Flores helps Centerpoint play ‘better’

CLASS 3A

CENTERPOINT 45, ATKINS 37

CLINTON — Centerpoint Coach John Knight calmly explained how his Lady Knights turned a four-point deficit into a 45-37 victory over Atkins in a Class 3A girls state tournament quarterfinal at Yellowjacket Arena.

“It wasn’t anything motivational,” Knight said. “It was just that we’ve got to play a little better, and they did.”

Guard Monika Flores inspired her teammates and the vocal Centerpoint fans with her action on the court. She led Centerpoint (23-5) with 17 points, 12 of them on 4 threepoint baskets. Three of those three-pointers came in the third quarter when Centerpoint outscored Atkins 18-6 after trailing 23-19 at halftime.

Flores’ teammate Sade Killip also hit a three-pointer in the quarter, and it was 37-29 heading into the fourth quarter.

“She was hot,” Knight said of Flores, who has been slowed by a knee injury. “She was on fire. That was huge, her hitting those threes.”

Centerpoint advances to play Valley Springs (26-8) in Monday’s 10 a.m. semifinal.

Knight said his team’s third-quarter run hinged on two things.

“We said we’ve got to hit some shots, and not let them get the second-chance points,” Knight said. “We did enough of that.”

Atkins Coach Wesley Kuhn said he was proud of the way the Lady Red Devils regained their focus, if only for a short stretch, cutting the lead to 37-33 early in the fourth quarter on two free throws by Ashtyn Dillard, who scored 13 points with 11 rebounds and 3 assists. Abbi Cunningham scored 10.

Atkins (21-11) had a chance to further cut into the lead on its next five trips down the court, but came away empty.

“You got a chance to get in there and cut it even more,” Kuhn said. “The ball didn’t bounce our way.”

One key sequence included a missed shot, no foul call and a slammed ball in frustration that resulted in a technical on guard Lyndsey Cox when it was still 37-33.

Three free throws put Centerpoint back up by seven, and Atkins never threatened again.

Kuhn said Flores’ threepoint shooting was backbreaking for his team.

“I knew she could shoot it,” Kuhn said, “but I didn’t know she could shoot it like that. We didn’t get out and shut them down, and that killed us.”

VALLEY SPRINGS 36, MOUNTAIN VIEW 35

Whitney Coffelt hit the second of two free throws with 1.6 seconds to play to lift Valley Springs over Mountain View and into Monday afternoon’s semifinal.

Valley Springs (26-8) trailed 29-20 early in the final quarter, but the Lady Tigers outscored Mountain View 16-6 over the final 7:01.

Mountain View trailed 35-33 when Chaelann Vickers was fouled with 1:10 to play. She made both free throws, her only points, to tie the game.

Valley Springs called timeout and held the ball for a final shot, and got the ball to leading scorer Maura Moore as the clock ticked down.

Moore got off a shot when driving along the right baseline, but it was knocked out of bounds and awarded to Valley Springs. Timeout was called to set up for another shot, but a foul was called on Mountain View’s Josie Story just before the inbound pass hit the backboard.

That sent Coffelt, who led Valley Springs with 19 points in its first-round victory Thursday, to the line with six points for the game.

The first free throw was long. Her second shot went in to give Valley Springs the one-point lead.

Mountain View (21-4) called timeout to set up a final play, but Valley Springs intercepted the pass at half-court to secure the victory..

Mountain View’s Aubry Isbell was the game’s leading scorer with 14, including 7 of 8 from the free-throw line.