Palmyra girls unable to rev up after tepid pregame warmups, fall in CCC opener to Centralia

PALMYRA, Mo. — Sydney Compton had an inkling during warmups her team wasn’t prepared for the challenge that awaited.

“My dad tells me all the time how we warm up is how we’re going to play,” the Palmyra forward explained. “We warmed up really slow and not having all that much energy, and that’s exactly how we played the first quarter.”

And that proved to be the difference in Friday night’s Clarence Cannon Conference matchup featuring two state-ranked teams.

Centralia, ranked third in the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Class 3 girls basketball poll, made seven of its first 10 field goal attempts and forced an avalanche of turnovers to score the final 15 points of the opening period to open a 23-6 lead en route to a 71-54 victory over 10th-ranked Palmyra.

Guard Braylin Brunkhorst proved to be unstoppable early, scoring 12 of her game-high 30 points in the first five minutes to set the tone for Centralia. The 5-foot-11 junior had 19 points in the first half, which ended with Centralia ahead 41-20, and reached the 1,000-point mark for her career in the fourth quarter.

Centralia, which finished third in the state tournament a year ago, improved to 11-1, while Palmyra fell to 8-6. It was the CCC opener for both teams.

“Our heads weren’t in the right place to start. We weren’t ready to go like they were,” Palmyra coach Kelsey Stuart said. “They came out really hot, and we were already feeling defeated and down on ourselves.

“There’s a reason why they are one of the top-ranked teams in the state.”

Clare Williams, who scored a team-high 21 points, gave Palmyra its only lead with a driving layup to open the scoring. The hosts trailed just 8-6 after Compton’s transition layup with 4:46 left in the first quarter, but they did not score from the field again until the 5:35 mark of the second period.

By that time, the visitors were in command.

Centralia’s suffocating man-to-man defense forced nine turnovers in the first quarter and 18 overall. Palmyra, unable to finish at the rim or get shots to fall from the perimeter, added to its misery by misfiring on 13 of its first 17 field goal attempts through the opening 10 ½ minutes.

“Turnovers are really gonna get you against good, tough teams,” Compton said. “We have to work on playing our game at our pace.”

Meanwhile, Centralia scored 10 of its first 12 points on layups, with Brunkhorst and 5-10 senior Bailey Schuering continually getting to the rim.

“You can ask anyone in our locker room, and they’ll tell you I am constantly talking about stopping the drive,” Stuart said. “But Brunkhorst does a great job of getting to the basket and finishing inside.”

Brunkhorst showed her versatility by stepping outside to sink two 3-pointers in the first half and three overall. The team finished with seven. Centralia shot 52 percent from the field in the first two quarters and limited Palmyra to just eight field goals on 26 attempts (31 percent).

Centralia led by as many as 24 points early in the third quarter before sophomore Anna James hit back-to-back 3-pointers and then a pull-up jumper to get Palmyra within 47-29.

The hosts managed to trim the deficit to 14 points on five occasions but were never able to get closer.

“We would go on a run, and they would fire right back,” Compton said. “We have to keep grinding, keep the effort and attitude up and remember grit is the biggest thing.”

Guards Brooklyn Hardin (14 points) and Ryenn Gordon (12) also reached double figures for Centralia, which will play Quincy Notre Dame — the top-ranked team in Illinois Class 3A — on Saturday in the Harrisburg Shootout.

Compton finished with 15 points and James 11 for Palmyra, which rebounded to shoot 50 percent from the field in the second half.

“We were still fighting until the very end, and I’m proud of them for that,” Stuart said. “We’re not where we want to be yet. We have to get healthy. Once we get to the end of the season, I think we’ll surprise some people.”