Staff writer
The Peabody-Burns High School Lady Warriors basketball team brought home the third-place trophy in the Cougar Classic at Centre High School this past week. The squad got a first-round overtime win on Jan. 17 against White City, 33-31. PBHS suffered a Friday defeat in round two to Elyria Christian, 41-31. The Lady Warriors came back on Saturday in round three and took the 51-39 victory over Hope.
PBHS 33, White City, 31
White City opened the game with a 2. Tori Schroeder with an assist from McKenzie Ensminger answered with a 2. Rayna Barnes added a basket and the Huskies got a free throw. Schroeder scored another basket with 1 minute, 44 seconds left in the quarter. PBHS led, 6-3, at the end of the first quarter.
The Huskies scored first in the second with a 3-point basket. Paige Lewis got on the board with a 2 and the foul shot and Brandee Burnett added 2. The score was 11-6 with 4:37 on the clock. White City added a 2, but Schroeder came up with a 2. The Huskies then added a trey and a 2-point basket. The score was even with one minute left in the first half. Kaycy Gonzalez gave the PBHS squad the go-ahead basket with a put-back rebound basket with 35 seconds on the clock. The Lady Warriors had the 2-point advantage, 15-13, at halftime.
Both offenses struggled in the third. The Lady Warrior lead disappeared and White City led by three at the end of the quarter. Schroeder had the only basket on a steal for a layup 2.
Schroeder quickly put up 2 in the fourth quarter to cut the Huskies’ lead to one, 20-19. White City scored 1 from the line, but a Gonzalez 2-point shot tied the game at 21. Schroeder picked up her fifth foul and left the game with 2:41 on the clock. Two from the line for White City again made the gap two. Burnett answered with a 2 to tie the contest at 23. Brianna Larsen added two crucial free throws from the line to give the Lady Warriors a 25-23 lead with 1:19 left in the game.
The Huskies came back to score 2 from the line and again the score was tied. White City added 1, but a Burnett trey boosted the Lady Warriors to a 28-26 lead with 25 seconds left on the clock. Another trip to the line netted two more for the Huskies, and the game was all even at 28. A last attempt under the basket for the PBHS squad did not fall and headed into overtime tied at 28.
White City scored first in the extra quarter. Ensminger added a 2 to even the score. Gonzalez got a rebound and added the put back and the Lady Warriors took the 2-point edge, 33-31, with 1:40 on the clock. The 2-point margin was enough, and PHBS hung on for the overtime victory, 33-31.
Scoring
Schroeder, 10; Burnett, 7; Gonzalez, 6; Lewis, 3; Ensminger, 3; Larsen, 2; Barnes, 2
Elyria 41, PBHS 31
Elyria jumped out to an early 8-0 lead before Burnett got the PBHS squad on the board with a 2. A trey for Elyria made gap 11-2, but Schroeder answered with a trey to cut the edge to six, 11-5. Elyria scored another 2-point basket. Late in the period, Barnes added a 2 and a free throw and Ensminger sunk a trey. PBHS trailed by only two, 13-11, at the end of the first quarter.
A Burnett basket tied the game at 13 early in the second. Gonzalez broke the tie with a 2. Elyria came back to score 4 points late in the quarter. The Elyria lead was a basket at halftime, 17-15.
Barnes tied the score with the first basket in the third period. She then grabbed the 19-17 lead with another 2. Elyria scored six unanswered points to take the 23-19 lead with three minutes left in the quarter. Burnett added a basket, as did Lewis, but Elyria added 3 and led, 26-23, at the end of the third quarter.
Burnett and Ensminger combined for 5 points to give PBHS a 28-26 lead early in the fourth quarter. Elyria scored 9 before Barnes stopped the run with a free throw. Lewis added a basket, but Elyria had control for the remainder of the contest. PBHS lost round two, 41-31.
Scoring
Burnett, 8; Barnes, 8; Ensminger, 6; Lewis, 4; Schroeder, 3; Gonzalez, 2
PBHS 51, Hope 39
The Lady Warriors outscored Hope 8-6 in the first quarter. Barnes had 4 points, Ensminger scored a trey and Gonzalez had a free throw.
Hope came back to take the lead in the second quarter and added 11 to their total. PBHS scored 8. Schroeder had 4. Lewis and Gonzalez each added a basket. PBHS trailed, 17-16, at halftime.
The PBHS offense exploded in the third quarter. Five Lady Warriors got on the board, led by Barnes with 6 points. Schroeder and Burnett each had 4. Lewis and Gonzalez each added a basket. The Lady Warriors’ defense held Hope to 13. PBHS had the 34-30 lead at the end of the quarter.
Fourth-quarter offense for PBHS was again impressive with the addition of 17 points. Hope added 9. Barnes led the pack with 6 in the period. Schroeder added 5. Ensminger had 4 from the line. Lewis added a basket. The Lady Warriors won round three and earned the third-place trophy for the 2012 Cougar Classic.
Scoring
Barnes, 16; Schroeder, 13; Ensminger, 7; Lewis, 6; Gonzalez, 5; Burnett, 4