Centerville went right after West and found success with that game plan, churning its way to a 67-55 victory and a Division I district championship at Princeton.
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WRESTLING COVERAGE
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“Centerville played great today. I’ve got to definitely give them credit,” Firebirds coach Andy Fishman said. “They were well-prepared. They were excited. They jumped out on us early. I thought we had a couple nice comebacks … we used up some good energy.
“I think our fight was there. I’m incredibly proud of their intensity of effort. Our ability to execute and finish plays, that’s where we struggled some today. There are going to be days like that.”
West (23-3) had the lead exactly once all day, moving ahead 34-33 when Dominique Camp started the third period with a 3-pointer.
The Elks went up for good 38-36 on an Alexis Hutchison jumper less than four minutes later, and Centerville eventually led by as many as 14 points down the stretch.
“We’re both a running team and they got the best of us, I guess,” said West junior Nevaeh Dean, who fired in a career-high 24 points with four 3-pointers, 10 rebounds and four assists. “That’s all right. We have next year and more years to come. It sucks how it ended, but it was a good season.”
Camp scored 11 points for the Firebirds. She’s one of five LWHS seniors, along with Jaydis Gales, Bryana Henderson, Sydney Benning and Jessica Clark.
“I so much enjoyed this season and the growth that I’ve seen in our girls, the competitiveness, the way they’ve come together and shared the ball so nicely and followed game plans,” Fishman said. “It’s been a very rewarding season from that perspective.
“From the 30 days after the end of last year, I feel like our girls were very committed and really pushed themselves to great places, and our seniors have given everything that they could to make us great and maintain the great tradition of our program. I’m so proud to be their coach.”
Centerville (24-2) is headed to the regional for the first time since 2014 and will meet Walnut Hills in an 8 p.m. semifinal Wednesday at Fairmont’s Trent Arena.
The Elks got a career-high 31 points from freshman guard Cotie McMahon in knocking out West. Hutchison tossed in 17 points and Amy Velasco added 13 in the winning effort.
“I think our kids took it as a challenge today to play a team like Lakota West,” Centerville coach Adam Priefer said. “I thought our kids did a good job right from the get-go, a lot of energy and effort. We really stuck to what we believed in offensively and defensively.”
Asked about beating the Firebirds at their own game, Priefer replied,”That’s just how we play.”
The 5-foot-10 McMahon roared to 16 points in the first quarter. She added 11 in the final stanza while sinking 9-of-10 free throws in the last six minutes.
“I don’t even know what I was thinking,” McMahon said of her smoking hot start. “We had a good crowd out here today. I was so thankful for our support system. Everyone came out and supported me, so I had to show them a little something, you know?
“I’m kind of in shock still. We had to stay calm today. We knew we could pull this win. We’ve come back from some tough games, so we just had to come out and punch them in the mouth right away, and that’s what we did.”
The Elks rallied from a 19-point deficit to stun Springboro 65-63 on a last-second basket Monday. They brought that emotion straight to the floor at Princeton.
“We try to play really good schedules on purpose to prepare for that,” Priefer said. “I just think the kids believed in one another, and after Monday’s comeback, I think the kids believe they can do anything.”
Kailyn Dudukovich started the game guarding McMahon, with Dean taking over in the second quarter. Fishman said he was planning to use Dean on McMahon later in the contest.
“We gave (McMahon) a little bit too much of a cushion,” Fishman said. “Then again, she made some tough, athletic plays.”
McMahon grabbed eight rebounds and Sam Chable had seven for Centerville. The Elks were 17-of-23 from the line — the Firebirds were 7-of-12.
Fishman said he plans to return for his 23rd season at the West helm next year. His career record stands at 411-133.
Centerville 20-13-9-25—67
Lakota West 13-18-7-17—55
CENTERVILLE (24-2): Alexis Hutchison 6 2 17; Amy Velasco 4 4 13; Cotie McMahon 10 10 31; Samantha Chable 1 0 3; Emma Stanley 1 1 3. Totals: 22-17-67
LAKOTA WEST (23-3): Bryana Henderson 1 1 4; Chance Gray 2 2 6; Dominique Camp 4 2 11; Kailyn Dudukovich 3 1 7; Nevaeh Dean 10 0 24; Sydney Benning 1 0 2; Keiara Gregory 0 1 1. Totals: 21-7-55
3-pointers: C 6 (Hutchison 3, Velasco, McMahon, Chable), L 6 (Dean 4, Camp, Henderson)
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