The La Center girls basketball team went into its game against Benson of Portland undefeated on Monday.
The Wildcats left the gym Monday a little bit wiser.
“This was a great experience for us today,” La Center coach Herm VanWeerdhuizen. “It was a chance to face a good team that would challenge us, and give us a chance to see how our press works against a strong team.”
The Wildcats found out that Benson also has a good press. The tall and athletic Techsters gave the Wildcats fits at times in a 55-46 win over La Center at the Hoops on the Holiday Tournament at Evergreen High School.
“We hadn’t practiced in four days because of the holiday, and it showed,” VanWeerdhuizen said. “We couldn’t buy a basket in the first half.”
Benson jumped out to an 11-3 lead and pushed the advantage to 25-10 early in the second quarter.
But that’s when the younger Wildcats started to fight back as Benson took a 34-17 lead into halftime.
“We’re a young team,” VanWeerdhuizen said. “We got nine deep, and only three of them are seniors. This was a chance to test our mental toughness.”
La Center (6-1) opened the second half with an 8-0 run, but Benson’s pressure allowed the Techsters to build their back to 49-33 by the end of third quarter.
La Center went on a 10-0 run to open the fourth, converting eight of nine free throws in the run. But the Wildcats could get no closer than 49-43.
“Some people say ‘you learn from your losses’, but I don’t buy that,” VanWeerdhuizen said. “But you do learn from playing good teams that make you work harder, regardless of the outcome. Benson is a good team, the kind of team we’ll face again in February. So I suppose it is better to lose a game like this during Christmas break than in February. I just would have rather faced them on Tuesday or Wednesday and shot the ball better.”
Senior Andrea Griffee paced the Wildcats with 14 points, while sophomore Taylor Mills added 10.
With one game under their belts at the Hoops on the Holiday, the Wildcats will gain some more experience when they face Roosevelt of Portland at 2 p.m. Tuesday and Parkrose of Portland on Wednesday.
BENSON 55, LA CENTER 46
BENSON — Zahira Ahmed 0, Makenzy Porter 8, Dae-Onna Kang-Clark 0, Imani Harris 0, Andranique Young 0, Chinwendu Ughamba 0, Dai-Auzhane Morris 8, Avalyn Revel 12, Ciera Ellington 19, Alize Rutley 2, Mahogany Menfee 6. Totals 23 (3) 6-22 55.
LA CENTER (6-1) — Molly Edwards 8, Ashley Denney 3, Whitley Seter 0, Bethany Whitten 4, Lauryn Powers 0, Shelby Vermeulen 2, Laynie Erickson 0, Taylor Mills 10, Andrea Griffee 14, Taylor Stephens 5, Alyssa McKnight 0. Totals 12 (2) 20-33 46.
Benson 19 15 15 6–55
La Center 10 7 16 13–46
