El Dorado Ends Century’s 22-Game League Win Streak

Century’s 22-game Empire League winning streak ended Tuesday night when El Dorado defeated the Centurions, 43-36, in a girls’ basketball game at Century.

With the victory, the Golden Hawks--who last beat Century in the 1997-98 season--strengthen their first-place grip in the league standings. The second-place Centurions are 46-5 in Empire League play over the last four seasons.

The Golden Hawks (15-4, 3-0) employed two full-court presses that forced 15 turnovers. A decided height advantage gave them a 23-12 rebounding edge.

Despite that, El Dorado was forced to rally for the victory.

Century (10-7, 2-1) trailed early but gained a four-point lead midway through the second quarter. El Dorado scored the first seven points of the second half, initiating a 12-3 run that put the Hawks ahead for good. Another short run gave them a seven-point advantage and Century never managed to get any closer.

“We went to a little different full-court press and got a couple of turnovers,” El Dorado Coach Wayne Carlson said. “We didn’t shoot well, but again our defense was consistent. That’s the way we’ve played this season.”

Smadar Bezalel scored a game-high 14 points, 6-1 center Carly Wade added 10 points and 12 rebounds and Nicole Gerber had nine points, seven assists and four rebounds for El Dorado.

Melissa Jacob, who averages 13.9 points a game, was held scoreless but managed six assists and four steals.

Gerber limited Century’s Elizabeth Mendoza (13.4 average) to 10 points. Charlenda Van Buren also had 10 points and Alicia De Los Santos scored seven.

“Their rebounding and inside play was the difference,” said Century Coach Jeff Watts, whose tallest player is the 5-11 Mendoza and who has three starters shorter than 5-2. “We’re small but pretty determined. We weren’t as sharp.”