Panthers pluck Ducks with overwhelming first quarter to win ninth straight game

CAMP POINT, Ill. — Havana girls basketball coach Michelle Brady cut right to the chase.

“We got our teeth kicked in,” Brady said without one bit of hesitation at the onset of her postgame assessment.

Brady’s remark came moments following state-ranked Central-Southeastern’s 59-40 victory on a Thursday night when the outcome was all but decided by the end of the first quarter.

CSE, No. 8 in this week’s Class 2A state poll, devoured Havana during the first eight minutes of the game, leading 26-5 at the initial break. The Ducks entered the game with seven wins in their last eight starts, but were no match for the Panthers’ full-court press that was part of an overall suffocating defense that forced 13 first-quarter turnovers.

“It’s always good to get a jump like we did,” said Lauren Miller, CSE’s 5-foot-10 junior who collected game-leading totals of 26 points and 13 rebounds.

CSE (17-2) has won nine straight since a 51-35 loss to Quincy Notre Dame a week before Christmas. The Panthers also have won 20 straight at home.

“There’s always room for improvement, but I think we’re heading in the right direction at this point of the season,” Miller said.

CSE coach Matt Long was guilty of stating the obvious, but that was to be expected after such a dominating performance.

“I was really happy with those first eight minutes,” said Long, whose club has held 16 of its opponents to 40 points or less. “We can be pretty explosive when we’re locked in. We matched up well in our full-court press and I think we wore them down early.”

CSE led 36-9 at the half, but to Havana’s credit, the Ducks rebounded over the final two quarters to outscore the Panthers 31-23.

“Sometimes it’s hard to keep the pedal to the metal,” Miller said of the second half.

Miller scored 18 of her points in the first half and ended the night a perfect 8 for 8 at the foul line. Miller was also more decisive in taking the ball to the basket than she had been in some recent outings. 

“We had been asking Lauren to get more girls involved,” Long said of some of Miller’s recent outings when she was playing with a pass-first mentality.

On Thursday night, Miller was able to showcase her own talents. She concentrated on driving to the hoop and capitalizing on openings along the baseline. The only element of her arsenal she kept under wraps was her mid-range jump shot.

The 26-point outing matched Miller’s season high and was nearly 10 points above her 16.2 season scoring average.

Brilyn Lantz (14) and Karly Peters (13) combined for an additional 27 CSE points. Peters scored eight of her total in the first half, while Lantz, the only senior in the starting lineup, notched 10 of her points following intermission.

“Brilyn’s shot was not falling early, but she did a good job of getting some of the other girls involved,” Long said. “All of our players did some good things tonight. We like to tell our girls, ‘Have the courage to step up and make a big play when the opportunity arises.'”

Brady was proud of the Ducks’ second-half effort, but the halftime point differential was too steep to overcome.

“Central just played harder than we did.” Brady said. “Give them credit.”

CSE’s point total matched the most Havana has allowed this season. Rock Island Alleman, No. 5 this week’s in Class 2A rankings, downed the Ducks 59-40 in a mid-November matchup.