Teirra Preston helps Central York stay unbeaten

Teirra Preston is new to the Central York girls' basketball team this year, but she made her presence known in Friday night's battle of YAIAA Division I unbeatens.

Challenged with the task of guarding talented South Western freshman Taylor Geiman, Preston responded both defensively and offensively, leading the Panthers to a convincing, 54-31 victory.

"Tonight, we all worked together and did well against her," Preston said. "If it wasn't for them (my teammates), I wouldn't have been able to do it by myself."

The sophomore, who spent her freshman year playing varsity at Hempfield, scored a career-high 18 points to go with five rebounds and five steals.

"We all work together and get decent points," Preston said of the Panthers' balanced scoring attack.

Central head coach Scott Wisner said he knew the Panthers would have to work to keep Geiman and Jacey Shipley in check, and he opted to challenge Preston.

"We went back and forth with how we wanted to match up. Our best defender is Emma (Saxton) and we know they had two prominent players, and we thought we could use Teirra's athleticism against Taylor, and she did a fantastic job."

Geiman finished with 14 points to lead the Mustangs, but she did most of her damage at the foul line. The freshman scored six points from the field, the other eight coming at the charity stripe.

Central (5-0, 3-0) took a commanding 25-10 halftime lead and held the Mustangs to singe digits in three quarters.

"Now our issue is letting down a little bit once we do get our leads," Wisner said. "Obviously, it's always a great thing to jump out to a big start and to really concentrate on the things you want to do. I was really pleased with our defensive intensity tonight."

The Mustangs (3-2, 2-1) turned the ball over 23 times.

Eight players scored for the Panthers, but Preston and Saxton (10 points) were the lone ones in double figures.

South Western (31)

Wisensale 0 0-0 0, Feeser 1 0-0 2, Shipley 2 2-5 7, Gough 0 1-2 1, Soullaird 3 1-1 7, Walker 0 0-2 0, Taylor Geiman 3 8-8 14. Totals – 9 12-18 31.

Central York (54)

Valencik 2 2-3 6, Fabbri 2 0-0 6, Stanton 0 0-0 0, Wagner 1 0-0 3, Emma Saxton 4 2-2 10, Williams 1 2-2 4, Sepic 1 0-0 3, Shellenberger 0 0-2 0, Santana 1 2-2 4, Teirra Preston 8 2-3 18. Totals – 20 10-14 54.

South Western     _ 6     _ 4     _ 8     _ 13     _ —     _ 31

Central York     _ 12     _ 13     _ 16     _ 13     _ —     _ 54

3-point goals — SW 1, (Shipley); CY 4 (Fabbri 2, Wagner 1, Sepic 1).

JV score — Central York 58, South Western 30