A big first half spurred on the Woodstock Academy girls basketball team Jan. 2 as it defeated Griswold, 59-30.
 The Centaurs scored 34 points in the first half and held the Wolverines to just 11 to cruise to the easy victory.
 It was a necessary one after The Academy lost to E.O. Smith in the championship game of the Centaurs Holiday Classic tournament the week before.
 “You want to get back on the horse,” said Centaurs’ coach Will Fleeton. “That was a tough game versus a good team so it’s OK to take a loss from E.O. Smith, but everyone competes to win so it was nice to get back on track.”
 The Centaurs did a good job getting energy created early.
 The Academy put pressure on Griswold (2-3) which created some early buckets in transition.
 “We kind of settled in., ran some offensive stuff, and got the bigs plenty of touches and tried to play off of them,” Fleeton said.
 Jamie Woods again led the Centaurs (5-2) with 19 points while Heather Converse added 13.
“They were both tough inside with tons of finishes and tons of rebounds. They forced Griswold to make some adjustments which opened up shots for other players,” Fleeton said.
 Olivia Perry added eight points for the Centaurs.
 “Did I want to be 5-2 at this point? I would like to be 7-0,” Fleeton said. “But it’s nice to get off to a good start. That’s the goal in any high school sport. It’s a long season, a slow start makes things a little tougher. Secure some of these wins, get closer to states right away, and get that burden off your back- maybe we can do some good things.”
Boys fall to Griswold
The Griswold Wolverines made 16-of-20 free throws in the second half, and 21-of-28 in the game, to help produce a 69-57 win over the Centaurs boys basketball team Jan. 2.
The Centaurs reduced a seven-point halftime deficit to four early in the second half on a basket by Baran Ali Sagar.
Logan McGeowan countered that for Griswold with their only successful 3-point shot of the night to make it 40-33.
Aaron Johnson scored two of his 10 points to pull The Academy back within five, but six straight points by the Wolverines extended the visitor’s lead to double digits.
That advantage held for much of the rest of the game.
The Centaurs (1-3) only getting within 10 on a 3-pointer by Chase Anderson (11 points) with 1:46 to play.
The Wolverines (2-1) closed things out by making six of eight from the charity stripe.
Cole Hackett led the Centaurs with 15 points.
Max Gregory and Bryce Mileski paced the Wolverines with 16 while Chris Roddy added 14.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director