Johnna Brown (23) of Centennial fires a pass in the second quarter against Galena on Friday in the final of the Lady Bulldog Classic. Brown scored 17 of her game-high 21 points in the second half to lead Centennial's 83-45 victory. Photo by Ralph Fountain.
Centennial hasn't had many chances to play with a revenge mind-set over the past five season.
But Friday was one of those times as the Bulldogs prepared for the championship game of the Lady Bulldog Classic.
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Standing in the way was Galena, which won at Centennial less than a month ago.
The Bulldogs evened the score in a big way. They scored 26 points in the first quarter and got a strong second half from Johnna Brown en route to an 83-45 victory.
Centennial (14-2) used a variety of methods to dominate Galena (12-5).
The Bulldogs used the scoring punch of Italee Lucas, who scored 19 points in the first half as Centennial raced to a 44-30 lead.
Brown took over the second half after Lucas was whistled for her fourth foul, a technical. Lucas went to the bench seconds into the third period and didn't return.
Brown, who didn't play in the first meeting with Galena, scored 17 of her game-high 21 points in the second half. The Bulldogs center also grabbed 15 rebounds and handed out six assists.
The Centennial defense controlled the game for the final three quarters, holding Galena to seven field goals and sub-30 percent shooting.
"We spend a lot of time working on our defense," Centennial coach Karen Weitz said. "Defense wins games, and we want to wear teams down. We didn't have certain personnel in the first meeting, and things were certainly different (this time)."
Brown and teammate Dela Jones were named co-Most Valuable Players of the tournament. Jones scored 18 points Friday.
Galena, which edged Durango 62-60 to reach the final, was led by Langely Iverson with 13 points. Colleen Mullins scored 11 and Colleen Kern 10.
Iverson and Kern also made the all-tournament squad.
"We are playing much better as a team," Weitz said. "When we play that aggressive defense, good things happen. Several players stepped up, and that was great to see."
• Centennial 93, Silverado 38 -- At Centennial, Italee Lucas scored 32 points and Deanna Daniels 14 as the Bulldogs rolled over the Skyhawks.
Silverado's Brianna DeSantis and Jessica Schmidt scored 11 points apiece.
• Galena 62, Durango 60 -- At Centennial, Lindy La Roque scored 25 points, but Galena stopped the Trailblazers' quest to reach the title game.
Colleen Mullins led four players in double figures with 17 points for Galena.
• Spring Creek 46, Mojave 44 -- At Centennial, Johnna Ward and Tai Jaques scored 16 points each as the Spartans outlasted the Rattlers.
Chelsea Hopkins scored 14 for Mojave.
• Peninsula (Calif.) 54, Desert Pines 49 -- At Centennial, Lauren Hirata scored 13 points as the Panthers defeated the Jaguars.
Jalisha Meeks scored 10 points for Desert Pines.
• Chaparral 76, Foothill 58 -- At Centennial, Chaparral used a 30-point fourth quarter to turn back Foothill.
Desiree Pierce led Chaparral with 30 points, and Shay Williams scored 17 for the Falcons.
Canyon Springs' Derricka Glover had 26 points to lead all scorers.
• Pahrump Valley 51, Vo-Tech 32 -- At Centennial, Pahrump Valley limited Vo-Tech to three points in the fourth period to get the victory.
• Sante Fe (Calif.) 72, Valley 54 -- At Centennial, Sante Fe's Debbie Chaves scored 15 points to lead the victory over the Vikings.
Valley's Jasmine Williams had 20 points, and teammate Vanessa Corona scored 14.
• Green Valley 48, Douglas 45 -- At Centennial, Victoria Naylor scored 16 points to lead the Gators over the Tigers.
Jessica Waggoner scored 19 points for Douglas.
• Bishop Gorman 53, Santa Margarita (Calif.) 43 -- At Phoenix, Darriel Gaynor had 15 points as the Gaels got the victory in the Tournament of Champions.
