say when senior Lorelai Hunziker sank a long 3-pointer from just inside the left sideline near half court before the buzzer sounded the end of the first quarter.

“It’s just that momentum. Every time we needed a big play, she stepped up,” Coach Hunziker said.

Trailing by five after eight minutes, Hunziker sank another three early in the second quarter as the Lady Bulldogs mounted a 9-4 run to tie the game on a free throw by senior Audrey Arnold with 2:52 left in the first half. The teams traded blows until halftime, with Centralia reclaiming the lead, 26-25, entering the mid-game break.

Hunziker said he didn’t make any wild adjustments at halftime, telling his players to stay the course. “Offensively, we put Lorelai at the high post to see if we could get some stuff with her and some back cuts. We kind of moved our offense up above the free-throw line so we could get some back cuts and get some nice looks around the basket. And we did.”

Arnold’s free throw was the senior’s only point throughout the first three quarters, as even easy jumpers and layups refused to go down in an uncharacteristic night from a player who fans are used to seeing light up the scoreboard. She finally broke the spell in the nick of time, sinking a crucial 3-point bucket with 5:11 left in the game. It was her first field goal of the night, which was the shot in the arm Harrisburg needed, cutting the Panthers’ lead to two points just as they were starting to pull away.

Arnold would go on to score nine total points in the fourth quarter of the game and sank all four free-throw attempts in the last two and a half minutes.

“She struggled, but she did some nice things defensively,” Coach Hunziker said. “Then, when she got hot in the last quarter, she hit nine points and hit a three. I think it was a little of a mental problem at the beginning. She missed some easy layups and shots. But everybody missed shots. We believe in Audrey and know she’ll turn it around and have a good game. And she did.”

After falling behind by eight points early in the fourth quarter, Harrisburg clawed back and took a 54-52 lead on a bonus free throw by Hunziker with 3:38 left to play. The Bulldogs went on to outscore Centralia 9-3 in the final three minutes. Panthers’ junior Ryan Gordon netted a three with 57 seconds left to keep it a one-possession game, 58-55. But that would be the final points for Centralia as Harrisburg shut the door with 5-for-6 free-throw shooting in the final 37.8 seconds to clinch the championship.

Coach Hunziker said this is why his team emphasizes free throws in practice. “We tell the girls all the time that when they’re shooting these things in practice, it might be you that has to shoot them in a game. So make sure you’re mentally preparing yourself in practice for the game. Down the stretch, we needed those to make it a two-possession game.”

Harrisburg’s game plan coming in against the Class 3 powerhouse was simple. Keep Centralia out of the paint, contest every shot, and get rebounds. “We kind of got down early, kind of like a resemblance of the first time we played them,” Coach Hunziker said. “But we knew what we didn’t do very well the first time. And we tried to correct those things, take away transition points, and do a better job on the boards. We kind of tweaked the offense a little bit, so we get some stuff around the basket. Our girls did a great job sticking with the game plan, and I’m so proud of them. They deserve this.”

Centralia still managed 26 points in the paint but was often forced to shoot from the perimeter, especially in the final minutes. The Panthers made only five of 27 attempts from the arc.

Centralia also outrebounded Harrisburg 32-28, scoring 15 second-chance points. But Harrisburg controlled the defensive glass with 21 boards. Centralia also scored 17 points off turnovers compared to 11 for Harrisburg.

But despite leading in many categories, the Bulldogs simply shot better, especially from beyond the arc. Harrisburg sank 10 threes on 22 attempts, and went 17-for-22 at the line.

Hunziker led four Harrisburg players in double figures with 23 points with a pair of threes and perfect 9-for-9 free-throw shooting. She also hauled in nine rebounds and two assists.

Junior Isabelle DeMuth had a big night, scoring 15 points on near-perfect shooting. She went 5-for-6 from the field, made three of four 3-point attempts, and sank both her free throws. Additionally, brought down three rebounds, made two steals, and had an assist.

“Isabelle DeMuth came in and had double-digit points, and that’s what we needed her to do,” Coach Hunziker said.

Ackman added 12 points with three assists, netting three of four shots from the arc on 4-for-6 shooting from the field. Arnold shook off early frustrations to finish with 10 points, with a key 3-pointer and 5-for-6 free-throw shooting, to go along with five assists and six rebounds.

Senior Jaidyn Stephenson rounded the scoring with three points, sinking her only 3-point attempt.

“We hit some big shots and did a good job on defense. Ava Grindstaff came in our defense and got some rebounds inside. So I’m just proud of these girls, and that’s a big win for our program,” Hunziker said.

For Centralia, Gordon led seven scorers with 25 points and three triples. Senior Braylon Brunkhorst added 15 points and went 5-for-7 from the line.

Saturday’s championship was Harrisburg’s fourth straight win and gives the Bulldogs some strong momentum heading into a brutal final stretch of the regular season. First up for the Bulldogs was a home game against Central State 8 dynamo Tipton on Tuesday after the Advertiser went to press. The 17-2 Cardinals are a pinnacle of mid-Missouri girls’ basketball with at least 20 wins in 11 of the last 12 seasons, three straight final-four appearances, including a state title in 2023, and eight consecutive district championships.

“We’re going into that stretch of some really good teams,” Coach Hunziker said. “Sometimes it takes that signature win to really springboard the confidence that we need. And I think we did that tonight.”

On Friday, Harrisburg travels to Linn before returning home on Tuesday to host Russellville for the third of four straight CS8 games.