Falcons take down Sanford for ninth win

Centauri’s Brenna McDaniel (14) shoots as Sanford senior Abbey Sittler (4) defends. (Vibrant Valley Photography)

Falcons take down Sanford for ninth win

By STEPHEN JIRON

Courier Sports Editor

SANFORD — The girls basketball game between neighbors became a barn-burner on Saturday night with the visiting Falcons taking a 47-43 overtime win.

Centauri (9-0) kept up their winning ways pulling out a victory over host Sanford. This game marks the second time this year that the two teams have met this year. The first, in the semifinals at the La Junta Holiday shootout. Centauri took that contest as well.

For their perfect record, Centauri is now ranked third in the state by the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) Coaches Poll.  The Falcons were previously ranked sixth.

Sanford (3-3) has been performing admirably given the difficulty of their schedule. They hold a .500 record and their only three losses have come at the hands of top-ten ranked 3A opponents (3. Centauri, 6. Alamosa). Their efforts have not gone unnoticed, despite their record, Sanford stays among the top ten in the 2A rankings with one coach even placing them as the No. 1 team in the state.

Sanford was all over Centauri in the early going and would lead well into the second quarter. Centauri would begin the trek back tying things up at 16 points before relenting a 20-17 lead to Sanford at the half.

Neither team was able to gain a definitive edge at the end of the fourth quarter. A 36 tie prompted an overtime period to decide a winner.

Centauri would strike the first blow with four unanswered points. The Falcons would use the two-possession lead to keep Sanford at bay for the remainder to stay perfect with the win.

Falcon junior Brenna McDaniel led Centauri in scoring with 15 points. McDaniel shined from the free-throw line banking 8 of 9 attempts and draining her one three-point attempt. The Centauri junior was also one rebound shy of a double-double grabbing 9 boards. Following McDaniel in scoring was teammate Mia Garcia with 10 points.

Centauri will get a chance to prove their mettle with a road game against fifth-ranked Pagosa Springs (5-2) on January 18th. Sanford will continue with their difficult schedule, Friday, Jan. 10 Sanford will go on the road to meet 3A Ellicot (3-1) then they’ll follow that by hosting 3A’s fifth-ranked team in Pagosa Springs (5-2) Saturday, Jan. 11.