Centerville has three seniors on this year’s roster – MaKayla Heesch, Lillie Eide, and Kiylee Westra. The Tornadoes did go to the state championship game in 2006, but lost to Mitchell Christian. This is Centerville’s first ever state girls basketball title. Head Sports series basketball game could be played by 1 or 2 players. They just love us so much, and it’s so fun to us.” “Our community is amazing, and all these little kids, having them watch us do this is crazy. We gave it our all and it was awesome,” said Eide. “We just got carried by our fans, and then the rest of it we just went out and had fun, and we had nothing to lose. Lillie Eide also commented on the teams slow start to the tournament on Thursday, but that they fed off the energy of their fans, and eventually found their stride. This is our first state tournament, so we had to get use to the atmosphere and the environment, but after that we just knew we could do it and we could take it all the way,” exclaimed MaKayla Heesch.
“Well the first game we were really nervous. The Tornadoes beat Warner in the quarterfinals, came out on top in a tough battle with Lyman in the semifinals, and then played arguably their best game of the year in the championship to beat Arlington. The four of them combined for 54-points in the game. I’m just so happy for our kids.”Ĭenterville was led by four key players – MaKayla Heesch, Althea Gust, Lillie Eide, and Emma Marshall. “So, to have this moment before that, and to be able to partake in this together, it’s pretty special. My beautiful wife is expecting in June, we’ll have our first kid,” told Tornberg. Classroom 6x welcomes you to come along with Sports Heads: Basketball Your Chromebook isn’t just for work, so let’s let loose a little. We take a lot of time away from our families. Everyone knows that playing games is more fun than schoolwork so why not try playing Sports Heads: Basketball You’ll be able to easily play this game on Classroom 6x on your Chromebook, all for free. In the closing moments, both coaches emptied the benches, and the celebration began for the Tornadoes.
Arlington did outscore Centerville in the fourth quarter, but it was too little too late. The second half was a lot of the same, the Tornadoes continually found ways to put the ball in the basket. This team has handled so much adversity, and what they showed all tournament long was mental toughness.” “Kudos to Arlington, the press was tough on us late, but we made enough plays, we made enough adjustments, and our kids have done that all year long. “We told them that team is going to amp up the aggressiveness, they’re going to turn the press on, we’ve got to be ready for that, and I think our kids showed a lot of poise,” said Centerville head coach Tucker Tornberg. Things continued to click in the second quarter as well as it was 34-14 going into the break. You can stream live radio, video and stay up to date on all of your favorite teams.For the first time in program history, Centerville can call themselves state girls basketball champs! The Tornadoes defeated Arlington 62-44 in the state title game on Saturday night in Rapid City.Ĭenterville came out hot, shooting 54% in the opening quarter. ĭownload the new & improved KSL Sports app from Utah’s sports leader. Follow her on X, Instagram, and Threads : you on Threads yet? Let’s connect, give us a follow. Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast ( SUBSCRIBE ) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. If Carlson is unable to go, that could really affect how well the Utes can do in the Pac-12 Tournament. Perhaps most important and concerning of all however, is the recent injury to Branden Carlson in the finale with the Ducks with head coach Craig Smith unable to give an update on the star player after the game. Lawson Lovering missed significant time with an injury, while Utah also hung in limbo through the first half of the season with Deivon Smith’s transfer waiver. The Runnin’ Utes did experience a couple of long-term injuries to key players in Wilguens Exacte Jr. The Utes were tough at home with a 14-2 record at the Huntsman Center but were a completely different team on the road with a 2-9 record. In conference play alone, the Utes went 9-11 in a Pac-12 that only has two ranked teams in Arizona and Washington State.