92.1 KMZA Broadcast - Centralia at Valley Falls -- click here to listen (Girls | Boys) 

To open the high school basketball season Centralia and Valley Falls stepped outside their respective leagues and faced off against each other as the Dragons played host the Panthers. Both games proved to be tight battles and at the end of the night Centralia started the season with a pair of wins as the Panther girls won 57-56 and the boys took the win 56-37. 

Centralia led most of the first half of the girls contest outside of just a few seconds in the first quarter as the Panthers were up 17-12 after one frame and extended their lead up to as high as 13 in the second quarter. Madison Lueger led the Panthers in the second scoring 10 of the team's 17-points and Centralia entered halftime up 34-25 over Valley Falls. The Dragons who played a good portion of the first half without Reagan Kirkwood due to two early fouls came out firing in the second half going on a 13-5 run to draw within one-point at 39-38 when Centralia called a timeout. The lead for the Panthers disappeared in the next few moments as Valley Falls went up 41-39 but Centralia recaptured the lead just before the end of the third quarter to be up 43-41 entering the fourth. In the final stanza the teams traded blows back and forth but it was Centralia down the stretch extending their lead to two possessions and then getting some free throws by Katie Glatczak to go up by four in the final five seconds to secure the win as Kirkwood hit a near half-court three to make it a one-point margin in the final score tally as Centralia won 57-56. 

The win starts Centralia 1-0 to the season as they were led by four double figure scorers including the Community National Bank co-"Player's to Bank On" in Lueger and Morgan Kramer who scored 17 and 16 points, respectively. Glatczak and Maegan Koch each chipped in 10 points. 

Valley Falls in the loss was led by Kirkwood who tallied 20 points, while Allison Kearney 14 points and Drew Delong netted 10 points. Rachel Frakes added nine points on the evening for the Dragons who start the year 0-1. 

Just like the girls game the boys contest was nip and tuck until the fourth and final quarter. Slow start for both teams led to a 9-9 tie after one quarter of action then Centralia put together a 6-0 run to open the second quarter to lead 15-9 and went up by as many as seven points in the quarter until Valley Falls pushed back just before halftime and Grayson Haag knocked down a three at the buzzer to give the Dragons a 23-21 lead at halftime. The lead changed hands a few times during the third quarter and the Panthers at the end of the frame were up 37-33 entering the fourth. The fourth quarter was were the game was won by Centralia as they outscored the Dragons 17-4 in the final stanza keeping Valley Falls off the scoreboard for nearly half the quarter going on to win 56-37. 

Trenton Flentie led Centralia with 16 points and was named Community National Bank "Player to Bank On" on KMZA. While both Kamble Haverkamp and Daegan Steinlage each chipped in 10 points to help the Panthers start the year 1-0. 

Valley Falls was led by Nathan Pickerell who scored nine points, while both Haag and Hunter Aspinwall each tallied eight points as the Dragons start the season 0-1. 

Both teams continue the basketball season on Tuesday, December 5th with League action as Centralia travels to Wetmore and Valley Falls heads to Pleasant Ridge. 

GIRLS 
Centralia - Madison Lueger 17pts, Morgan Kramer 16pts, Katie Glatczak 10pts, Maegan Koch 10pts, Parker Bowers 3pts
Valley Falls - Reagan Kirkwood 20pts, Allison Kearney 14pts, Drew Delong 10pts, Rachel Frakes 9pts, Paige Wildeman 3pts

BOYS 
Centralia - Trenton Flentie 16pts, Daegan Steinlage 10pts, Kamble Haverkamp 10pts, Federico D'Ambrosio 5pts, Josh Hasenkamp 5pts, Dylan Boeckman 4pts, Nathan Rempe 2pts, Evan Slater 2pts, Derek VanDorn 2pts 
Valley Falls - Nathan Pickerell 9pts, Hunter Aspinwall 8pts, Grayson Haag 8pts, Seth Delong 2pts, Drew Pickerell 2pts, Cole Brosa 1pt