The Centralia women’s basketball team didn’t come away with the result it was hoping for on Tuesday night, but for many, it was a welcome sight to see the Trailblazers back on the floor.
After not fielding a team last season, Centralia hosted Olympic in its first home game in 636 days. The Trailblazers rallied in the fourth quarter to make it a close game, but ultimately fell 74-70.
Centralia (1-3) came out strong, jumping out to an early lead and later opening the second quarter on a 10-0 run to make it 26-20, but they quickly got into foul trouble and had to go deep into their bench.
The Rangers took advantage, seizing control of the game by tying the game at 31 before ending the half on a 14-0 run. In the third quarter, the lead ballooned to as much as 23.
In the fourth, though, the Centralia defense tightened, as the Trailblazers allowed just two points in the first six minutes of the quarter. The offense wasn’t connecting at a high rate, but it was able to chip away at the lead and get within six with two minutes to play.
“They don’t give up, and that’s something I love about this team,” Centralia coach Tiffany Twiddy said. “I do wish we wouldn’t get ourselves in these holes, because it’s hard to battle out of them, but I do appreciate their effort to get back in it.”
When the Trailblazers had success offensively on Tuesday, they were attacking the rim and playing what Twiddy called “bully ball basketball.” She added that when they are firing that way, they can beat anybody.
“We just need to figure out how to do it more,” Twiddy said. “If we can show that fight and show that culture and show that togetherness … the rest will come together.”
Madison Gore led the offense with 20 points, though Maya Barnett wasn’t far behind with 18 of her own, and she also tallied eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Meletava Fonohea had a game-high 11 rebounds and scored seven points, while Foai Pula just missed out on a double-double with 10 rebounds and nine points. Kate Carpenter was all over the floor defensively, blocking three shots and coming away with two steals.
Both Twiddy and Interim Athletic Director and men’s coach Joe Chirhart are proud to have a women’s program back at Centralia, and Tuesday’s loss did little to diminish the excitement they have for the rest of the season.
“Once we were able to bring Tiffany on, and she had a good amount of time to do her recruiting, we were really excited for what she could bring,” Chirhart said. “She’s got a good group of girls, they work really hard together, and we’re super excited about what their season is going to look like.”
Twiddy, in her first year at the college, said it was an awesome opportunity, and she was happy to see the community support in Game 1.
“We got a lot of fans and people out to watch the game, and that’s really special for this community,” Twiddy said. “It’s really exciting to have basketball back here.”
The Trailblazers are back in action tomorrow at Shoreline, and they return home on Saturday for a matchup with the Clark Penguins.
