Centralia girls' basketball wins long-awaited 1A DI state title
CENTRALIA (KSNT) - Bringing the 1A DI girls' state championship trophy home to Centralia was a goal the Panthers had in mind before the 2024-25 season even started.
Centralia came up short in the state tournament last season and lost by just one point in the state championship game in 2022. This year's seniors, including the likes of Oen Deters and Tatum Kramer, were freshmen on that team.
"I was crying, I was happy, I was excited for my team," Deters said. "I wanted it all four years, and I finally got it."
"They got beat on a late-game shot, had opportunities and stuff," head coach Dusty Thompson said. "Just to watch them in the last three years continue to put in the effort and know where they wanted to be...just the work they put into it, to watch them on the floor - the excitement and the hugs they had for each other - was probably the coolest thing ever."
The Panthers' younger members - and younger sisters - know how much winning the trophy means to the upperclassmen and players who came before them.
"I do everything for her," sophomore Hayden Kramer said of her older sister, Tatum. "At this point, everything I've done is for her."
Centralia downed Little River 50-43 to not just win its first state championship since 2016, but to complete a perfect 26-0 season. An added bonus: the Panthers were able to get revenger on Little River, who knocked them out of the state tournament in 2024.
"We talk about one game at a time and stuff but in the back [of their minds], I think they've always thought that this is where they were going to end up," Thompson said. "I'm just glad to see they finished it."