By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The St. Joseph Central girls' basketball team made a remarkable 27-of-32 free throw attempts, overcame an early deficit and defeated Park Hill South 49-39 in a critical KC Suburban Conference and Class 6 District 8 battle at the CHS Coliseum Monday.
The win is Central's fourth straight and their sixth in the last seven games.
"I thought both teams played extremely hard," Central head coach Roger Wiebelt-Smith said. "They defended us really well, I thought we defended them really well. It's just a big time game. They're a really talented team. It feels good to go out there and execute like that and get things done."
Park Hill South (15-7), who had come in on a five-game winning streak, got off to an early 11-7 lead, thanks to six first quarter points by their 6-2 sophomore guard Regan Williams.
Central (14-6) had a big answer in the second quarter, reeling off a 12-0 run to take a 19-11 lead late in the second and eventually leading 21-18 at the break.
Park Hill South's offense went cold in the third quarter, as the Panthers made just two field goals in the first eight minutes of the second half. Meanwhile, Central got in the bonus before the end of the third and senior Ella Moody got to the free throw line. A lot.
A future Northwest Missouri State basketball player, Moody made five free throws in the third quarter alone, sunk 12-of-13 free throws in the game and finished with a game-high 22 points.
"I've been practicing it," Moody said of her free throw shooting. "So, I think with all of the practice, I got better and my team, we did excellent on the free throw line tonight and I think that's excellent for all of us."
Park Hill South, who had beaten St. Joseph Central 48-44 in their home gym on January 24, didn't go away. The Panthers made a pair of second half three-pointers to hang around and kept the game to within single digits for most of the fourth quarter, but Central was in the double bonus for much of the fourth and continued to get the line.
The Indians were 13-of-16 at the foul line in the final quarter alone.
"I just thought our kids were relentless getting to the basket," Wiebelt-Smith said. "I mean, they weren't going to be denied. Got some fouls called, and had some not called, but they just battled. That's the way they play. That's our identity."
Junior Charlize Broaden finished with 10 points for Central - all of that coming in the second half. Junior Teegan Broaden scored six.
Williams led Park Hill South with 15 points. Jayme Dixon and Tatum Kells each had seven.
Central, seeking its second district title in three seasons and its first Final Four appearance since 1989, is home to Lee's Summit Friday with four regular season games remaining before district play.
"Right now, they're all bought in," Wiebelt-Smith said of his team. "They want to win and man, it's just fun to coach. It's fun to go to practice every day. Fun to be out on the court every day. I'm just glad I get to coach them."
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