‘We wanted to be ticks on their belly buttons’: CSE dominant defensively in second half of quarterfinal victory

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Central-Southeastern coach Matt Long knew some people might think he was trying to be funny, but when it comes to girls basketball, he’s usually quite serious.

“We told (the Panthers) we wanted to be ticks on their belly buttons,” Long said after his team’s 60-26 victory over Stanford Olympia in the quarterfinals of the small school girls bracket on Thursday afternoon at the Robert Frank Sports Complex at Bloomington High School. “That’s how tight we wanted to guard them tonight, because we really thought we could disrupt them.”

The Spartans were looking for tweezers the entire game as Central-Southeastern forced 31 turnovers. 

The most dominant defensive stretch came after Stanford Olympia had closed to within 39-24 midway through the third quarter. Central-Southeastern, the No. 1 seed in the small school bracket, didn’t allow another field goal while scoring 21 unanswered points. The Spartans turned the ball over 13 times and missed four shots from the field during an 11-minute stretch.

“Well, I mean, he’s honest about it,” Lauren Miller said about Long’s comment. “We need to get up and get after it. I think that’s how we want to start every game and continue. You’ve got to have your motor going, and we just want to start it defensively and not let them get anything easy. We want to make it as hard as possible.”

The Panthers, the defending tournament champions, will play at 4 p.m. Friday against No. 4 seed Kankakee Bishop McNamara in the semifinals. A victory would pit them against Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin or Galena in the championship game at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. 

Central-Southeastern (10-2) struggled for much of the first half against Stanford Olympia, only leading 26-18 late in the second quarter. Hannah Cleveland hit three 3-pointers in the first half for the Spartans. However, CSE’s Lauren Miller and Carly Peters scored two baskets each to close the second quarter and make the score 34-18 at the intermission.

The Panthers then held the Spartans to six second-half points. They have held their last four opponents to a combined 94 points.

“We hang our hat on defense,” Long said. “We always have. We always will. It’s starting to click for us.”

Miller helped CSE grab the lead for good midway through the first quarter, scoring eight points. However, both she and Carly Peters picked up their second fouls in the first half. With senior center Parker Crim in street clothes nursing an ankle injury, the Panthers played several minutes without three starters.

CSE didn’t score much during that stretch, but neither did Stanford Olympia.

“Everybody always steps up every game,” Miller said. “It helps that we all trust each other no matter who’s on the floor. We trust that our teammate’s going to be in the right spot and that they’re going to get it done.”

“We’re going to develop some depth,” Long said. “A lot of people think when our two or three really good kids come off the floor that we’re not as strong. Offensively, it does hurt us, but defensively, those other kids still get up and pressure on the ball. We tell our kids you’re going to work every day, just like the first seven or eight. We’re all going to play the same style. Our expectations are as high for them as they are for our number ones.”

Miller finished with 23 points. Brilyn Lantz had 15, and Peters chipped in with 13.  

Long has brought teams to this tournament for 25 years with the same goal in mind — to leave as a better team.

“There hasn’t been a year that I can remember we went back home and not been better,” he said. “It’s just four days of eating, sleeping and basketball. We treat it like an early-season state tournament because there are some years when you get four teams up here that may be better than the final four.”

Miller enjoys the “nothing but basketball” lifestyle in Bloomington-Normal.

“We’re always connecting more,” she said. “When we’re in the hotels, it’s eat, sleep and basketball. We watch film together. We eat lunch together. The plan is to play basketball, play better and get better as a team. That’s kind of what happens when we’re together all the time.”