The Centralia senior girls spent four years together in the program and realized Tuesday it was almost over.

Centralia Senior Night Photo Gallery

The Lady Panthers defeated Class 4 Southern Boone 48-26 at home for Senior Night, taking time to recognize their seniors Morgan Ross, Shelby Lewis, Raegan Anderson, Katie Carrico and Kaelyn Walters in a ceremony after the game. For the second straight season, Centralia has won 20 games and were in good position after last week with a 6-0 Clarence Cannon Conference to win their first outright conference title since 1978.

Another notable achievement last week belonged to Anderson during a game against Monroe City, when she broke the program’s single-season 3-pointer record of 65 set by Amanda Forshee in 1999. Anderson was up to 72 after two more 3-pointers against Southern Boone (10-14) but wanted to make clear it wasn’t all her doing.

“I’m happy, but it’s only possible because my teammates have put me in those positions to have those looks,” Anderson said.

Ross said Anderson consistently hits shots in “big-game situations” and Lewis said “Raegan’s success makes us all successful,” emphasizing a theme with the Lady Panthers (20-4) this season. Anderson has the same amount of confidence when setting up the other two or anybody else for a shot.

“We’re harder to guard when we’re playing together,” Anderson said.

Centralia seemed like a unit on defense against Southern Boone and its reigning all-state player Chloe Bukowsky. After leading 14-10 after the first quarter, Centralia allowed only 16 points by the Lady Eagles the rest of the game and limited Bukowsky to 16 of her own credit. 

Head coach Megan Brinkmann listed several players like Braylin Brunkhorst, Ryenn Gordon, Carrico and Walters that were crucial in keeping Bukowsky uncomfortable. Whenever she touched the ball, there were usually multiple Lady Panthers draped on her to force a tough shot.

“We just had to trust each other because I thought some us tried doing too much as far as who we’re guarding or going under a screen because we got lazy,” Brinkmann said. “‘When we’re playing together, we’re really good’ is really good on both ends of the floor. A lot of ball screen action because they want us to make a mistake and go under so she can hit it. That’s why that team's defense was so great. I’ve got Morgan and Shelby, who are extremely long and lanky, so make her take jump shots.”

Defense has often led to good defense for the Lady Panthers this season, Brinkmann said, pointing out that Ross and Gordon each finished with 12 points, Brunkhorst recorded 10 points and Anderson hit some 3-pointers. Lewis pulled down nine rebounds as well.

Brinkmann gives much credit to her five seniors for not only wins against Southern Boone but many more during her first two years as the Lady Panthers head coach. They each “hung in there” for four years and have improved as they’ve ascended through the program.

“I’m extremely proud of Shelby, Kaelyn and Katie who have just grown so much because they went through the system as freshmen, JV, as backup and now it’s their time to shine,” Brinkmann said. “They’ve gotten better throughout the years, and that happens for a reason. Morgan saw early success battling back from an ACL injury last year and is a big part of who we are and what we do. Raegan has put time in the gym to break that single-season record. It’s not by luck.”

Ross said a moment like winning the Centralia Invitational tournament last season sticks out to her because that was the first time the Lady Panthers did that in 30 years, meaning this team has the potential for the extraordinary as long as they remain tight-knit on the court. 

“That was the starting point and building point for us to keep getting better to where we are now,” Ross said. “The growth and togetherness we’ve developed over the four years — we five seniors as well as the younger kids coming up — is crazy how much you can bond together on and off the court. I really have enjoyed that and will carry that on after I graduate for sure.”

Lewis said the players are each other’s support system and can help each other bounce back quickly after down moments, sometimes quick enough to turn around a game.

“We spend time together watching film,” Lewis said. “Part of that is just learning and growing together. We laugh at some things, but we also learn what we need to fix and what we need to work on, and it’s just brought us really close.”

Anderson said the town of Centralia is really supportive as well and has given the Lady Panthers some strength.

“We’ve caught people’s attention the past two years,” Anderson said. “The community is behind us and that support is really special.”

Centralia has the second seed behind third-ranked Montgomery County in the Class 3 District 7 tournament to begin Feb 19 for others and Feb. 21 for the Lady Panthers at 7:30 p.m. at North Callaway. As evidenced from the Southern Boone victory and Centralia’s key victory over conference foe and state-ranked Palmyra last week, Brinkmann said her team is clicking in the right areas.

“We’re clicking on defense. That’s a big positive,” Brinkmann said. “We’re starting to make the best reads possible on offense. Right now, you want to make sure everything is coming together for postseason. We’re getting there.”