TUMWATER — Centralia used a vicious full-court press in the second half to run away from Black Hills for a 48-36 road victory and their fifth-straight win to start the season in a 2A Evergreen Conference matchup on Friday.
The Tigers improve to 5-0 for the first time in coach Doug Ashmore’s seven years as head coach, and it was his first victory on the road against Black Hills as well.
“So very proud to come here to Black Hills and win,” Ashmore said.
While the Tigers’ defense wreaked havoc on the Wolves’ offense, Centralia sophomore post Emily Wilkerson went to work under the rim, finishing with a team-high 19 points. Fellow post Maddie Corwin hauled in a game-high 19 rebounds to go with 11 points.
For Corwin, a senior, it was her first win against Black Hills in her four years with the Tigers.
“It feels amazing,” Corwin said. “Our defense has been working crazy hard on just keeping the ball on the outside and not letting them shoot.”
The Tigers led by just four (20-16) at the half, then came out in a full-court press that stifled the Wolves, causing two 10-second violations and shifted the momentum solely to Centralia.
“Our girls tonight played outstanding defense,” Ashmore said. “We did exactly the game plan we wanted to do. I was overall happy with our kids, just defensively, putting constant pressure on them.”
Liliana Babka added 12 rebounds and three points, while point guard Makayla Chavez finished with nine points and Gracie Schofield pulled down four rebounds.
Centralia (5-0) travels to Class 1A Seton Catholic for a non-league matchup on Monday.
