No. 1 ranked Central girls winning, wearing masks during games

Brett Greenberg

Tuscaloosa News

The Central girls basketball team earned its 10th win of the season on Thursday night with a 60-35 victory over Brookwood. The boys also won. Here are three things we learned:

No. 1-ranked Lady Falcons have a 1-2 punch

Senior guards Dkya Little and Aja Wiltshire won a state championship in 2019 when they were sophomores. Now they are the captains and the No.1-ranked Lady Falcons (10-3) are positioned for another state championship run.

The two lead the team in assists while Wiltshire averages a team-best 9.5 points per game.

Lady Falcons coach Michael Rivers said he credits the pair for the team's success.

“There’s a reason we are ranked No. 1," said Rivers. “They are two of my most loyal seniors, they had to sit out their freshmen year but stayed at Central with me.” The Lady Panthers roster consists of two to three girls from each class.

“We are never in the process of rebuilding because we never unload,” said Rivers.

Little and Mikayla Kirkman led Central with 13 points apiece.

Guard Karlee Pierson was the leading scorer for Brookwood with 21 points.

Lady Falcons masked up for title run

Central has not had a COVID-19 case or had to cancel a game this season. The Lady Falcons wear masks during a game.

“We made a decision before the season started that if we were playing, the masks will be on,” said Rivers. “We are going to do the most our end possible to slow the spread.

“So far so good for us. We’re always in the final four so we don’t want to jeopardize that.”

The mask is red and has the Central falcon on both sides.

"We are going to do anything we need to do to prevent COVID-19 from getting in our locker room," said Wiltshire. Central boys lead from start to finish

The struggling Central boys won 41-34 over Brookwood as guard Taveon Goode scored a game-high 24 points.

The Falcons (6-9) took a 19-13 lead into halftime and fended up a comeback effort by the

Panthers who came within one point after a 3-pointer on the opening possession.

The Panthers got within four with 22 seconds remaining, but guard Javion Taylor hit 3 of 4 free throws.

Senior Christian Hall led Brookwood with 15 points.