The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

CJ girls basketball dismiss Centerville in ‘first good test’

Raytea Long collects career-high 21 rebounds as Eagles move to 3-0.

CJ junior, Erinn Bailey, center, grabs a ball from Centerville junior, Natalie Quinn, left, Saturday December 3 at Chaminade Julienne High School.

Jim Noelker CJ junior, Erinn Bailey, center, grabs a ball from Centerville junior, Natalie Quinn, left, Saturday December 3 at Chaminade Julienne High School.

ENLARGE PHOTO

High school sports results for May 26
5/26/12
Wayne boys win team track title
5/25/12
Bellbrook tennis duo advances to semifinals
5/25/12
Jefferson grad takes lessons from Miami Heat cousin
5/25/12
T-Bolts excited for state debut
5/25/12
> More high school headlines

By Dave Long, Contributing Writer 9:23 PM Saturday, December 3, 2011

DAYTON — Raytea Long had a career-high 21 rebounds along with 17 points as host Chaminade Julienne defeated Centerville, 46-37, Saturday afternoon.

It was an early matchup of girls high school basketball teams that fared well last season and expect that success to continue.

CJ (3-0) has its starting lineup back from a 17-8 squad that lost in the Division II regional final to Carroll. The only change for the Eagles is a new head coach, Mandy Myers (no relation to a long line of CJ athletes named “Meyers” who starred in volleyball and basketball over three decades).

Myers was an assistant last season to Duane Williams, who gave up high school coaching due to business obligations. He did not teach at the Catholic school located in downtown Dayton.

Centerville (1-1) had seven of its top nine players back from a team that lost in a Division I district final last year to Mason.

“It was the first good test for both of us,” said Myers. “Raytea had a great game for us in the middle. I thought coming into the game we were a little better ball-handling team than they were. And that showed in the last couple of minutes.”

Long is a 6-foot senior who has signed to play college basketball at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.

“I was able to get good position inside and get to the ball early in the game,” she said. “I kind of stood around a little in the second half.

“But coach got on me and I started moving more in the fourth quarter.”

Centerville led 30-27 with 3:32 left in the third quarter. Then CJ turned up the defensive pressure, which produced a 19-6 run to close the game. Long had nine of her points in the run.

The Elks, trailing 38-32, missed a one-and-one free throw with 2:57 left. Long got the rebound and CJ ran 1:37 off the clock before missing a 3-point shot. Centerville got a basket at 1:20 to get within 38-32, but CJ again began to kill the clock and was 6-for-6 from the line in the final minute.

Alex Henning had 16 points to lead Centerville, which unofficially had 26 turnovers.

Share this article