Central girls basketball team win Class 5 District 1 opener

Central fought back from an early deficit and toppled Seckman 54-46 on Monday night in the opening round of the Class 5 District 1 tournament at Central.

The fourth-seeded Tigers will face top-seeded Poplar Bluff at 6 p.m. today in the semifinals. Second-seed Jackson and No. 3 Northwest will follow at 7:30 p.m. in the other semifinal.

Seckman came out firing against the Tigers. The Jaguars buried two 3-pointers and successfully worked their way to the free-throw line to gain an 18-12 advantage after one quarter.

Central (11-12) turned the ball over eight times in the period.

"We came out slow," Central coach Sherri Shirrell said. "I don't think we were ready to play. I think we took them lightly, thought it was going to be easy. They came out and hit some shots and our defense was a little lacking. We dug ourselves a hole but luckily we were able to dig out of it."

Central's Alayah Cooper-Johnson gets tangled with Seckman's Kelsey Kramer while grabbing a rebound during the first quarter of the first round Class 5 District 1 game Monday, Feb. 21, 2011 at Central High School. (Fred Lynch)

The Jaguars held Central's Chelsea Pannier scoreless in the first quarter. The senior attempted just one shot, but Chelsea Vinson picked up the slack. The sophomore scored eight of her 17 points in the period on 3 of 4 shooting.

Seckman (9-14) threatened to pull away in the second quarter. The Jaguars' Taylor Bruemmer buried a 3-pointer for a 25-16 lead midway through the period.

The Tigers responded with a 7-0 burst as Vinson and Victoria Scheller hit back-to-back layups and Pannier nailed a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 25-23. The teams traded baskets before Vinson scored with one second left to knot the score at the break at 27-27.

"It kept our confidence up," Cooper-Johnson said of the Tigers' 11-2 run over the final minutes of the half. "It got us more pumped and excited to come out for the second half."

Seckman scored nine points in the quarter, but Central held the Jaguars to 1 of 13 shooting inside the arc and 2 of 6 from long range.

Central's Alayah Cooper-Johnson goes up for a shot against Seckman's Kori Farmer during the third quarter of the first round Class 5 District 1 game Monday, Feb. 21, 2011 at Central High School. (Fred Lynch)

"I think something finally clicked with us," Shirrell said. "We started to play a little harder, shots started falling, and our defensive pressure was a little bit better.

"We made a little run at them right before halftime, tied it up, so I think the momentum changed in our direction at the half."

The Tigers switched defenses between quarters, going from a zone to a box-and-one.

"We talked about it a little bit between quarters," Shirrell said. "We needed to get out and put a little more pressure on them on the outside."

Alayah Cooper-Johnson heated up in the third quarter. The sophomore scored 10 of the Tigers' 13 points while holding the Jaguars' best player to three points.

Central's Chelsea Vinson shoots as Seckman defenders Taylor Bruemmer, left, and Abigail Hayden look on Monday during the first round of the Class 5 District 1 tournament at Central. The Tigers won 54-46. (Fred Lynch)

"I was just playing tight defense on her, not letting her get the ball," Cooper-Johnson said. "Coach told us she was their best player so I tried to not let her get the ball."

The Tigers were clinging to a 35-31 lead when Cooper-Johnson blocked a Kori Farmer 3-point attempt, gained control and raced ahead for a layup.

On Seckman's next possession, Pannier tipped a pass to Cooper-Johnson, who took it the length of the floor for a basket and a foul. Cooper-Johnson made the free throw for a 40-33 Central lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Cooper-Johnson finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds.

"She's a workhorse," Shirrell said. "She plays hard all the time. When we go to a box-and-one, we usually put her on their best player, so she's working on defense and rebounding and scoring. We expect a lot out of her."

Central's Chelsea Pannier looks to shoot against Seckman's Abigail Hayden during the first round of the Class 5 District 1 tournament Monday at Central. (Fred Lynch)

Seckman trimmed the lead to 45-42 with just under three minutes to play, but Pannier buried a long 3-pointer that sparked a 9-4 run to end the game.

Seckman 18 9 6 13 -- 46

Central 12 15 13 14 -- 54

SECKMAN (46) -- Taylor Bruemmer 3, Texas Crowe 12, Kori Farmer 6, Jessica Montgomery 3, Kelsey Kramer 7, Abigail Hayden 15. FG 15, FT 11-15, F 16. (3-pointers: Bruemmer, Crowe 2, Farmer, Hayden. Fouled out: none)

CENTRAL (54) -- Allie Hardesty 3, Alayah Cooper-Johnson 17, Victoria Scheller 6, Kadison Orenstein 2, Chelsea Pannier 9, Chelsea Vinson 17. FG 23, FT 6-16, F 13. (3-pointers: Pannier 3. Fouled out: none.)