Centralia took down the number two and three ranked teams in the State in 1A-DI to get to the State Championship and drew the number one team in the title game as the Panthers were looking for basketball State title number five. It wasn’t going to be easy facing Hoxie the three-time defending champs and a team that had won 94-straight games and Centralia gave the Indians a run for their money but fell 67-53, finishing runner-up.

Hoxie ran out of the gates to a 6-0 start and Centralia called an early timeout, the Panthers answered with a 5-0 run of their own to get to within one and ultimately took their first lead at 10-9 at the end of the first quarter. The Indians regained the lead in the second frame and held the 25-20 halftime lead. The joust continued in the third quarter with the Panthers winning the quarter drawing to within four-points, but Hoxie put together a strong fourth, outscoring Centralia 24-14 to claim the 67-53 win.

Centralia was hurt in the game by 37.7% shooting compared to Hoxie hitting 42.6% and the Panthers were out rebounded by 10 (38-28) in the contest. Senior, Amaris Jones led the Panthers with 18 points and added four assists, while sophomore, Cassidy Haufler posted another double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds and freshman, Katie Glatczak chipped in 12 points.

The loss ended Centralia’s season with a 21-5 record and gave them a 1A-DI runner-up finish, their best finish since 2007 when they finished second, also.