The Centralia Lady Panthers are beyond the people on the court and on the bench.

Centralia vs South Shelby Quarterfinal Photo Gallery

In front of a full house in Centralia on Friday, the girls basketball program earned its first ever state Final Four after defeating Clarence Cannon Conference foe South Shelby 51-39. The Lady Panthers bested their conference rival and Final Four program from two years ago in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Ladybirds 20-9 partially due to eight points from senior Morgan Ross in the quarter.

"This moment is everything," Ross said. "Going to the Final Four has never been done here so everything that means to the program, the people that come, the players from the past, it's just an incredible moment. I will never forget this."

Ross passed a personal milestone after knocking down two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to give Centralia some separation at 44-39 in the final two minutes. She finished with 14 points, Braylin Brunkhorst followed with 13 points, Ryenn Gordon had 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists, senior Raegan Anderson had nine points, and senior Shelby Lewis pulled down eight rebounds.

The Lady Panthers (25-4) have ended long droughts already this season by winning the program’s first conference title since 1978 and first district title since 1992. That latter year was the most recent trip to the quarterfinals for a Centralia girls team before losing like the previous six other squads. Head coach Megan Brinkmann said she knows the feeling after losing 36-33 to Scotland County in the 2021 quarterfinals as the Eugene head coach.

“A couple of my (Eugene) girls were here supporting me,” Brinkmann said. “We lost by three. Winning is so hard. To be able to get here again and get over that hump, the girls just fought.”

Brinkmann said ever since she took over the program a season ago, it has been clear that the girls and coaches have plenty to fight for. After the Lady Panthers took some time to celebrate amongst themselves and with their fellow students, the Centralia crowd flooded the court to issue numerous congratulations.

The community was ready to see a girls Final Four team after the boys won a state championship in 2004. Fans and Lady Panthers of the past said as much through letters delivered to the team, according to Brinkmann.

“We post letters we’ve gotten from the community in our locker room,” Brinkmann said. “This is not for us. This is everybody in the stands, every Lady Panther that has been through this program and every quarterfinal team that didn’t get over the hump. You play for somebody more than yourself.”

Ross said Centralia’s gym was as full as she has ever seen it in her four years, with people standing in the hallways and on the stairs that lead up to more stands due to there being literally nowhere else to sit. She said it means a lot for the program and girls basketball in general.

That unbelievable site paired with the aforementioned letters of support the team has received gives the Lady Panthers plenty of fuel to keep going, Ross said. For example, Ross recalls a letter signed anonymously being left on Brinkmann’s desk telling the current group that after watching Centralia basketball through the 1970s and 1990s, they have seen the progression of the program and have their full support. While there is mystery surrounding that letter, like who wrote it and how it made it on Brinkmann’s desk, Ross said it is clear what Centralia basketball means.

“That’s what we play for,” Ross said. “We play for people in the past that had to wear ragtag jerseys to games. Now, we’re playing in sold-out gyms. That’s who we play for.”

It isn’t difficult for the Lady Panthers to be selfless. They demonstrated as much when South Shelby (23-7) started hot from the field, taking a 19-14 lead about halfway through the second quarter on a Kamryn Mitchell 3-pointer. The South Shelby senior led the Ladybirds with 14 points and four 3-pointers, and Charlie Roush matched her point total to go with nine rebounds.

Centralia’s freshman point guard Gordon followed her two double-digit scoring games the previous two playoff games — one a double-double at California in the previous round — with the beginnings of another. Gordon scored six points in the second quarter while dishing a couple of assists that sparked the Lady Panthers’ 15-5 run over the next eight minutes for a 29-24 lead.

"They started a little bit hotter than us," Brinkmann said. "I just thought we had to settle in. Ryenn (Gordon) put us on her shoulders a little bit with some shots and got a little more stops. We got some stops in the final three or four minutes, and that was the difference."

Brinkmann said she doesn’t consider Gordon a freshman anymore because of how much and how well she has played. She said Gordon has helped make Centralia’s offense go.

“She doesn’t come out of the game because I can’t afford that,” Brinkmann said. “The ball’s got to be in her hands. She makes great decisions with the ball. We’ve been working on her finishing, and she got to the rim and finished. The sky's the limit for her.”

Gordon said the moment the Lady Panthers won didn’t feel real and was “so happy I could cry.” She said South Shelby knew how to handle pressure as the winner of a state quarterfinal two years prior and didn’t want this meeting to resemble the 62-28 Centralia victory in December. In her role, Gordon said the Lady Panthers just had to push through.

"I knew these were the games where I would have to step up and become a role player with this team," Gordon said. "If we aren't going to win, might as well die hard."

Even when a single player has an accomplishment, the whole team celebrates as if it was theirs. That is because it is true if you ask Ross how she was able to reach 1,000 points. 

Ross said she thought she “might have been close enough” to 1,000 career points after nailing both 3-pointers. The senior was 10 points away heading into the game and secured her individual spot in program history with her first 3-pointer in the fourth quarter. That achievement might be for an individual, but Ross knows how she was able to get there.

“Big-situation moments like that, I’ve been doing that lately in the postseason,” Ross said. “My confidence, I’ve gained that back in the postseason. It’s having trust in my teammates and everyone around me that I’m going to hit these big shots and they’re going to get the ball to me when I need it, and I’m going to get the ball to them. It really shined through in these moments that we needed the most. That’s really what got us here.”

Brinkmann said Ross trusted her teammates to get her to the destination of 1,000 points, and Brinkmann is grateful that the girls trusted the process she implemented a season ago when she took over on the bench. In her first summer with the team, Brinkmann urged the Lady Panthers to “trust the process” after losing a game and have given “100 percent” of their trust to her.

Ultimately, though, Brinkmann said the girls need to trust each other and be selfless and have done that all the way to a Final Four. She knows that will be the case against El Dorado Springs (27-3) — a reigning Final Four team and a state champion two years ago — at 4 p.m. March 8 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia as the Lady Panthers have plenty in their corner.

“Our work together and all year in the postseason is who we are,” Brinkmann said. “When one’s not hitting, we’re going to find another teammate that’s going to hit. We’re together on defense and help each other. Anybody on the floor can score. It’s not my shot, it’s yours — being completely selfless and playing for each other.”