Another game, another rout for CSE in bid to repeat as State Farm Holiday Classic champs

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — The play actually proved to be meaningless … which is why it was emblematic as well.

The Central-Southeastern girls basketball team already had built a 30-point lead late in the third quarter Friday night and was on its way to a 56-25 victory over Winnebago in a quarterfinal game in the small school girls bracket of the State Farm Holiday Classic at Bloomington High School.

When a loose ball rolled into the Winnebago backcourt, junior Agnes Genenbacher dove to retrieve the ball, skidding on her elbows and knees. She committed a foul by knocking over a Winnebago player, who then fell on Genenbacher while she was on the floor, but Panthers coach Matt Long didn’t care.

He had a wry smile on his face as he slowly clapped for Genenbacher. It’s the type of play he expects each of his players to make, even when the game already is in hand.

“We didn’t feel like we got enough 50/50 balls yesterday (in a rout of Stanford Olympia), and I told them (before Friday’s game) that I’ll never get mad at you for busting your butt to go get a loose ball,” Long said. ”As soon as (Genenbacher) made that play, I turned to the bench and talked to every kid about what I meant.”

Senior Karly Peters simply grinned when asked how that type of play is instilled in the program.

“It’s been an expectation for many, many years,” she said. “CSE basketball has always been known for the defense and getting after it early, and that transfers to the offense.”

Long says the hardest part was ingraining that style of play into his program 15 years ago.

“These girls have grown up and seen how we play and what our culture is,” he said. “It’s part of their life. They think that’s way the game’s supposed to be played. It wasn’t like we just started doing it this year and had to get them to buy into it. It’s been a learned process ever since these girls came up with us.”

Central-Southeastern forced its opponent into 37 turnovers for the second consecutive game, but the first half wasn’t an offensive masterpiece for the Panthers. They turned the ball over 12 times themselves and led the Indians 29-15 at halftime.

Winnebago kept it as close as 34-18 early in the third quarter, but Central-Southeastern finally took command by scoring 15 consecutive points. Genenbacher scored seven of her nine points in the third quarter to fuel the rout and activate the running clock for the fourth quarter.

Lauren Miller scored 23 points to lead Central-Southeastern, the defending small school girls bracket champions. The Panthers will play Paris at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Shirk Center in a semifinal game. Paris defeated Galena 42-30 in another quarterfinal game.

One of the memorable moments of the game came in the fourth quarter when senior reserve Marlee Long — the coach’s daughter — collected an offensive rebound and scored. The bench erupted in cheers, then in laughter as Long lifted his jacket on the sideline.

“(Marlee) got me a shirt for Christmas that says, ‘I’m awesome, like my daughter,’” Long said. “So I put it on today and thought that if she got a chance to score, I might flash it.”

“He had it on yesterday,” Peters said. “I didn’t know he’d have it on again today.”