Centre girls fall to No. 1 Hoxie in first round at state

Written by Katie Morford Thursday, 08 March 2012 18:06

The Centre girls' basketball team fell to No. 1 seed Hoxie today, 71-29, to end their time at the Class 1A Div. 1 state tournament in White Auditorium in Emporia. This season marks the first time the Cougars have competed at state in 39 years. 

The Hoxie Indians got the jump on the Cougars early, combining three perimeter shots and a basket off a steal to go up, 12-0, at 4:35 in the first quarter. Shelby Makovec scored inside with two minutes left to give Centre their three points for the period. Hoxie led, 18-3, going into the third quarter. 

A three-pointer from Cacey Simon started the Cougars on a high note and Genesis Rudolph added a 3-pointer at six minutes remaining in the scond quarter. Rudolph hit another three with 26 seconds before the half, but the Indians still held a 32-14 lead going into the locker room.

Centre continued to struggle offensively in the third quarter against an aggressive Hoxie defense, allowing the Indians to outscore the Cougars, 21-10, for a 53-24 margin at the end of the period.

Hoxie steadily pulled away in the final frame, putting up 18 points to Centre's five, for the final margin of victory. 

Simons led the Cougars with 10 points, including a 3-pointer. Genesis Rudolph scored seven points (six from 3-point range), Shelby Makovec added six points and Bekah Basore chipped in two as the Cougars finish with a 14-10 record.