If the early portions of the last two seasons are to serve as any kind of a measuring stick, head coach Lindsay Meekhof and the Centennial girl’s varsity basketball team are making progress. Following back-to-back sub-10 win seasons that featured matching 2-5 starts, the Lady Knights sit pretty at 4-3 overall and 2-0 in the region as they prepare for a trip to Disney’s Wide World of Sports this weekend.

“We always say ‘one game at a time,’ and it’s hard not to look at the schedule and see what’s coming up,” said Meekhof, in her third year as Centennial’s varsity head coach. “But we never wanna overlook anybody. They [the players] have to take care of what’s in front of them, and Nease High in Florida is our main focus right now.”

The Lady Panthers await the Lady Knights in the first round of the 2008 KSA Events Holiday Basketball Tournament, which tips off at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Meekhof figures the tournament – which features eight schools from six different states – will provide good exposure and experience for her blossoming team.

“We know the team we’re playing [Saturday] has got some shooters, and a couple of big girls,” Meekhof said. “You can run into just about any style of basketball. It’s fun and exciting and helps prepare you for the season…but it’s not only fun, it gives you something to build on.”

In rattling off four wins in its last five games, Centennial has received steady backcourt play from veteran guards Brittany Pope (9.9 points, 6 rebounds per game) and Victoria Guzman (8 ppg.). Both girls are shooting near 40 percent from beyond the three-point arc, and have set the tone for a motivated Lady Knights team bent on improving upon season’s past.

“I’m very pleased with the work ethic the kids have,” said Meekhof. “Even in offseason workouts in the spring, the kids wanted to be in the gym as soon as the season was over and that has kinda carried over. We have a goal and we need everyone to get there. That’s kinda their mentality.”

CUMMINGS PICKS TECH

Euclid Cummings, a senior and defensive end for the Centennial football team, verbally committed to play football for Georgia Tech on Dec. 17. Cummings – rated the No. 49 defensive end nationally by Scout.com – chose Tech over other scholarship offers from North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Indiana.