Warriors close out regular season with win
Senior Oakley Armstrong heads up the court in last week’s win at West Central. (Photos by Bev Hamann)
Blair Scherf grabs a loose ball in the UIC match-up versus West Central.
Katie Royer handles the ball in the Feb. 3 game against Kee.
By Audrey Posten | Times-Register
The Central girls basketball team went 1-2 in the final week of the regular season, falling to Kee and Springville, but dominating West Central.
The Warriors kept pace with the Hawks early in the Feb. 3 game in Elkader, but went cold offensively in the second period, falling behind 28-14 by halftime. After putting some points on the board in the third quarter, the fourth was another quiet stretch with just one bucket. Kee won 52-33.
Central’s offense shot 32.4 percent overall, aided by nine three-pointers. The Hawks netted six long-range shots of their own, and made 43.5 percent of attempts from the field. They also benefitted from 18 Warrior turnovers.
Blair Scherf led Central with nine points—all coming from behind the arc—and neared a double-double with nine rebounds. The sophomore’s three steals were a team high as well, and she was among team leaders with two assists.
Senior Oakley Armstrong dropped a pair of three-pointers for six of her eight points, and added two rebounds, two assists and a steal to her stat line. Fellow senior Katie Royer picked up seven points, two rebounds, two steals and an assist, while junior Brylee Erickson netted six points, three rebounds and two assists.
The Warriors traveled to Springville on Feb. 5, where the Class 1A, fourth-ranked Orioles scored a 49-17 victory. Springville came into the match-up with just one loss, and showed why with dominant offensive and defensive performances.
On Feb. 6, Central snapped the two-game losing skid with a 54-15 win at West Central. The Warriors surged ahead of the Blue Devils 19-8 in the first quarter, then never let their opponent score more than four points in the next three frames.
Central racked up 38 rebounds, more than double West Central’s 17, and kept the Blue Devils off balance with 21 steals and three blocks.
Royer put up a solid 20 points, eight rebounds and five steals for the Warriors, while Scherf earned a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. She had three each in the assists and steals columns and was responsible for one block.
Senior Layla Embretson contributed seven points, six rebounds, two assists and a block, and Armstrong had seven points, five rebounds and four assists. Her six steals were most among Warrior players.
The Warriors closed out the regular season 8-13 overall. They were third in the Upper Iowa Conference small division with a record of 5-9, trailing Turkey Valley and Kee .
Postseason play begins this week against Clayton Ridge. The 2-16 Eagles will travel to Elkader on Thursday, Feb. 12 for the Class 1A - Region 4 game. Tip-off will be at 7 p.m. The winner will play at Kee on Feb. 17.
