A spot in the girl’s regional championship game was on the line in Valley Falls on Friday night and it was Centralia and Burlingame who each kept their seasons alive for at least two more games with semifinal wins.

Semifinal #1: Centralia 59, Doniphan West 39

In what a strong offensive output by both sides early the Centralia Panthers took control in the second quarter and never allowed Doniphan West to threaten winning 59-39.

Doniphan West couldn’t have started any better leading 15-14 after one as freshman Chloe Clevinger and junior Kinlee Whetstine each scored five in the quarter while Panther senior Morgan Kramer scored 11.  

That was the only offense the Mustangs would have in the first half as from there Centralia allowed just one point in the second quarter and sophomore Abbie Flentie had a pair of baskets to give the Panthers a 26-16 lead at halftime.

Doniphan West tried to creep back into the game cutting the deficit to as low as seven but never got any close while Centralia got six points from Kramer in the third quarter and eight from senior Kennedy Becker in the fourth to ice the game away.

The Panthers forced 18 turnovers in the win and held Doniphan West’s leading scorer Makinley Smith to just four points which is 13 points below her season average.

Centralia (15-8) was led in scoring by Kramer who finished with 20 points while Abbie Flentie added 11 and Kennedy Becker 10.

Doniphan West had Chloe Clevinger lead the way with 11 points and end the season with a record of 14-9.

Semifinal #2: Burlingame 48, Wetmore 34

In the second game after a slow start Burlingame got going and took a lead and never gave it up to move on to the championship with a 48-34 victory.

Wetmore started well and held a lead for a majority of the first quarter behind five points from Alyssa Bloom and Kenzie Strathman, but the Bearcats got a 3-pointer from Megan Giffin at the buzzer to take a 14-12 lead after one.

Burlingame pushed their lead out from there and led by five at the half and by eight going into the fourth quarter.

Wetmore had plenty of opportunities throughout to cut into the deficit but turned the ball over 19 times which proved to be the difference.

The Cardinals were led in the loss by Strathman who finished with 12 points and Wetmore wraps up the season with a record of 11-11.

That sets up a Centralia and Burlingame regional championship game on Saturday which is scheduled to tip at 6 p.m. with live coverage on 103.9 KNZA and 92.1 KMZA.