4A GIRLS: Brown comes out strong, leads Centennial girls to rout of Reed

Jada Brown wasn’t a huge factor for Centennial’s girls basketball team in the Sunset Region tournament.

The sophomore didn’t play in the quarterfinal game and scored a combined 14 points in the semifinal and title game as the Bulldogs breezed to the title.

It took Brown only eight minutes Thursday to match her scoring total from the regional.

Brown had 14 points and five rebounds in the first quarter as Centennial built a 23-9 lead and cruised past previously-unbeaten Reed 84-57 in a Class 4A semifinal at the Orleans Arena.

Centennial (31-1) will face Liberty (27-2) in the title game at 6 p.m. Friday.

“Jada was amazing,” Centennial coach Karen Weitz said. “With these kids, we talk all the time about letting the game come to you. Jada did that tonight. It was her night. One night it’s Ashley (Klemz), the next night it’s Jada, the next night it’s somebody else.”

Brown, who finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds, did most of her work in the first half — totaling 20 points and 11 rebounds before the break as the Bulldogs led 43-23 at the half and were never seriously threatened.

Led by Brown, the Bulldogs put on another clinic on the boards, outrebounding the Raiders 37-14 in the first half. Centennial had 20 offensive rebounds in the first half, masking a shooting effort that was iffy at best.

Reed (26-1) had just one offensive rebound before halftime.

“Every coach tries to have the one (shot) and done theory on defense,” Weitz said. “We definitely came out soft and slow in the third quarter, but we picked it up in the fourth quarter.”

Reed quietly crept within 49-36 midway through the third quarter, but a 9-0 run by the Bulldogs squelched the Raiders’ comeback effort and left little doubt.

Centennial’s defense consistently hopped into passing lanes and flustered Reed, who had 37 turnovers.

Tamera Williams, who spent most of the game in foul trouble, added 15 points, and Breanna Workman scored 10 for Centennial, which wasn’t great offensively, but saw plenty of extra chances on second and third efforts.

“We got the job done,” Weitz said.

Gabby Williams paced Reed with 14 points. Nyasha Lesure added 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Micah Walker scored 12 for Reed.