CPU overcomes whistles, blasts Mustangs

CENTER POINT — Some major foul trouble turned out to be no trouble at all for Center Point-Urbana.

The Class 3A third-ranked Stormin' Pointers emerged unscathed from a whistle-heavy first half, then walloped No. 4 Mount Vernon, 81-49, in a Wamac Conference cross-division girls' basketball game Tuesday night at Center Point-Urbana High School.

'This feels so good,' said senior Payton Hasleiet. 'We're physical in practice, and we played how we practice. There were a lot of fouls in the first half, but we adjusted.'

The Stormin' Pointers (1-0) avenged last year's heartbreaking regional-final loss to the Mustangs, in which they let an 18-point first-half lead slip away.

They did it with balance. Four players reached double figures, led by Allison Wooldridge, who scored all 14 of her points in a third-quarter explosion.

Olivia Brecht added 13 points. LaMia Sisk provided 11 points and four steals. Hasleiet posted 10 points and five assists. Arika Wooldridge, who has signed with Winona State University, took just four shots and made them all in a nine-point outing.

There's no dead weight on this 11-girl roster, and that was a good thing for the Stormin' Pointers when the fouls accumulated rapidly. Mount Vernon (0-1) was in the double-bonus before the end of the first quarter.

'It was nice to see what kind of depth we have,' CPU Coach Philip Klett said. 'Our bench gave us quality minutes. I didn't see any drop-off.'

Hasleiet said, 'Everybody practices so hard. We all lift each other up and have confidence in each other.'

The teams combined for 30 fouls in the first half. Five players went into halftime with three fouls; five others had two.

CPU led, 39-26, at halftime, then racked up 30 points in the third quarter to extend the advantage to 69-39.

'They played very well,' said Mount Vernon Coach Dennis Roloff. 'They were playing at home. We haven't been able to get any continuity in practice because of our (deep runs by the) volleyball and football teams, and those were great things.

'I knew coming in that we weren't going to be ready for this kind of game. We'll be a better team next time you hear from us.'

Mount Vernon committed 28 turnovers, 17 on CPU steals.

Kaitlyn Volesky led the Mustangs with 13 points and six rebounds. Kristen Elliott scored 12 points.

CENTER POINT-URBANA 81, MOUNT VERNON 49

At Center Point

MOUNT VERNON (49): Jacque Murray 0-2 0-0 0, Kristen Elliott 4-6 4-6 12, Annie See 1-5 1-2 3, Delaney Dicus 1-6 0-0 3, Kaitlyn Volesky 5-6 3-5 13, Libby Ryan 1-4 0-1 2, Hayley Corkin 0-1 1-2 1, Ella Norton 2-4 4-5 8, Catherine Yeoman 1-2 2-2 5, Lily Dahlstrom 0-0 0-0 0, Katheryn Opperman 1-1 0-0 2, Noelle Ossenkop 0-0 0-0 0, Riley Clark 0-2 0-0 0, Haley Baker 0-0 0-0 0, McKenzie Hartl 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 16-40 15-24 49.

CENTER POINT-URBANA (81): Allison Wooldridge 6-10 1-3 14, Payton Hasleiet 3-8 3-6 10, LaMia Sisk 5-7 0-0 11, Olivia Brecht 5-10 3-6 13, Arika Wooldridge 4-4 0-1 9, Claire Holtz 2-4 0-0 4, Sydney Boevers 0-4 4-5 4, Raegan Dufoe 2-7 1-3 5, Callie Neighbor 1-6 4-4 6, Maddie Karr 1-4 2-3 4, Alexa Brooker 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 29-64 19-33 81.

Halftime: CPU 39, Mount Vernon 26. 3-point goals: Mount Vernon 2-14 (Elliott 0-1, See 0-1, Dicus 1-5, Volesky 0-1, Ryan 0-1, Corkin 0-1, Yeoman 1-2, Clark 0-1, Hartl 0-1), CPU 4-19 (Al.Wooldridge 1-3, Hasleiet 1-3, Sisk 1-1, Brecht 0-3, Ar.Wooldridge 1-1, Boevers 0-3, Dufoe 0-2, Neighbor 0-2, Karr 0-1). Team fouls: Mount Vernon 23, CPU 23. Fouled out: Sisk. Rebounds: Mount Vernon 33 (Volesky, Corkin 6), CPU 38 (Boevers 6). Assists: Mount Vernon 5 (five with 1), CPU 11 (Hasleiet 5). Steals: Mount Vernon 5 (Elliott, Ryan 2), CPU 17 (Sisk 4). Turnovers: Mount Vernon 28, CPU 13.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com